Home » Jazz Musicians » Chano Dominguez

Chano Dominguez

Though the association of flamenco music and an instrument is primarily the guitar, Chano Dominguez has been steadily taking his jazz approach on the piano head on into the genre with brilliant results.

"In jazz you improvise with a structure in the background and in flamenco [the improvisation] is part of the form. In flamenco, in a soleá, or in a bulera, the guitarist doesn't know what the cantaor is doing until the moment comes, and the cantaor doesn't know the falseta (variation, or melodic phrase, interspersed between successions of chords) that the guitarist is going to play for him."

Chano Dominguez is one of the jazz musicians that have been "recruited" by flamenco, although, at least in this instance, Chano had already had flamenco training, as the guitar was the first instrument that he learned to play, by ear. He also ventured into rock, but at that time he was playing keyboard. Before he descended fully onto the flamenco scene with his Chano Dominguez Trio, he had already worked with artists like Pepe de Lucia, Potito and Juan Manuel Canizares, on a few occasions.

Chano Dominguez has achieved an unusual integration between the rhythms and languages of jazz and flamenco. On his piano, he has played tangos, tanguillos, alegras, compas de buleras, fandangos, soleas, but he has tackled them using a traditional jazz structure. He even accompanied the bailador Blas de Cordoba on the piano, rather than the guitar, in the Sabadell Flamenco Festival, as he danced to different palos (forms). At present, Chano Dominguez is one of the musicians who is most in demand on the entire Spanish music scene, regardless of the musical genres. The list of persons he has worked with continues to grow in Spain and abroad. He has also appeared with Wynton Marsalis as a guest at the Jazz at the Lincoln Center performances.

Chano started his recordings as leader back in '93 with En Directo, and has built up a nice resume since. His Hecho a Mano, in 2002 has received much acclaim, and he has kept the momentum going with Iman, and Oye Como Viene, (also on DVD) in 2003, these were on the Sunnyside label. He jumped to the Karonte label with Chano, (2005) Con Alma, and Acercate Mas, both in 2006 and was part of the compilation project of Flamenco Jazz, on the Fremeux label in 2007.

His recent work with the Spanish chanteuse Martirio, Acoplados, has expanded his international appeal, and has crossed him well into the romantic bolero genre, with great success.

Read more

Tags

4
Jazzin' Around Europe

Play Petrucciani: A Special Tribute for a Special Musician

Read "Play Petrucciani: A Special Tribute for a Special Musician" reviewed by Phillip Woolever


Watching a good band at a small club is often one of the most enjoyable ways to experience jazz. Proper ambiance can conjure lasting sounds and images, as the relatively intimate space makes for optimal acoustics and definitive visual close-ups. That's what it was like for those fortunate or discerning enough to attend the first editions of an exceptional “Play Petrucciani" program by Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez and Italian trumpeter Flavio Boltro, with a powerful rhythmic assist from Martin Leiton ...

40
Album Review

Chano Dominguez: Over the Rainbow

Read "Over the Rainbow" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Jazz music is an interpretive art form, it is in fact, the quintessential American art form. This is an undeniable attribute to the genre, which over the past century has impacted musical culture internationally, sharing it's compositional and improvisational commonalities and absorbing the unique musical identities of neighboring musical movements. Certainly this is the case with the musical forms of Latin America, with notably strong contributions emanating from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and perhaps most prominently, the Afro-Cuban rhythms ...

358
Album Review

Chano Dominguez: Piano Ibérico

Read "Piano Ibérico" reviewed by Josep Pedro


Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez keeps on with his unique blending of flamenco and jazz with Piano Ibérico (> (Iberian Piano), an exquisite homage to some of Spain's most influential composers, including Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, and Frederic Mompou. Along with three new compositions of his own, Dominguez creates his own interpretations of these four piano composers. “They are the inspirers of this work and, to me, the first flamenco pianists because they were able to take the ...

702
Live Review

Chano Dominguez Quinteto Flamenco at Jazz Standard

Read "Chano Dominguez Quinteto Flamenco at Jazz Standard" reviewed by Ned Sublette


Chano Dominguez“The Flamenco Side of Kind of Blue" Jazz StandardNew York, NYDecember 3, 2009 I have a confession to make.

I've never listened to Kind of Blue.

Oh, I've heard the tunes over the years. You can't escape them. And I have lots of Miles Davis albums. ESP is my favorite. Jack Johnson. Various Prestige sides, which I bought as cutouts when I was a teenager. I never managed to buy Kind ...

660
Interview

Chano Dominguez: Piano with 'Duende'

Read "Chano Dominguez: Piano with 'Duende'" reviewed by Guillem Vidal


The meeting between Chano Domínguez and All About Jazz took place hours after the opening ceremony of the 41st Barcelona International Vol-Damm Jazz Festival, starring Wayne Shorter. Chano's enthusiasm is contagious: “Wayne Shorter's quartet is a fully fledged group with very clear objectives and led by one of the greatest living jazz legends," says Chano, who even though he was completing his next record with his flamenco quartet, did not miss the chimerical evening featuring the saxophonist, pianist Danilo Pérez, ...

1,080
Interview

Chano Domínguez: piano con duende

Read "Chano Domínguez: piano con duende" reviewed by Guillem Vidal


El encuentro entre Chano Domínguez y All About Jazz se produce horas después del concierto inaugural del 41 Voll-Damm Festival Internacional de Jazz de Barcelona, protagonizado por el cuarteto de Wayne Shorter. Su entusiasmo es notorio. “El de Wayne Shorter es un grupo hecho y derecho, con unos objetivos muy claros y una dirección bien marcada por uno de los grandes maestros que nos quedan vivos de la historia del jazz," valora Chano, que no falló a la quimérica velada ...

326
Album Review

Chano Dominguez Trio: Con Alma

Read "Con Alma" reviewed by Dr. Judith Schlesinger


This is a rather different Chano from the one who first enthralled me with Hecho a Mano (Hand-made), his blazing flamenco/jazz mix recorded in Madrid in 1996 and released on Sunnyside a few years ago. On Con Alma he's replaced the handclaps and multilayered percussion with a traditional jazz trio, bringing on world-class band mates George Mraz and Jeff Ballard. But his roots are still very much in evidence from the first track, a dynamic take on a traditional song--my ...

Read more articles
274

Performance / Tour

Chano Dominguez Flamenco Quintet: "The Flamenco Side of Kind of Blue" at Jazz Standard (NYC)

Chano Dominguez Flamenco Quintet: "The Flamenco Side of Kind of Blue" at Jazz Standard (NYC)

Source: Michael Ricci

December 4-6, 2009 Chano Dominguez - piano Mario Rossy - bass Blas Cordoba - cantaor Israel “Pirana" Suarez - cajon Tomasito - dance and palmas

Jazz Standard 116 East 27th Street (Between Park / Lexington) New York, NY 10016 212-576-2232 And now (as the saying goes) for something completely different: A stunning new interpretation of the 1959 Miles Davis classic Kind of Blue, as ...

87

Interview

Pianist Chano Dominguez Interviewed at AAJ

Pianist Chano Dominguez Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

The meeting between Chano Domínguez and All About Jazz took place hours after the opening ceremony of the 41st Barcelona International Vol-Damm Jazz Festival, starring Wayne Shorter. Chano's enthusiasm is contagious: “Wayne Shorter's quartet is a fully fledged group with very clear objectives and led by one of the greatest living jazz legends," says Chano, who even though he was completing his next record with his flamenco quartet, did not miss the chimerical evening featuring the saxophonist, pianist Danilo Perez, ...

186

Performance / Tour

Jazz Phrasing Here, Flamenco Flair There

Jazz Phrasing Here, Flamenco Flair There

Source: Michael Ricci

Chano Dominguez, the Spanish pianist, came to the Jazz Standard on Saturday with an unusual quartet for a jazz club. From left, there was Mr. Domnguez on piano; Israel Surez, known as Pirana, on a percussion setup designed around the wood box called the cajon; the flamenco singer Blas Cordoba; and Tomas Moreno Romero, known as Tomasito, who deserves his own paragraph. Tomasito is a palmero, with the flamenco-tradition job of clapping through the music’s variously accented 12-beat cycles. He ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Arsa 100 La Fórmula...

Sir Sultry Music
2022

buy

Over the Rainbow

Sunnyside Records
2017

buy

Piano Ibérico

Blue Note Records
2010

buy

Con Alma

Venus Records
2004

buy

Hecho a Mano

Sunnyside Records
2002

buy

En Directo

Blue Note
1997

buy

Videos

Similar

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.