From Pedro Iturralde to Chano Domínguez: Flamenco Jazz Today
Agustín Carbonell ‘El Bola’, a regular tocaor at the Tablao de Carmen, was one of the early flamenco musicians to delve into jazz. In the United States, several jazz artists had already begun incorporating flamenco inspirations and elements into their compositions, but jazz had not yet reached Spain. “We had less access to jazz here—there weren’t distribution networks like there are now. Jazz records made it here only because someone brought them back from the U.S. And the musicians there were more international and traveled a lot,” explains El Bola.
In the 1980s, several jazz clubs opened in Madrid: Café Central, Sala Clamores, and the now-closed Whiskey Jazz. Bola was a teenager who would drop in. “It was completely different from flamenco. To a flamenco musician, it sounded ugly. But I liked that—the unpleasantness—and that’s why I got into it. And once I understood that language, I was hooked. I loved the freedom they had when playing, the beauty of the music, the knowledge and brilliance of jazz. They could play whatever they wanted,” the guitarist recalls. He was one of the first of his generation to embrace jazz and has left several albums to show for it, such as Bola, his debut, and Desvaríos, recorded with saxophonist and flautist Jorge Pardo.
Flamenco Artists Step into Jazz
Although the first recordings came from the U.S., the relationship had begun tentatively a few decades earlier. The first musicians to flirt with New Orleans sounds were El Negro Aquilino and Fernando Vilches—true forerunners. As Carlos Aguilar stated in RTVE’s program Tapiz Sonoro, “Flamenco Jazz, una historia de amor”, these two were pioneers of flamenco saxophone during the Spanish Second Republic (1931–1939). They were often accompanied on guitar by Sabicas and Ramón Montoya. “At the time, newspapers compared them to flamenco singers: [playing the saxophone] it was as if they were singing cante jondo,” Aguilar notes.
These two saxophonists faded into obscurity in the years that followed, while in the U.S., experimentation continued. Then came the figure who would become the genre’s turning point: Pedro Iturralde, the saxophonist who paved the way. “Together with Tete Montoliu, he was a great pioneer and promoter of jazz in Spain. Among his undeniable merits is having developed the first foundations of flamenco jazz,” wrote journalist Fernando Neira in a 2019 article, one year before the Navarrese musician passed away.
In 1963, Iturralde released Flamenco Twist; between 1967 and 1968, he recorded Jazz Flamenco Volumes 1 and 2, featuring Paco de Lucía. In 1974, he released Flamenco-Jazz, again with the guitarist from Algeciras, and in 1976, Flamenco Studio, this time with guitarist Paco Cepero. In these albums, Iturralde restructured and re-harmonized Andalusian themes, achieving a real fusion of both sounds. He didn’t just layer flamenco strings over a jazz rhythm. As Aguilar explains, he achieved “a fluid and substantial interaction between instruments that, in theory, are dissimilar—like the American-style saxophone and flamenco-style guitar.”
The 1980s Generation
In the 1970s, musicians like trumpeter Arturo Fornes, pianist José Romero, composer Juan Carlos Dolores, and the band Dolores continued exploring this hybrid path. Around the same time, Mario Pacheco launched the label Nuevos Medios, which supported groups that fell under the so-called Nuevo Flamenco umbrella, such as Pata Negra (closer to blues) and Ketama. From this fertile ground, the first full generation of flamenco jazz emerged in the 1980s. It included flautist Jorge Pardo, bassist Carles Benavent (who, along with Paco de Lucía and three other musicians, formed the legendary Sextet), pianist Chano Domínguez, double bassist Javier Colina, percussionist Tino di Geraldo, and tocaor El Bola, among others.
Flamenco jazz reached the big screen in the year 2000. Director Fernando Trueba released Calle 54, a film about Latin jazz. It included the piece Oye cómo viene, featuring Blas Córdoba “El Kejío” on vocals and Chano Domínguez on piano, described as “the first truly bilingual musician in this new genre [flamenco jazz].” Jerry González (an American of Puerto Rican descent and a pioneer of Latin jazz) traveled to Madrid for the film’s premiere and was so captivated by flamenco that he decided to move there. He founded the group Los Piratas del Flamenco, which released a self-titled album. Guest vocalist Diego el Cigala took part in the project, marking his breakthrough. He would go on to explore the intersection between Cuban music, jazz, and flamenco’s quejío in iconic albums like Lágrimas Negras.
Barcelona: A Synonym for Fusion
Today, Barcelona stands out as one of the cities where the evolution of this kinship between flamenco and jazz can truly be appreciated. The Taller de Músics, a prestigious music institution in Catalonia and Spain, has brought together jazz and flamenco musicians since its founding. It currently offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz and Flamenco Performance (including both singing and guitar), and actively encourages students to draw inspiration from both genres, regardless of their chosen specialization. At the Taller’s own festival, Ciutat Flamenco, there is always space for jazz. In fact, the latest edition closed with a concert at L’Auditori led by Jorge Pardo, accompanied by jazz and flamenco musicians alike.
One former student of the Taller de Músics, cantaora Irene Ribas, has been exploring this fusion for years and is currently involved in a new project alongside Chano Domínguez on piano. Their performance goes one step further by incorporating electronic music, and will debut at the upcoming Sónar Festival in Barcelona. “It will be a great way to reach new audiences,” she explains, “because people go to Sónar to discover music, even if they wouldn’t normally stop to listen to flamenco or jazz. I perform a seguiriya, for example, that’s incredibly powerful thanks to the drums and synths.”
What is it about jazz that continues to attract so many flamenco artists? According to Irene, “They’re completely complementary musical styles. They share so much language, both harmonically and rhythmically. They also share a culture of listening live, and the raw emotion of improvisation.” Her role model in this space: Rosario la Tremendita. She’s one of the many artists expanding the legacy of flamenco jazz, alongside pianists David Peña Dorantes, Diego Amador, and Marco Mezquida; saxophonist Antonio Lizana; trumpeter and guitarist Enriquito; and the band Los Aurora.
In addition to Ciutat Flamenco, another festival that embraces flamenco jazz is Mas i Mas. In this year’s edition, pianist Andrés Barrios will perform a joint show with dancer El Yiyo, continuing a tradition that in past years has included collaborations such as Chano Domínguez and Mariola Membrives, or the Oleándole show, featuring dancers, singers, guitarists, and trumpet players.
Flamenco Jazz or Jazz Flamenco?
“There are still no flamenco-jazzologists,” says El Bola with a laugh. It’s a genre—or perhaps a subgenre—that remains relatively recent and lightly studied. As Juan Zalagaz points out in the aforementioned article: “Even the definitions of ‘jazz’ and ‘flamenco’ themselves are contested, so uniting both under a single concept brings no less difficulty.” And then the inevitable question arises: should it be called jazz flamenco or flamenco jazz?
According to Carlos Aguilar, the term flamenco jazz is more accurate: “Because it’s flamenco musicians who are approaching jazz—and flamenco is more than a hundred years older.” El Bola illustrates the blending of the two approaches to harmony: “We flamencos play the Andalusian cadence. But within that cadence, [jazz musicians] insert twenty passing chords. Now we’re borrowing their formulas. For example, in flamenco, when someone played a D minor chord, it was just that: D minor. Now a cantaor might call D minor, and any guitarist will play five different inversions,” he explains.
To fully grasp this musical dialogue, the best way is to experience it live and up close—just as it happens every night at the Tablao de Carmen.
