This project is the result of my time spent living in Spain between 2009 and 2010. While there, I was introduced to many great musicians and friends as well as exposed to flamenco music. Overall, the project is intriguing to me because the genre of Flamenco Jazz is primarily relegated to Spanish/European musicians and not explored much on this side of the Atlantic. When I proposed the project for grant consideration, I wanted to show that Flamenco Jazz is different than Latin Jazz and can be used to enhance Jazz Music by utilizing the great rhythmic and melodic traditions from Spain. While such jazz artists as Chick Corea and Jerry Gonzalez have previously blended the genres very well, I wanted to take a more traditional approach between the two and really focus on presenting a representation of the material not just from a technical perspective, but also from a cultural perspective.
To make this project possible, I used my own jazz quintet (composed of all Chicago musicians) plus two additional musicians whom I’ve played with in other musical circles. Patricia Ortega is a vocalist in a Chicago flamenco pop group called “Las Guitarras de España” and since I also play in that group from time to time, I knew that her talents and knowledge of flamenco would be helpful. Javier Saume is one of maybe two cajón players in Chicago and is really the best at playing this genre. His talent was necessary to round out the rhythm section and make sure that there was a blend of the styles and not too much reliance on the jazz idiom.
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