Spanish Flamenco Music

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.