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| Spanish Flamenco Music | Tomatito
Tomatito, born in 1958 in Almería as José Fernández
Torres, was exposed to guitar music before he learned to walk,
always hearing his father (nicknamed “Tomate”)
and grandfather (Miguel Tomate) play. At the tender age of
12, Tomatito moved from Almería to Málaga, where
his musical career would take off. This was where he met Paco
de Lucía and Camarón
de la Isla, both musicians he would later share the stage
and recording studios with. Tomatito and Camarón formed
a famous Flamenco duo for Camarón’s remaining
18 years, turning out and exquisite combination of guitar
and voice. Releasing various albums together, not only were
these records successful in Spain but also in important cities
such as Montreal and New York.
After
Camarón’s death in 1992, Tomatito embarked on
a very successful career as a solo concert guitarist. Not
only was he famous throughout Spain, he had also made a name
for himself internationally. He toured Turkey, France, Japan,
Switzerland and Germany and collaborated with big names in
the music industry such as Frank Sinatra and Sir Elton John.
Soon,
not only Flamenco musicians Paco de Lucía and Camarón
de la Isla let themselves be swept up by Tomatito’s
music, but so did many other music artists such as Enrique
Morente, Pansequito, La Susi, Duquende, Mecano and Carlos
Cano, to name a few. Tomatito released his first solo album
"Rosas del Amor" in 1987 and four years
later his next album "Barrio Negro". These
were followed by several collaborations with Joan Bibiloni,
Larry Coryell, Neneh Cherry as well as his participation in
the movie “The Devil’s Advocate” starring
Al Pacino.
In 1997 Tomatito composed his first piece of music for the
theatre, which turned out to be a huge success. In that same
year he joined together with pianist Michel Camilo, which
turned out to be such a popular performance among audiences
that they both ended up playing at the Barcelona Jazz Festival.
His music was chosen for the soundtrack to the movie "Bin
ich schön?" by famous German director Doris Doërrie.
The year 2000 was a great year for Tomatito, filming a movie
with Tony Gatlif after touring around Europe with Turkish
baglama master Arif Sag. This was followed by a Grammy Nomination
and then the Grammy Award for best Latin Jazz Album. Another
Grammy hails Tomatito as creator of the best Flamenco Album
together with Camarón the la Isla in "Paris
1987". He ended that year with performances in Rio
de Janeiro, Nimes and Santo Domingo.
