José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer

Camarón de la Isla José Monje Cruz (5 December 1950 – 2 July 1992), better known by his stage name Camarón de la Isla (), was a Spanish Romani flamenco singer. Considered one of the all-time greatest flamenco singers, he was noted for his collaborations ...

(with

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

), he has made a number of collaborative albums and six solo albums, two of which have won

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

Biography

Beginnings, Camarón de la Isla

Jose Fernandez Torres grew up in a musical family, which included two guitar playing uncles: Niño Miguel, a flamenco guitarist, and Antonio, a professional guitarist. Tomatito, who had been playing clubs in Andalucía, became a flamenco sensation when he was discovered by guitarist Paco de Lucía. He accompanied legendary flamenco singer

for two decades. With Paco and Camarón he recorded four albums, and had a 1979 hit called "La Leyenda del Tiempo". Their album ''Paris 87'' won a Latin Grammy for best flamenco album in 2000. Their partnership continued until Camarón's death in 1992.

Later career

Tomatito's music blends traditional flamenco and jazz. On some albums, such as ''Barrio Negro,'' he experimented with

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural ele ...

and

Brazilian Music The music of Brazil encompasses various regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, ...

. He has also worked with flamenco singers

Duquende Juan Rafael Cortés Santiago, known as Duquende (born 1965 in Sabadell, Spain), is a Spanish Romani flamenco singer (cantaor). He is considered one of the successors to influential Flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla. Since 1997, Duquende has been ...

and Potito and pianist

Chano Domínguez Chano Domínguez (born Sebastián Domínguez Lozano; 29 March 1960, Cádiz) is a Spanish Latin jazz, post bop and flamenco pianist. Dominguez has released over 20 albums as a bandleader, and collaborated extensively with other jazz artists inc ...

, among others. A collaboration with pianist

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Ja ...

produced the albums ''Spain'' (2000), which won a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

, and ''Spain Again'' (2006). Tomatito has produced six solo albums. His 2005 album ''Aguadulce'' won a

for best flamenco album, and in 2010 he won his second solo

for ''Sonanta Suite''. His music for the film '' Vengo'', directed by

Tony Gatlif Tony Gatlif (born as Michel Dahmani on 10 September 1948 in Algiers) is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer. Personal Gatlif was born in Algeria of Pied noir ancestry. A ...

, won the

César Award for Best Music Written for a Film Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ces ...

in 2001. On March 11, 2019, he was awarded by the Premio Flamenco Radio of

Canal Sur Canal Sur ('South Channel') is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía (RTVA), the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this region by an Act of Parliament in its statute of autono ...

Style and instruments

Tomatito incorporates elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

in his style of flamenco; both, he says, "emerged as a response to discrimination, a cry of suffering, or the joy of liberation". Half of what he plays is improvised, he said. He frequently employs the

Phrygian mode The Phrygian mode (pronounced ) can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek ''tonos'' or ''harmonia,'' sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern ...

, and his favorite tuning is D, A, D, G, B♭, D. He plays guitars made by Manuel Reyes, and uses (and endorses) strings by Savarez.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1987: ''

Rosas del Amor Rosas del Amor is a 1987 flamenco album, the debut solo album of Spanish guitarist Tomatito. Track listing #Dedicado a Camarón (3:52) #La Chanca (4:03) #Rosas del Amor (4:04) #La Andonda (3:08) #Puerta de Sevilla (3:18) #Barri ...

'' * 1991: '' Barrio Negro'' * 1997: ''Guitarra Gitana'' * 2000: ''Spain'' (with

) * 2001: ''Paseo de los Castaños'' * 2004: '' Aguadulce'' * 2006: ''Spain Again'' (with

) *2008: ''Pansequito'' * 2010: ''Sonanta Suite'' (with

Josep Pons Josep Pons (born Josep Pons i Viladomat; 1957) is a Spanish conductor. Biography Pons was born in Puig-reig, Berguedà. He received his musical training at L'Escolania de Montserrat and continued his musical studies in Barcelona with such teac ...

and the

Orquesta Nacional de España The Orquesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Orchestra) is a symphonic orchestra that is based in Madrid, Spain. History Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the mergin ...

) * 2013: ''Soy Flamenco'' * 2016: ''Spain Forever'' (with

) *2019: '' Rodrigo: Concierto De Aranjuez''

Singles

* 2012: "Mi Santa" Ft Romeo

With Camarón de la Isla and Paco de Lucía

* 1981: "Como El Agua" * 1983: "

Calle Real Calle means "street" in Spanish and Venetian. Calle may also refer to: Places *Calle-Calle River, southern Chile *Stations of the TransMilenio mass-transit system of Bogotá, Colombia: **Suba Calle 95 (TransMilenio) ** Suba Calle 100 (TransMilen ...

" * 1984: "Vivire" * 1992: "Potro de Rabia y Miel"

With Camarón de la Isla

* 1979: " La Leyenda del Tiempo" * 1986: "Te lo Dice Camarón" * 1987: "Flamenco Vivo" * 1989: "Soy Gitano" * 1994: "Camarón Nuestro" * 1999: ''Paris 1987''

References

External links

Tomatito website
– Biography, discography, video collection and bibliography.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomatito 1958 births Living people Musicians from Andalusia Flamenco Spanish flamenco guitarists Spanish male guitarists Latin Grammy Award winners Milestone Records artists People from Almería Romani guitarists Spanish Romani people EmArcy Records artists