Tomatito

Tomatito (2016)

Tomatito (* 20th August 1958 in Almería ) is the stage name of Spanish flamenco - guitarist José Fernández Torres . He is considered one of the pioneers of Flamenco Nuevo .

Life

“Tomatito” ( tomato, Spanish reduction of tomato ) was born on August 20, 1958 in Almería . His grandfather Miguel Fernández Cortés, better known as "El Tomate", and his father José Fernández Castro, also known as "El Tomate", were well-known folklore and flamenco guitarists. It was his uncle , Tío Miguel , who was probably his greatest inspiration and Tomatito on his CD Barrio Negro a Bulería dedicated.

Tomatito made his first public appearance with guitar at the age of 10. At the age of 12, the family moved from Almería to Málaga . There he learned to play the clarinet. In addition to making music in various orchestras in the city, he performed together with his father in various tablaos such as the Taberna Gitana . There he not only had the famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía as a listener, but also got to know Camarón de la Isla . He noticed the guitarist at a festival in Málaga and he remembered Tomatito, who was then 15 years old. An 18-year collaboration began between the two artists, which only ended with the death of Camarón.

During this time he stood with many important people of flamenco, such as B. Enrique Morente , La Susi , Vicente Soto , Pansequito and the like. a., on stage. He performed in Montreux and New York , among others .

After Camarón de la Isla's death in 1992, Tomatito increasingly began to play with other artists. He performed at many festivals, including a. in Istanbul , Lyon and beyond in Switzerland , Japan , Germany and France . His fame rose rapidly, so that artists like Frank Sinatra and Elton John worked with him.

In 1997 Tomatito was officially awarded the "Medalla de Plata" by the Provincial Government of Andalusia . In the same year, his first musical called Madre Caballo came out. A year later he wrote the score for the German film Am I beautiful? by Doris Dörrie with.

Another highlight of his career followed in 2000 with the Grammy Latino for the best jazz album Spain (with Michel Camilo ). For París in 1987 he also received the Latin Grammy for best flamenco album.

In addition to many tours around the world (Argentina, Japan, Cuba, all of Europe), the 2001 film Vengo , in which he also worked as a co-author, increased its popularity enormously.

Discography

With Camarón de la Isla

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		IT
2018	Montreux 1991	IT39 (14 weeks) IT

More albums

• 1979 La leyenda del Tiempo
• 1981 Como el Agua
• 1983 Calle Real
• 1984 Viviré
• 1986 Te lo dice Camarón
• 1987 Flamenco Vivo
• 1988 Disco de Oro
• 1989 Soy gitano
• 1991 Autorretrato
• 1992 Potro de Rabia y Miel
• 1993 Camarón Nuestro
• 1999 París 1987
• 2000 Camarón, Antología Inédita

Solo albums and other works

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
		IT
2000	Spain	IT71 (12 weeks) IT	with Michel Camilo
2006	Spain Again	IT22 (9 weeks) IT	with Michel Camilo
2010	Sonanta suite	IT36 (1 week) IT	with Orquesta Nacional de España under Josep Pons
2013	Soy flamenco	IT64 (5 weeks) IT
2016	Spain Forever	IT33 (19 weeks) IT	with Michel Camilo
2018	De verdad	IT7 (13 weeks) IT	with José Mercé
2019	Concierto de aranjuez	IT93 (2 weeks) IT

More albums

• 1987 Rosas del Amor
• 1991 Barrio Negro
• 1997 Guitarra Gitana
• 2001 Paseo de los Castaños
• 2002 Tomatito
• 2004 Aguadulce (with El Potito, El Guadiana, El Cigala and Mari Angeles F. Torres, his daughter)

Filmography

• 1995 Flamenco as an actor / musician
• 1997 am I beautiful? as a composer
• 2000 Vengo as an actor / musician
• 2002 Salomé as a composer

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: ES

Web links

• Official homepage (Spanish and English)
• www.flamenco-world.com (Spanish and English)
• www.deflamenco.com (Spanish)