THE CONTROVERSIAL IDENTITY OF FLAMENCO JAZZ: A NEW

HISTORICAL AND ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Sergio Pamies Rodriguez, B.M., M.M.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2016

APPROVED:

John Murphy, Major Professor

Kirsten Broberg, Related Field Professor
Frederick Hamilton, Committee Member
Benjamin Brand, Director of Graduate
Studies
Warren Henry, Interim Dean of the College
of Music
Costas Tsatsoulis, Dean of the Toulouse
Graduate School
 Pamies Rodriguez, Sergio. The Controversial Identity of Flamenco Jazz: A New

Historical and Analytical Approach. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance-Jazz Studies), May

2016, 152 pp., 1 figure, 40 musical examples, references, 132 titles.

There are certain recordings by important artists such as Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis,

John Coltrane, Pedro Iturralde, Chick Corea, and Paco de Luca, among others, that have been

associated with the label flamenco jazz. This label is entering jazz discourse, and it needs to be

better understood in order to clarify its history, its identity, and its impact on recent

developments in flamenco that are labeled nuevo flamenco. There is a lack of agreement in the

existing literature on flamenco jazz on the evaluation of these recordings and these artists

achievements and contributions to this field. These writings encompass authors from different

backgrounds: journalists, critics, and musicologists, who have approached their analysis of the

recordings from different perspectives. The differences in professional backgrounds, approaches,

and purpose of the writings of these authors has resulted in controversy about this label.

Therefore, the flamenco jazz scholarly conversation needs more objective writings from an

analytical point of view. This historiographical study presents a more comprehensive evaluation

of flamenco jazz by discussing selected recordings using analytical tools from jazz studies. These

analytical arguments clarify the aesthetics of flamenco jazz and the artistic processes that these

artists went through when combining musical elements from flamenco and jazz, which in some

cases are described as creative misreading. In this century of cultural globalization, where jazz

has become a diverse expression of world music because of its capacity to absorb traits from

other musical practices, this study can be a resource for international jazz musicians who are

seeking to combine jazz with their musical cultural heritage.

 Copyright 2016

by

Sergio Pamies Rodriguez

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My heartfelt gratitude to my family, Antonio Pamies Bertrn, Francisca Rodrguez

Simn, and Adriana Rueda Harms, for their unconditional support. I thank my advisory

committee members, Dr. John Murphy, Dr. Kirsten Broberg, and Prof. Frederick Hamilton, who

shared their knowledge with generosity. I express my deepest gratitude to Prof. Stefan Karlsson,

for helping me achieve a higher level of musicianship. I am thankful for all the help I have

received at University of North Texas, from professors Edward Soph, Jay Saunders, Richard

DeRosa, Lynn Seaton, Brad Leali, Mike Steinel, Jos Aponte, Rodney Booth, Gene Cho,

Bernardo Illari, Mark McKnight, and Peter Mondelli. I would also like to thank Alyssa

Hedenstrom for her professionalism. A memory of gratitude to Bob Belden, whose liner notes

for The Flamenco Jazz Project encouraged me to become a better educator.

I express my admiration and gratitude to Josemi Carmona, Diego Amador, Jorge Pardo,

Pepe Luis Carmona, and Rubem Dantas.

This research is dedicated to Paco De Luca and Chick Corea, for their invaluable

contribution to this particular music that combines two of my biggest passions in life: flamenco

and jazz.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES .............................................................................................. viii

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1

Review of Literature ................................................................................................3

State of the Problem .................................................................................................7

Method .....................................................................................................................8

Potential Contributions of Research ........................................................................9

II. EARLY STAGES OF FLAMENCO JAZZ.................................................................11

Lionel Hamptons Jazz Flamenco (1956) ..............................................................11

Miles Davis Spanish Heart: Miles Ahead (1957), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of

Spain (1960) ...........................................................................................................13

Charles Mingus Tijuana Moods (1957) ................................................................15

Tony Scotts Dedications (1959) ...........................................................................16

John Coltranes Ol (1961) ....................................................................................17

III. WHAT IS FLAMENCO JAZZ? PEDRO ITURRALDESS JAZZ FLAMENCO

(1967) ...........................................................................................................................19

Buleras...............................................................................................................21

Caf de Chinitas .................................................................................................28

El Vito ................................................................................................................43

iv
 Iturraldes Contributions to the Aesthetics of Flamenco Jazz ...............................49

IV. DE LUCIA AND COREAS MUSICIAL ADVENTURES .......................................53

Paco De Luca and the Guitar Trios .......................................................................53

Coreas Spanish Heart............................................................................................59

V. DE LUCIA AND COREAS COLLABORATION: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW

ERA OF FLAMENCO JAZZ ......................................................................................62

Touchstone: Procession, Ceremony, Departure .................................................63

Paco De Lucas solo cadenza....................................................................63

Chick Coreas solo cadenza .......................................................................68

Touchtstones Middle Section in Quartet Format ..................................71

Chick Corea ...................................................................................73

Paco De Luca ................................................................................73

Carles Benavent .............................................................................77

The Yellow Nimbus ...........................................................................................79

Zyryab and the Touchstone Group .................................................................83

Evaluating the Results of the Experiment and the Concept of Creative

Misreading .............................................................................................................85

VI. THE INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF FLAMENCO JAZZ ON POPULAR MUSIC IN

SPAIN: NUEVO FLAMENCO ....................................................................................89

Spanish Jazz Musicians: Flamenco Jazz, or Jazz Flamenco? ................................89

Mario Pacheco and Nuevos Medios ......................................................................93

Los Jvenes Flamencos ..........................................................................95

Jazzpaa..................................................................................................95

v
 The Increasing Interest of Flamenco Musicians in Jazz ........................................97

VII. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................100

APPENDIX A: ANALYZED TRANSCRIPTIONS....................................................................105

Touchstone (excerpts) ..................................................................................................106

The Yellow Nimbus (excerpt) ......................................................................................127

APPENDIX B: SUGGESTED RECORDINGS FOR FURTHER LISTENING OF FLAMENCO

JAZZ ............................................................................................................................................134

APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL MUSICAL EXAMPLES FROM RECORDINGS CITED .....137

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................144

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1: Pivotal options in flamenco harmony.............................................................................35

vii
 LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

All the musical examples in the text and appendices are my original transcriptions of the cited

sources. I believe these musical examples are a fair use of copyrighted work as allowed on

section 107 from The Copyright Act of October 19, 1976.

Page

Example 1: Basic accents pattern in a traditional buleras ............................................................21

Example 2: Iturralde, Buleras, first falseta (0:01-0:15) ............................................................22

Example 3a: De Luca, Remate in Buleras (0:31-0:33) ............................................................23

Example 3b: Differences in the rhythmic and harmonic interpretation of buleras ......................24

Example 4: Piana, Chromaticism in a descending line targeting a chord tone (1:34-1:36)...........25

Example 5: Piana, Chromatic notes as an enclosure targeting an arpeggiated idea (1:51-1:53) ...25

Example 6: Iturralde, Four-notes group sequence over A Phrygian (3:22-3:26) ..........................26

Example 7: Grassl, Outside playing approach to chromaticism (5:01-5:07) .................................26

Example 8: Grassl, AmM7sus4 (b9) combination with A Phrygian Featuring chromatic passing

notes (5:08-5:12) ............................................................................................................................27

Example 9: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Head arrangement (1:53-2:05)....................................29

Example 10: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Head arrangement with walking bass

line (2:06-2:12) ..............................................................................................................................30

Example 11: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Rhythmic modulation (2:12-2:20) ............................31

Example 12: Andalusian cadence, Traditional harmonic analysis ................................................34

Example 13: Jos Antonio Prez, New model for Andalusian cadence analysis ..........................34

Example 14: Prez, Justification of three tonalities in flamenco harmony based on buleras

harmonic rhythm ............................................................................................................................34

viii
Example 15: Two options of the Andalusian cadence harmonic analysis.....................................35

Example 16: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Harmonic and metric transition of solo section (2:15-

2:20) ...............................................................................................................................................36

Example 17: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Harmonic analysis of Iturraldes solo section (3:18-

4:14) ...............................................................................................................................................37

Example 18: Iturraldes improvisational devices over ii-V of flat vi ............................................39

Example 19: Half-whole diminished lick ......................................................................................39

Example 20a: D half-whole diminished over a D root ..................................................................40

Example 20b: C half-whole diminished over a D root ..................................................................40

Example 21: Iturraldes half-whole diminished patterns in the style of John Coltrane.................40

Example 22: Joe Hendersons arpeggiated voicing idea on Inner Urge (1964), 3:09-3:15 .......41

Example 23: Iturraldes use of Joe Hendersons shapes ................................................................41

Example 24a: Iturraldes recurring rhythm and articulation..........................................................42

Example 24b: Iturraldes second improvised chorus in Caf de Chinitas, (3:18-4:16) .............42

Example 25: Differences in the buleras and seguiriya rhythmic patterns ....................................44

Example 26: Iturralde, El Vito refrain (0:22-0:45) ....................................................................44

Example 27: Iturralde, Melody of El Vito verses adjusted to the seguiriyas rhythm and

harmonic rhythm (0:46-0:59).........................................................................................................46

Example 28: Popular harmonization for El Vito ........................................................................48

Example 29: Iturraldes reharmonization of El Vito refrain ......................................................49

Example 30: Coreas harmonic interpretation of Andalusian cadence using secondary dominants

on Spanish Fantasy Part III (0:20-0:37) .....................................................................................60

Example 31: De Lucas solo cadenza (1:46-2:34) ........................................................................64

ix
Example 32: De Lucas solo cadenza (2:35-2:47) ........................................................................65

Example 33: De Luca, Back door progression in the key of flat III, V7 going back to i (2:47-

2:59) ...............................................................................................................................................67

Example 34: De Lucas solo cadenza (3:00-3:20) ........................................................................67

Example 35: Coreas adaptations of flamenco guitar techniques during his solo cadenza (3:21-

3:50) ...............................................................................................................................................69

Example 36: Coreas pick-up setting up the tempo and the characteristic remate of Touchstones

middle section (3:51-4:00) .............................................................................................................71

Example 37: Harmonic analysis of the form of Touchstone middle section .............................72

Example 38: Touchstone contrasting section (8:55-9:39) ..........................................................78

Example 39: Chick Coreas solo (excerpt) on The Yellow Nimbus (3:39-4:02) .......................82

Example 40: Jorge Pardos introduction to Chiquito (0:06-0:33) ..............................................91

x
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The definition of jazz has always been controversial. Since Jelly Roll Morton claimed to be

the inventor of jazz, there have always been many discussions about its origins.1 What is jazz?

The answer to that question has changed along with the musical elements that define it throughout

its own history. Since the late 1940s and early 1950s, when jazz expanded into different sub-styles,

some labels entered the jazz discourse in an attempt by critics, historians, journalists, and recording

companies to categorize each different approach, such as cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, among

others. If defining jazz has been divisive, the definition of those sub-styles has been even more so.

Scholars have been aware of this problem throughout jazz historiography; the jazz tradition

paradigm emerged in order to solve this controversy, arguing that, in all of these categories, some

of the essence of jazz remains.2 The identity of these sub-styles has already been discussed,

analyzed, and documented; jazz scholars have confronted this problem and paid it the attention that

it deserves. It is necessary to understand these labels, what they represent, and how they entered

the jazz discourse, since there is potential risk of creating misunderstandings when not using them

properly.3

There is a history behind each of these styles and, in many cases, even historical facts and

recordings, which are used to illustrate their characteristics. Cool jazz has always been associated

with Miles Davis and his Birth of the Cool sessions; hard bop has been associated with Art Blakey,

Horace Silver and The Jazz Messengers. Ornette Colemans Free Jazz or Miles Davis Kind of

1
Gunther Schuller, Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 135.
Whitney Balliett, Jelly Roll, Jabbo, and Fats: 19 Portraits in Jazz (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983).
Morton also claims he originated scat singing and that he was the first to use washboard and string bass on a recording.
2
Scott DeVeaux, Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography. Black American Literature Forum 25, no. 3
(1991): 525-560.
3
Nat Hentoff, liner notes for Hard Bop, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. Columbia 1040. Hentoff suggestion
about using terms such as Hard Bop stating, The term should be utilized with caution as indicating only a general
direction whose practitioners also are apt to wander into other frames of jazz reference.

1
Blue have also been considered the germ of free jazz and modal jazz, respectively. Gil Evans

arrangement of Donna Lee for Claude Thornhills Big Band, Miles Davis interpretation of

Monks Round Midnight at Newport Jazz Festival, and George Russells Concerto for Billy the

Kid, are examples of how these labels have also been bracketed together with historical facts.4

The confusion was multiplied when jazz musicians took elements from other musical

genres, such as rhythm and blues (R&B), bossa nova, rock, pop, and Indian music, in order to

enrich their music. In some cases, jazz musicians borrowed characteristic instrumentation,

rhythms, harmonies, or even attitudes from these different genres from which they drew

inspiration. Many of these mixtures have been embraced under the word fusion. The term

fusion is not accurate since jazz has always been the resulting blend of different musical

traditions since its origin. Most of these different kinds of jazz have already entered jazz

historiography, jazz education, and the jazz canon. We are able to locate their origins and associate

them with some artists and recordings; their musical features have been analyzed, and the

contributions by important composers and performers have been credited. Nevertheless, there has

been a lack of agreement, scholarly writing, and musical analysis about one phenomenon during

jazz history that is starting to become familiar to people associated with jazz: flamenco jazz.5 This

creates a problem. There is a need in jazz literature for more contributions to this specific field,

since flamenco jazz needs to be better understood in order to clarify its history, its identity, and its

musical possibilities. The inclusion of Latin jazz into jazz scholarly writing, jazz festivals, jazz

4
Scott DeVeaux and Gary Giddins, Jazz (New York: Norton & Company, 2009). Henry Martin and Keith Waters,
Essential Jazz: The first 100 years (Belmont: Thomson/Schirmer, 2005). Mark C. Gridley, Concise Guide to Jazz
(New Jersey: Pearson Education, 1992).
5
Pedro Calvo and Jos Manuel Gamboa, Historia-Gua del Nuevo Flamenco: El Duende de Ahora (Madrid: Ediciones
Gua Musical, 1994) 137. Cited in Juan Zagalaz, The Jazz-Flamenco Connection: Chick Corea and Paco de Luca
Between 1976 and 1982, Journal of Jazz Studies 8, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 37.

2
pedagogy and universities, and the jazz canon, helped it to be acknowledged by the jazz

community and therefore, should be taken as a model for this study.

Review of Literature

Christopher Washburne states that the collaboration of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo

resulted in a new style that needed to be described under a new label, in order to separate it from

its predecessors in combining jazz with Latin-influenced musical elements.6 In agreement with

other scholars (Roberts, Delannoy), he credits their historical performance of the Afro-Cubano

Drums Suite at Canegie Hall in 1947 as the birth of Latin jazz, suggesting that Gillespies status

among the jazz community helped to legitimize this new sub-style.7 In contrast, scholarly writing

about flamenco jazz is still in a young stage, and the variety in professional backgrounds of its

contributors makes it difficult to find such an agreement.

Throughout jazz history, there have been some musical manifestations experimenting with

elements from flamenco and jazz that have been credited by scholars as flamenco jazz to some

extent, including Lionel Hamptons album Jazz Flamenco (1956), Charles Mingus Tijuana Moods

(recorded in 1957, released in 1962), Miles Davis Miles Ahead (1957), Kind of Blue (1959), and

Sketches of Spain (1960), John Coltranes Ol (1961), Pedro Iturraldes Jazz Flamenco (1967), and

Chick Coreas Touchstone (1982). None of these authors different writings had the same

purposes. While some of these authors wrote in an informative way without getting too involved

with musical details, some others wrote with a critical attitude. The purpose of these writings is

also different: research articles, historical overviews, liner notes, and album reviews.

6
Washburne is a well respected scholar whom has contributed greatly to Latin jazz historiography. Some of his more
important articles in this subject are Latin Jazz: The Other Jazz, and Play it con filin!: The Swing and Expression
of Salsa, among others.
7
Christopher Washburne, Latin Jazz: The Other Jazz, Current Musicology 71-73 (Spring 2001-Spring 2002): 411.

3
 Jos Mara Garca Martinez, a well-known journalist and jazz critic in Spain, includes a

brief overview of flamenco jazz in his book Del Fox-trot al Jazz Flamenco: El Jazz en Espaa

1919-1996 (From Fox-Trot to Jazz Flamenco: Jazz in Spain 1929-1996). He talks about jazz

flamenco in an informative way, however the title of his essay reveals the existent controversy and

lack of agreement regarding this sub-style: Jazz y flamenco, la difcil convivencia (Jazz and

flamenco, the difficult coexistence).8 Garca cites Hamptons, Davis, Coltranes, Iturraldes, and

Coreas albums, without getting into musical details or citing the names of the albums containing

these musical explorations. Garca acknowledges Paco de Lucas contribution to flamenco jazz

and cites Spanish musicians who have continued exploring what he calls a marriage between the

two musical genres. Although his approach is not critical, Garcas short essay represents a great

source to trace the evolution of flamenco jazz. Garca also cites some negative critiques that

Spanish musicians have received in their efforts to connect jazz and flamenco.9

Luis Clemente includes another discussion about flamenco jazz in his book Historia del

Nuevo Flamenco (New Flamenco History).10 Clemente cites Hampton, Miles, and Coltrane as

flamenco jazz predecessors, and then introduces two other recordings that have not been

mentioned in other discussions: Carlos Montoyas recorded jam-session in New York in 1958,

and Charles Mingus Tijuana Moods (1957). Although Clementes approach is descriptive as well,

he provides some critical thoughts about these recordings. He compares Miles Davis Sketches of

Spain, a conceptual work, with Carlos Montoyas recordings: Some formulas are repeated and

the experiment did not stood the test of time. Clementes chapter about jazz flamenco provides a

large list of artists and recordings that connect flamenco and jazz to some extent. The list includes

8
Unless otherwise noted, all translations are my own.
9
Jos Mara Garca Martnez, Del Fox-Trot al Jazz Flamenco: El Jazz en Espaa, 1919-1995 (Madrid: Alianza
Editorial, 1996), 240-243.
10
Luis Clemente, Historia del Nuevo Flamenco (Valencia: Editorial La Mscara, 1995), 16-20.

4
artists such as Paul Bley (El Cordobs, Music Matador), Chick Corea (Light as a Feather, My

Spanish Heart, and Touchstone), Hampton Hawes (Spanish Steps), Joe Pass (Paco de Luca

from Virtuoso #3), Al Di Meola (Elegant Gypsy), and John McLaughlin (Apocalypse). Clemente

dedicates one section to discuss Iturraldes works. Although Clemente provides valuable

information about Iturraldes recordings, critical evaluations of his musical accomplishments are

missing. Clemente continues his chapter providing information about Spanish artists associated

with flamenco jazz: Paco de Luca, Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Chano Domnguez, and Nono

Garca among others. In spite of the shortage of critical statements, Clemente provides valuable

testimonies by some of the musicians discussed in the text (Miles Davis and Jorge Pardo) and

some reactions by critics, such as a negative statement about De Lucas role in Coreas

Touchstone, by flamenco critic Carlos Arbelos.11

Ivn Iglesias overview of flamenco jazz has its purpose in demonstrating how Pedro

Iturraldes experiment with flamenco gave Spanish jazz a new sense of nationality that helped him

reach broader audiences.12 Iglesias mentions Hampton, Davis, Coltrane, and Corea, although he

credits Iturralde for being the inventor of this musical hybridization, supporting this idea citing

other scholars, such as Luc Delannoy. When describing Iturraldes music, his approach is

descriptive, however, there is a lack of musical analysis that could have helped to identify

Iturraldes musical achievements.

In the liner notes for the last reissue of Pedro Iturraldes Jazz Flamenco (Vol. 1 & Vol. 2),

Javier Bayo cites Hamptons, Davis, and Coltranes discussed recordings.13 Bayos evaluation of

these artists accomplishments in the field of flamenco jazz is more critical than any other authors,

11
Clemente, Historia del Nuevo Flamenco, 25.
12
Ivn Iglesias, La hibridacin musical en Espaa como proyeccin de identidad nacional orientada al mercado: El
jazz-flamenco, Revista de Musicologa (2005): 826-838.
13
Javi Bayo, Liner Notes, Jazz Flamenco, Pedro Iturralde, VAMPI CD 154, 2015 re-issue.

5
although he acknowledges the historical importance and the unquestionable quality of these

recordings. Bayos evaluation of these flamenco jazz predecessors is only descriptive because of

the nature of the text. It is not his intention to make claims about flamenco jazz but to introduce the

historical context of this important recording and its importance in Spanish jazz. Bayo contributes

with an interesting idea:

Even though both artists [Davis and Coltrane] lacked a direct, field knowledge of the true
flamenco essence, their personal interpretations of the genre () validated this type of
fusion as an acceptable line of investigation within modal jazz, thus helping, without any
doubt, the acceptance of later works such as Iturraldes by recording labels and audiences.14

A recent writing that contributed to this scholarly conversation is Juan Zagalazs research

article The Jazz Flamenco Connection: Chick Corea and Paco de Luca Between 1976 and 1982,

published in 2012 in the Journal of Jazz Studies. Zagalaz suggests a historical fact such as the

collaboration between Corea and de Luca as the starting point of flamenco jazz at a high level of

sophistication, arguing that Corea is the jazz musician who studied flamenco more in depth than all

of his predecessors, and therefore contributed to this new sub-style the most.15 Besides exploring

this collaboration between two masters of the jazz and flamenco worlds respectively, Zagalazs

goal is to review the work of various emerging Spanish musicians in order to identify, insofar as

possible, the aesthetic origins of what would be later named Jazz-Flamenco.16 Zagalaz includes

musical analysis and short transcription excerpts from the opening track of Touchstone to support

his arguments.

Zagalazs assertion about the contribution of Chick Corea to flamenco jazz is well founded,

although a more complete inquiry into the Corea-De Luca collaboration requires analytical

consideration of more parameters than improvised melody and chord-scale choices. His analysis of

14
Ibid.
15
Juan Zagalaz, The Jazz-Flamenco Connection, 41.
16
Ibid., 34.

6
Touchstone does not give much credit to Paco de Luca in the success of this particular

recording, although he praises De Lucas ability to introduce jazz improvisation into flamenco

music early in his career. I believe De Luca, as Corea did, demonstrated a better understanding of

jazz than in any of his previous incursions, and it can be shown with musical analysis as well, both

of his contributions in Touchstone and on earlier collaborations with Pedro Iturralde, Al DiMeola,

Larry Coryell, and John McLughlin.

A more comprehensive analytical approach is necessary in order to complete my shared

goal alongside Zagalaz to find the aesthetics of flamenco jazz. First, there is a need to understand

what the exact contributions that happened during the early stages of flamenco jazz were in order

to evaluate Coreas and De Lucas further accomplishments.

State of the Problem

Authors have written about the important flamenco jazz predecessors without evaluating

their works from a strictly musical and performance analysis, excepting Zagalaz. There are many

analytical methods that scholars use in modern jazz research that would help reach a higher

understanding of both the flamenco jazz predecessors (Hampton, Miles, Mingus, Coltrane) and

Touchstone (Corea and De Luca), such as rhythmic analysis, instrumentation analysis, harmonic

analysis, an analysis of the improvised interaction between the performers, and the use of flamenco

and jazz elements within the compositions. Garcas, Iglesias, Bayos, and Clementes flamenco

jazz overviews do not intend to reveal the musical challenges that the discussed artists went

through. Zagalaz limits his analysis to Touchstone, the first track of the album, and I believe an

analysis of the second track, The Yellow Nimbus would have strengthened his argument about

Chick Coreas deep involvement in flamenco music. A more comprehensive and analytical

approach to the flamenco jazz narrative would also help to dissuade some negative opinions that

7
Spanish musicians have received from critics for their approach to jazz, flamenco, and its

combination.17

Method

This investigation will use a combination of different methods. It will be done through a

historiographical perspective, since it will be a critical study of historical writing. However, this

study cannot be completed with written documentation alone. As stated before, the purpose of this

study could not be accomplished without musical analysis using advanced jazz research tools.

Gunther Schuller, one of the principal contributors to jazz historiography, conceived historical

narratives from an analytical point of view, using recordings as the primary sources.18 Other

scholars in modern jazz research, such as Keith Waters, combine historiographical methods with

analytical methods using jazz and traditional music theory tools. 19 In my study of significant

recordings of flamenco jazz I will combine these two approaches: historiographical and analytical.

The musical analysis presented in this work uses different procedures depending on the

nature of the specific recording, in an attempt to clarify the intriguing aspects of each one. It is

crucial in this project not only to understand each recording but the relations among all of them.

The analytical procedures will include original transcriptions, jazz theoretical analysis, analysis of

the improvised interaction and interplay among the performers, analysis of characteristic

instrumentation and orchestration devices borrowed from flamenco and jazz, and analysis of the

characteristic defining elements of both flamenco and jazz and how they have been borrowed and

used in a new context.

17
Garca, Del Fox-Trot al Jazz Flamenco, 243. Garca cites in his overview of flamenco jazz two important negative
quotes by Ebbe Traberg and ngel lvarez Caballero regarding flamenco jazz.
18
Schuller, Early Jazz.
19
Keith Waters, Modes, Scales, Functional, Harmony, and Nonfunctional Harmony in the Compositions of Herbie
Hancock, Journal of Music Theory 49, no. 2 (2005): 333-357.

8
 Scholars and critics involved in the historical narrative of flamenco jazz have made

extensive use of quotes from published interviews with the musicians and artists involved in these

discussed recordings, which comprise the primary sources. However, none of the cited authors in

my review of the existent literature have interviewed these musicians themselves in order to

generate new sources that could be compared with their own arguments or used as evidence. Paul

Berliner, in his work Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation, used interviews in a

clever way, complementing his arguments with the testimonies of famous jazz masters about their

learning process. This study has been complemented for using some statements from important

flamenco jazz contributors that helped to reveal details of the artistic process that cannot be

deciphered from transcriptions. These statements have been collected from different sources,

including liner notes, audiovisual documentaries, biographical works, and interviews.

Potential Contributions of Research

The music of Chick Coreas collaboration with Paco de Luca combines elements from

both jazz and flamenco music in a new ambitious and sophisticated level, and therefore, should be

credited as the emergence of a new sub-style that can be accurately described as flamenco jazz.

Coreas and de Lucas achievements in Touchstone are a great example of the enormous potential

and possibilities that this genre possesses for forthcoming generations of musicians both in Spain

and throughout the rest of the world. In fact, flamenco jazz has been widely explored and

cultivated by famous jazz artists such as Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Chano Domnguez, Vince

Mendoza, Michael Brecker, Perico Sambeat, Maria Schneider, Tomatito, George Benson, Michel

Camilo, Diego Amador, Jerry Gonzlez, Marc Miralta, Dave Holland, Pepe Habichuela, Enrique

Morente, Pat Metheny, and Wynton Marsalis, among others. At the same time, flamenco jazz (and

Paco de Lucas Sextet) contributed widely to the emergence of the nuevo flamenco, a musical

9
movement started in Spain during the 1980s mostly supported by the recording label Nuevos

Medios that revolutionized flamenco with the inclusion of instrumentation, harmony and other

devices from jazz. The significance of this fact should be taken in consideration since it affected

the popular music of an entire country (Spain), in the same way as Stan Getzs collaborations with

Joo Gilberto and Tom Jobim impacted Brazilian music. This collaboration contributed more to

Brazilian popular music (MPB) than to jazz itself. Some of the most important artists among these

Jvenes Flamencos are Pata Negra, Ketama, La Barbera del Sur, Ray Heredia, Jos Soto

Sorderitas, and Vicente Amigo.

10
 CHAPTER 2

EARLY STAGES OF FLAMENCO JAZZ

I always manage to try something I cant do.

Miles Davis

Lionel Hamptons Jazz Flamenco (1956)

Many jazz musicians have admired flamenco music, and there have been many cases in

which jazz artists have included certain characteristics in their repertorie that suggest such source

of inspiration. In June of 1956, during a European tour, Lionel Hampton recorded an album called

Jazz Flamenco in Spain. Despite its suggestive title and cover art, it is difficult to find any specific

element of flamenco music other than the use of a folkloric Spanish instrument: the castanets. On

his album, Hampton included a Spanish castanet player named Mara Anglica, who is featured on

every track, except the ballad, Lovely night in Spain, and Tenderly (which features Tete

Montoliu, a jazz piano legend in Spain). Even though the track titles Bop City Flamenco, The

Bullfighter from Madrid, Hamps Jazz Flamenco, and Flamenco Soul, as well as the cover art

suggest a blend of styles, the music does not recall any element from flamenco other than the

castanets. 20 This album is the result of a swinging big band, featuring a castanet player who makes

the effort to adjust her instrument to the rhythmic characteristic of jazz, swing, and other Latin-

influenced rhythms as well. The track, Bop City Flamenco, has a refrain that says Baila, pero

que baila el mambo con castauelas, in English Dance, Dance the mambo with castanets.

Mara Anglicas introduction to Hot Club of Madrid Serenade is strikingly swung, and

she even improvises over the song structure, trading with a bongo player, before the shout chorus

(2:36-3:39). Another remarkable aspect of this recording can be heard in the track, Hamps Jazz

Flamenco, where Maria Anglica plays in unison with the shout chorus. There are a few breaks

20 The
albums cover consists of a picture of a vibraphone, a flamenco guitar, and a Manila shawl, an article of
clothing usually associated with the female dancers of flamenco.

11
where some castanet fills can be heard while the percussion players are cheering loudly, using the

Spanish characteristic expression, ol! (4:00-5:11). This practice, also called jalear, is common

among Latin musicians, and in flamenco music as well. It is considered to be an important and

unique feature within the style. We can hear the percussion players (who do not seem to be true

Spaniards judging by their accent), shouting: Ol guapa, ol, dale dale dale, ol muchacha juega a

las castauelas. Ol, viva Espaa.

Although the music by itself may not have intended to integrate flamenco musical elements

such as harmony, rhythm, and melody with jazz, one could assert that Hamptons idea of

integrating a performer from a very different background was unique and successful in the way the

band interacts with Maria Anglica. It is probably the first time one can hear in recorded jazz the

inclusion of a flamenco performer who clearly outperforms the challenge. The text in the liner

notes praises Hamptons showmans instinct for absorbing something of the flavor of wherever it

may be that hes working. In Hamptons words:

There was a chick there, Mara Anglica, one of the great Spanish flamenco artists, and I
dug her the most. I said to myself, man, you got to get this together with the band. So we
did.21

Jazz writer Marc Meyers describes Hamptons Jazz Flamenco as one of the strangest and

most interesting albums in his discography.22 Mara Anglica is responsible for that. Even in the

tracks where she plays swing, we can hear her intelligence in her understanding of jazz rhythms,

highlighting the upbeats and helping the music to move forward. The inclusion of the castanets

makes this album unique and differentiates it from other big band albums within Hamptons

discography.

21
Unknown author, Liner Notes, Flamenco Jazz, Lionel Hampton, RCA 74321364002, 1956.
22
Marc Myers, Lionel Hampton: Jazz Flamenco March 05, 2008, http://www.jazzwax.com/2008/03/lionel-
hampton.html. Accessed on February 15th 2016.

12
 Miles Davis Spanish heart: Miles Ahead (1957), Kind of Blue (1959), Sketches of Spain (1960)

After Lionel Hamptons Spanish experience, Miles Davis recorded Miles Ahead (1957), in

collaboration with Gil Evans. In Gunther Schullers opinion, the tracks Blues for Pablo and The

Maids of Cadiz denote some Spanish influence as well.23 Davis would later record Flamenco

Sketches on his celebrated album Kind of Blue (1959). This tune is an example of the innovative

modal jazz approach of that time. It consists of a slowly moving chord progression, allowing the

soloist to explore each sound and color, giving the same harmonic importance to every note in the

palette. One of these sounds is a D Phrygian that evokes some flamenco inspiration.24 However,

Miles masterpiece in the field of Spanish-influenced music appears on his later album Sketches of

Spain, also in collaboration with Gil Evans. The album starts with a personal and creative version

of Joaquin Rodrigos Concierto de Aranjuez, which the composer strongly criticized by the time it

was released, although the composer criticized many other variations of his original score by other

musicians as well. 25 There are two tributes to specific genres of Spanish flamenco: the tracks

Saeta and Solea. Saeta is the word used for a Spanish religious a capella genre that is

performed during public processions at Easter using flamenco influences. Sole is the name of one

of the flamenco styles, called palos. In the opinion of the recently deceased legendary flamenco

singer Enrique Morente, Miles Davis saeta is at the same level as Caracols, Vallejos, and La

Nia de los Peines.26 The way in which Davis captured the essence and spirit of such a deep

23
Gunther Schuller, Liner Notes, Sketches of Spain, Miles Davis, Sony Music Distribution 743949, 50th Anniversary
Legacy Edition, 2009 re-issue.
24
Although Miles plays F natural (D phrygian mode), Bill Evans plays F sharp behind John Coltranes solo, so it
becomes a fifth mode of G harmonic minor, a characteristic scale used in flamenco music. Cannonball Adderley also
plays ideas using that mode.
25
Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe, Miles, the Autobiography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989), 241. Miles
credits his friend Joe Mondragon for introducing him to Joaquin Rodrigos recording and encouraging him to make his
own version: Miles, listen to this; you can do this!
26
Interview with Alejandro V. Garca, journal El Pas, July 20, 1994. Caracol, Vallejo and La Nia de los Peines are
very celebrated flamenco singers (cantaores).

13
music and cultural expression without having experienced it in Spain himself, remains a mystery.

Gil Evans arrangement also efficiently captures the soul of Spanish Easter street bands.

Regardless of some misunderstandings about the traditions behind saeta, sole, and

Andalusian culture, Davis shows awareness about Spanish music in his autobiography, and he

acknowledges how challenging Sketches of Spain came to be:

() My voice had to be both joyous and sad in this song, and that was very hard, too. Now,
that was the hardest thing for me to do on Sketches of Spain: to play the parts on the
trumpet where someone was supposed to be singing, especially when it was ad-libbed, like
most of the time. () Because youve got all those Arabic musical scales up in there, black
African scales that you can hear.27

Therefore, Miles Davis, aside from borrowing harmonic and melodic traits from flamenco music,

made a conscious effort to bring emotional, expressive, and timbral qualities of flamenco singing

into his playing. The three albums mentioned before resulted in some of the most important

albums of his extensive discography, and the fact that Miles challenged himself trying to

accomplish this new experiment, might have helped his musicianship to evolving.28 Clemente

described Sketches of Spain as a conceptual work and Miles testimonies can be seen as evidence

of his statement, That melody is so strong that the softer you play it, the stronger it gets, and the

stronger you play it, the weaker it gets.29 Nat Hentoff describes how the scores presented a

challenge for the musicians and how the session started improving take after take, as they started

interiorizing the music. The arranger and conductor Gil Evans also benefitted from his study of

27
Davis and Troupe, Miles, the Autobiography, 242.
28
Schuller asserts that in these three recordings Miles emerged as one of the supreme lyric-expressive players.
Schuller, liner notes for Sketches of Spain, Miles Davis.
29
Ibid.

14
Spanish traditional music.30 Miles and Evans Spanish musical inspiration resulted in a brilliant

and significant album in jazz history.31

Charles Mingus Tijuana Moods (1957)

The original covert art for the LP version reveals the spirit and inspiration behind this

album. It shows a wild defiant Mexican woman, resting her back on a jukebox, smoking a cigarette

and revealing her legs under a traditional skirt. Besides the title and the leaders name, the next

statement can be read on the cover: Released for the first timethe album Charlie Mingus feels is

his best work, in which him and his men re-create an exciting stay in Mexicos wild and

controversial border town.

This album, cited by Clemente in his flamenco jazz overview, contains exciting musical

moments. 32 The second track, Ysabels Table Dance, starts with a castanet pattern in 4/4.

Mingus then joins in playing a bass line that underlines a Phrygian harmonic clich consisting of

the last three chords of the Andalusian cadence. What is interesting about this bass ostinato is that

Mingus performs it strumming the strings of his instrument, imitating flamenco guitar rasgueos

(0:06-0:16). 33 Then one can hear jaleos sung by the vocalist Ysabel Morel, which alludes to the

mysterious woman on the album cover. The pianist joins in, imitating the bass ostinato, and

Mingus begins playing a bowed melody that denotes Spanish melodic gestures (0:25). Handclaps

and finger snaps can be heard along with the castanets throughout the track. The jaleos and

interpretation of the musicians (alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and drums) despicts the

wildness described on the cover album. The horns perform collective improvised solos in an

30
Scott D. Reeves, Gil Evans: The Art of Musical Transformation, Annual Review of Jazz Studies 12 (2002): 17.
31
Producer Bob Belden would produce years later a tribute album called Miles Espaol: New Sketches of Spain
(2011). Flamenco guitarist Gerardo Nuez wrote a tribute piece called A Gil Evans, included on his album
Flamencos en Nueva York (1992).
32
Clemente, Historia del Nuevo Flamenco, 18.
33
Rasgueo refers to a flamenco guitar technique, consisting on a characteristic sound resulting of the strumming of the
strings alternating the thumb with the rest of the fingers up and down.

15
avant-garde manner (2:08-2:28). Mingus music has a certain narrative quality and this track truly

represents the wild and controversial border town of Tijuana.

Critic Scott Yanow considers this recording a real gem because of its passionate

playing, exciting ensembles, and high-quality compositions.34 Clementes inclusion in his

overview might be founded in Mingus use of the castanets and jaleos, the same elements that

Hampton used in his Jazz Flamenco one year earlier. What stands out is Mingus approach to the

double bass imitating the guitar rasgueos technique. Spanish bassist Javier Colina would

extensively use this technique in the future, and the album 10 de Paco is a great example.35

Tony Scotts Dedications (1959)

There is another precedent to flamenco jazz that has not been mentioned in the before

mentioned overviews. Clarinetist Tony Scott included on his album Dedications a Spanish-

oriented track titled Lament to Manolete, accompanied by flamenco guitarist Juan Sastre. The

track seems to be dedicated to Manolete, the Spanish famous bullfighter from the 1940s, who

died tragically in Linares bullring where a memorial monument has been constructed. The album

includes other tracks dedicated to great artists such as Charlie Parker, Ann Frank, Billie Holliday,

and Art Tatum, and it features outstanding performers such as Bill Evans, Paul Motian, and Scott

LaFaro (the Bill Evans trio at that moment). Tony Scotts clarinet performance on Lament for

Manolete is probably as sensitive and profound as Miles Davis Saeta. He plays some rubato

phrases, recreating the characteristic gestures of Spanish folkloric music, leaving room for the

guitar player to play his falsetas between the clarinet statements.36 This recording has not been

mentioned in other writings about flamenco jazz, and Tony Scott needs to be accredited for

34
Scott Yanow, Charles Mingus: Tijuana Moods. Album review for allmusic.com.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/tijuana-moods-mw0000088232. Accessed on February 28th 2016.
35
Jorge Pardo and Chano Domnguez, 1994, 10 de Paco, Nuevos Medios NM 15 665.
36
The word falseta refers to the guitar instrumental excerpts played between the singers verses in a flamenco
performance.

16
including a flamenco guitar player before Pedro Iturralde did, along with a successful interaction

between both musicians. Flamenco aficionados would recognize that Juan Sastres falsetas are

played in the style of Seguiriya.

John Coltranes Ol (1961)

John Coltrane also paid tribute to Spanish music with his album Ol in 1961. The album

was recorded on May 25, two days after the recording of Africa Brass Volume 1, which was

released as his first album for Impulse! Ol was released in 1962, which was his last recording

with Atlantic.

Eric Dolphy plays alto saxophone and flute, Freddie Hubbard is on trumpet, McCoy Tyner

on piano, Reggie Workman and Art Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. The title

composition consists of a modal vamp, in which soloists develop their ideas under a complex

polyrhythmic 3/4 and 6/8 groove in the rhythm section. The theme heard at different stages of the

track is taken from El Vito, a Spanish traditional song.

It would be hard to determine Coltranes intentions for Ol. According to his

autobiographer Simpkins, His desire to use music with a Spanish theme was realized in Ol, the

title composition, which was based on a Spanish folksong and played with an Arabic feeling.37

Coltranes music during that specific period had a certain searching quality, exploring the

possibilities of long improvisations over modal vamps. Neil Tesser, in the liner notes of the 2000

reissue observes that the musics clich helps the listeners appreciate the significant

deconstruction.38 Coltrane brings, as Miles Davis did on Saeta, expressiveness of Andalusian

music, and the fact that further explorations of flamenco jazz have used that same theme (El

37
Ormond Cuthbert Simpkins, Coltrane: A Biography (New York: Herndon House Publishers, 1975), 129.
38
He makes a comparison between Ol and bullfights, Hemingway, and the TV show Zorro. Neil Tesser, Liner
Notes, Ol, John Coltrane, Atlantic [81227 3699-2], 2000 re-issue.

17
Vito), makes John Coltrane a participant of these early stages of flamenco jazz. Javi Bayo

observes that Coltranes approach is much more visceral than Miles Davis.39

39
Bayo, Liner Notes, Jazz Flamenco, Pedro Iturralde.

18
 CHAPTER 3

WHAT IS FLAMENCO JAZZ? PEDRO ITURRALDES JAZZ FLAMENCO (1967)

The better you play buleras, the better you play jazz. And the better you play
jazz, the better you play sole.
Jorge Pardo

A few years after Coltrane recorded Ol, the first mixture between flamenco and jazz

involving jazz and flamenco musicians from Spain took place, evoking Coltranes approach.

Because of the advice of Joachim Ernst Berendt, Spanish saxophonist Pedro Iturralde included a

flamenco guitar player in his group to perform at the Berlin Jazz Festival.40 First he included Paco

de Antequera, and then the flamenco guitarist Paco de Luca, who is given the pseudonym Paco

de Algeciras because of legal conflicts between recording companies. Before the performance in

Berlin, Iturralde recorded the tracks of Jazz Flamenco, released by Hispavox, in two different

sessions (June 30, 1967 and September 14, 1967). The concert at the Berlin Jazz Festival was also

recorded and released by MPS as Flamenco-Jazz.41

Scholars have credited this historical fact as the starting point of flamenco jazz.42 Dr. Ivn

Iglesias, a Spanish scholar who teaches at La Universidad de Valladolid in the field of Music

History and Sciences, analyzed the cultural, political, and commercial reasons behind Iturraldes

work in his article Musical Hybridization in Spain as a Projection of National Identity Connected

to Market Forces: Jazz-Flamenco. His article also includes musical analysis, but it only consists

of a description of the music. There is a lack of transcription, music notation, and analysis

throughout the standard jazz theory practice. His musical analysis is certainly adequate for his

40
Ivn Iglesias, La hibridacin musical en Espaa como proyeccin de identidad nacional orientada al mercado,
826-838.
41
Tom Lord, The Jazz Discography (West Vancouver: Lord Music Reference Inc.).
42
Luc Delannoy, Caliente! Une histoire du Latin Jazz (Paris: Denol, 2000), 315-320.
Jos Mara Garca Martnez, Los 50 aos musicales de Pedro Iturralde. Cuadernos de Jazz (1994).

19
specific purpose. His investigation is limited to Spain, and, as the title suggests, his goal is to

demonstrate that Iturraldes recording helped to produce a new kind of jazz made by Spanish

musicians that helped jazz to become more popular among Spanish audiences.43 A deeper analysis

of the music presented by Iturralde and Paco de Lucia, however, would reveal some details that

should be considered critically since this collaboration has been credited as the starting point of

flamenco jazz. Iturraldes recreation of the traditional Spanish folklore singing on his instrument

could be heard before in Miles Davis Saeta and also in the work of the jazz clarinetist Tony

Scotts Lament to Manolete, who included a flamenco guitar player as well.44 If Miles Davis

successfully reproduced the flamenco singing interpretation of saeta on the trumpet, Iturralde

transfers another flamenco style to the saxophone, sole. Sole is another flamenco palo in a

sophisticated odd meter and in this case is performed freely, in a rubato style in conversation with

the guitar, as flamenco cantaores do.45 The analysis of some other tracks on this recording reveals

how Iturralde integrated other flamenco features into a jazz small group in an original way and

how jazz enriches his interpretation of flamenco palos as well. Iturraldes group features

trombonist Dino Piana, pianist Paul Grassl, bassist Eric Peter and drummer Peer Wyboris, and

Paco de Luca as a guest artist. 46 There is no doubt about their expertise and knowledge of jazz

and flamenco respectively. Nevertheless, although the group features high level musicians in their

different disciplines, the final result has some strengths and some weaknesses as well in the

combination and interaction of musical elements, due to the musicians abilities and musicality or

43
Ivn Iglesias, La hibridacin musical en Espaa como proyeccin de identidad nacional orientada al mercado,
837.
44
A great example of Iturraldes recreation of flamenco singing can be heard in the introduction of the track Caf de
Chinitas, a Spanish folkloric song popularized by the Andalusian poet Federico Garca Lorca.
45
Cantaor is the term used to differenciate flamenco singers from other types of singers in Spanish folkloric music.
We can hear Iturraldes recreation of sole in the track Soleares.
46
This particular rhythm section has a signficant reputation in Spain because of sharing the stage for many years with
Spanish jazz piano legend Tete Montoliu.

20
due to a lack of understanding of either flamenco or jazz. Each musician makes important

contributions to this emerging field of flamenco jazz that need to be credited.

Buleras

The word buleras, besides the title of this track, refers to one of the flamenco palos, the

term used in flamenco to label the different styles of flamenco. It features a complex odd-meter

comprising twelve beats divided into two bars of 3/4 and three bars of 2/4. The rhythmic pattern of

buleras also features some characteristic accents that highlight the eighth and ninth quarter notes,

and the eleventh quarter note.

Example 1: Basic accents pattern in a traditional buleras

Iturraldes composition is written using this rhythmic framework. Flamenco instrumental

compositions are through composed; there are no formal patterns, they consist on a succession of

falsetas. In 1967, before Paco De Luca changed flamenco music, flamenco was understood as a

combination of cante (singing), toque (instrumental playing exclusively by Spanish guitar), and

baile (flamenco foot tapping or percussion such as hand-claps or hitting a wooden table with the

knuckles). The fact that this track includes other instruments such as a saxophone, trombone,

piano, drums, and acoustic bass, has to be considered as an innovation in flamenco music. The first

challenge that Iturralde and Paco may have had to face was the need for an arrangement, since the

inclusion of more instruments makes it difficult, if not impossible, to follow the improvised and

spontaneous flamenco standard practice. On the other hand, the restrictions of an arrangement may

have been a challenge for a flamenco performer such as Paco de Luca, who was not able to read

21
music at the time. Accompanying and interacting harmonically with other instrumentalists

performing improvised solos presented a new musical challenge for De Luca as well.

The arrangement starts with staggered entrances: a written walking bass line, then piano

and guitar join the bassist (0:05), and finally the tenor and trombone play a falseta, first in unison

and then in harmony (0:11-0:33).

Example 2: Iturralde, Buleras, first falseta (0:01-0:15)

The falseta finishes with a device people in flamenco call remate (0:31-0:33). It means final

touch, and, in flamenco, this term is applied to describe how performers emphasize the end of a

melodic phrase. There are some kicks on the melody and the rhythm section that announce that

particular remate, and Paco de Luca plays it doing a characteristic flamenco guitar rasgueo that

resolves and emphasizes the last 2/4 bars of the buleras pattern.47 The remates, especially by that

time (1967) tend to resolve precisely on that eleventh beat of buleras.

47
Modern flamenco players emphasize the upbeats of flamenco rhythms. The placement of the beginning and ending
(remate) of their phrases features more variety than by 1967.

22
Example 3a: De Luca, Remate in Buleras (0:31-0:33)

After that remate, Paco De Luca plays a couple of pure flamenco falsetas on guitar, accompanied

by the bassist and drummer (0:34-1:10). It is at this moment, the purest flamenco moment in the

track, where the rhythm section seems to be struggling with the flamenco buleras style. While

Paco is playing the flamenco buleras accents and harmonic rhythm, the bass player does not

synchronize with him on the harmonies, and the drummer does not match the accents. Eric Peter

plays some roots that do not agree with De Lucas harmonies and he does not place these roots on

the same beat where De Luca places his chords. Peer Wyboris plays a 3/4 jazz-waltz groove that

does not match Pacos accents.48

48
This analysis is focused on an evaluation of this particular combination of styles. It is not my intention to evaluate
the level of the performance. In fact, in spite Wyboris is not matching De Lucas accents, his interaction on the snare
drum denotes how accomplished of an accompanist he was.

23
Example 3b: Differences in the rhythmic and harmonic interpretation of buleras

Although the head arrangement shows awareness of what a remate is and its function, both Peter

and Wyboris do not seem to catch Pacos intention to finish his falsetas with remates in this

section (1:08-1:10).

De Lucas falseta is followed by a tutti section where the horns and the rhythm section

interact in a call and response manner (110-120) which was standard between guitar players and

dancers in flamenco music of the time, and it recalls jazz practices such as the use of riffs in a big

band setting. The trombone solo follows this tutti section (120-231). There are aspects of Paco

De Lucas comping that need to be discussed. First of all, flamenco guitar players are not used to

interacting harmonically with a soloist, but they have great harmonic instincts since it is common

for them to improvise and harmonize an accompaniment for flamenco singers. Besides that, they

are used to interacting rhythmically with flamenco dancers, developing a great ability of how to

24
find complementing rhythms and how to match the dancers intensity and activity. Paco manages

the intensity by switching from an arpeggiated figure to rasgueos or by inserting some melodic

fills. Harmonically, it is interesting to hear how De Lucas harmonies are different than what the

bass line suggests. The harmonic interaction between guitar, bass, and the soloist works because

the three of them are playing around the diatonicism of the Phrygian mode. Therefore one could

say that their approach in this solo is modal and all of them are based on the same pitch collection

or mode, which would be A Phrygian, with the inclusion of an optional C sharp as a leading tone.

That does not mean that the performers restrict their note choices only to that mode: trombonist

Dino Piana uses chromaticism in his lines in a bebop characteristic manner. Piana uses chromatic

notes as passing notes targeting the chord tones on the downbeats.

Example 4: Piana, Chromaticism in a descending line targeting a chord tone (1:34-1:36)

Example 5: Piana, Chromatic notes as an enclosure targeting an arpeggiated idea (1:51-1:53)

De Luca refrains from playing for the next soloist, Iturralde (230 to 450), and the pianist

plays the improvised comping. The fact that they take turns when accompanying Piana and

Iturralde shows awareness of the creative possibilities of changing the background for different

25
solos, which is a characteristic of a good jazz small group performance. The overall groups sound

at this moment recalls the aesthetics of John Coltranes classic quartet, featuring a searching

quality that has become a distinctive signature of that group, similar to Coltranes Ol. Iturralde

uses some devices in his solo that recall Coltranes sequential patterns. There is a passage where

Iturralde adapts a four-note motif to the A Prhygian sound in a sequence that recalls the motive

Coltrane plays on Moments Notice based on the half-whole diminished dominant scale.

Example 6: Iturralde, Four-notes group sequence over A Phrygian (3:22-3:26)

The four-note groupings over a 3/4 groove allow Iturralde to cross the bar line in a way that gives

momentum to his solo.

Grassls solo introduces chromaticism in his improvised lines in two different ways. The

fact that there is not another harmonic player (such as guitar) other than the bassists

accompaniment, allows him to have harmonic freedom. His chromatic notes sometimes suggest an

outside playing approach, where these chromatic notes are intended to increase the harmonic

tension against the bass line, and then resolve back to the implied harmonies by the bassist.

Example 7: Grassl, Outside playing approach to chromaticism (5:01-5:07)

26
Grassl also uses chromaticism with harmonic implications. There is a passage where he

arpeggiates a GmMaj7 (add9) idea that, super imposed to the modal bass line around A Phrygian,

changes the color of that A mode for a couple of bars. Super imposing a G melodic minor sound

over A results on an Am7sus4 (flat 9) sound that is characteristic of other post bop improvisers

such as Herbie Hancock.

Example 8: Grassl, AmM7sus4 (b9) combination with A Phrygian Featuring chromatic passing

notes (5:08-5:12)

The different uses of chromaticism employed by Piana and Grassl over the flamenco tonal

center in Buleras gives a certain sophistication to their lines that could not be reached if they

would have limited their choices to the Phrygian mode or the fifth mode or harmonic minor, which

27
are the two common theoretical options. They created a new path for jazz improvisers when

approaching flamenco harmonies.49

Caf de Chinitas

Iturraldes group integrates new elements from the jazz standard practice into Caf de

Chinitas, the famous song popularized in Spain by the Andalusian poet Federico Garca Lorca.

Iturraldes arrangement adjusts this tune to the buleras rhythm pattern. The track starts with a

rubato introduction by Paco de Antequera.50 Then Iturralde follows with his rendition of the

melody on soprano saxophone, accompanied by Antequera. Antequera then plays the melody,

using two-quarter notes as a pick-up that sets up the tempo. The way the melody is phrased and

harmonized delineates very clearly the buleras pattern and the different groups of 3/4 and 2/4, as

shown in Example 9.

49
Spanish saxophonist Perico Sambeat use of chromaticism when improvising over the Phrygian flamenco tonal
center recalls Pianas or Grassls approaches. His improvised lines over the C prhygian pedal tone on Bye Bye
Blackbird (2000) are a great example. Marc Miralta, New York Flamenco Reunion.
50
Caf de Chinitas was recorded during the first session of Jazz Flamenco, with Paco de Antequera on guitar, not
De Luca.

28
Example 9: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Head arrangement (1:53-2:05)

Then, Iturralde takes on Antequeras melodic role. In this moment, the rhythm section suggests a

homogeneous combination between an up-tempo jazz waltz and buleras in the way they

29
accompany Iturralde, introducing another element from jazz; a walking bass line. This new

element, in combination with the flamenco rhythmic style was very innovative for 1967.51

Example 10: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Head arrangement with walking bass line (2:06-2:12)

51
This feature has been used later by other artists experimenting with flamenco jazz. It can be heard on Bye Bye
Blackbird, Javier Colina on bass, George Colligan on piano, and Marc Miralta on drums. Marc Miralta, New York
Flamenco Reunion.

30
 A new rhythmic surprise takes place in the next few measures. Iturraldes group performs a

rhythmic modulation in order to shift from buleras rhythm to a medium-swing 4/4 feel. Iturraldes

arrangement takes the half note of the 2/4 bars within the buleras pattern and converts that into the

new quarter note of the 4/4 swing. These half notes are emphasized before the transition takes

place through the harmonic rhythm and melody, which suggest groups of four eighth notes.52

Example 11: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Rhythmic modulation (2:12-2:20)

52
This and other rhythmic modulations have been explored by other artists in flamenco jazz from this point to the
present. Another common practice is to convert the dotted quarter note of the buleras pattern into that new quarter
note in 4/4 swing, or half note in 4/4 swing.

31
 Caf de Chinitas also introduces some new harmonic devices that should be considered

critically. First, Iturraldes harmonization of this popular song goes beyond the use of the

Andalusian cadence. The harmonization of other popular versions of Caf de Chinitas is limited

to the use of the Andalusian cadence, therefore using basically four different chords. Iturraldes

harmonization includes a ii-V-I progression, which is the characteristic progression in bebop jazz

harmony (see Example 10). Grassls voicings alternating triadic sounds imitating the flamenco

guitar with modern jazz quartal harmonies in the style of McCoy Tyner (see Examples 9-11),

contribute to contextualize the harmonic framework in a jazz setting, besides Iturraldes use of

reharmonization in his arrangement.53

The next harmonic innovation is in the solo section. The tonal center of the solo section is

Gm. However, whenever the root is D, there is an important ambiguity: D appears both as a D7

53
A very similar reharmonization of Caf de Chinitas can be heard during Paco De Lucas rubato accompaniment
from 1:20 to 1:50. Paco does not use ii-Vs, but he uses secondary dominants in order to emphasize the target chords. It
would be hard to determine if De Luca or Iturralde who made these harmonic contributions. In any case, it shows how
both artists took the harmonization process of the tune as a challenge.

32
(sharp 9) chord, and as a D (no third, flat 9). The first type D chord suggests a dominant sound

(super locrian) that wants to resolve to Gm, and the second type of D chord is a stable chord that

suggests modality, rather than functional harmony. This ambiguity is an important feature in

flamenco music that has been studied by Spanish music theorist Jos Antonio Prez.54 Prez

suggests that flamenco uses three different tonalities that are related among them by modal

exchange. The first tonality is the major tonal center, and it is used in some palos such as buleras

de Cdiz. He argues that the harmonic motion moves, as in European traditional music, from I to

V7 (for example, D to A7). The I chord is typically on the strong beats of the harmonic rhythm,

and the V7 on the weak beat. The second tonality would be found in the parallel minor key. The

harmonic motion would move from i to V7 (for example, Dm to A7), and it is used in coplas por

buleras. There is a third tonality, the one that uses the Andalusian cadence, which he believes has

not been studied enough from a deep understanding of the harmonic rhythm in flamenco. Prez

argues that there is a lack of quality literature regarding this issue. Spanish musicologists have

analyzed the minor chord of the Andalusian cadence as i and the final chord as V (see Example

12). He states that musicologists are not taking into consideration the harmonic behavior of these

chords in the context of flamenco harmonic rhythm in doing so shows a lack of sensitivity.55 I

agree with Prez since the first chord is the one that generates the harmonic motion, and therefore

does not have a conclusive character, but a suspensful one. The last chord of the Andalusian

cadence has a strong conclusive character since flamenco melodic phrases tend to resolve in the

final chord.

54
Jos Antonio Prez, Teora dual de los Relativos Menores o Teora Dual del Sistema Tonal (posible cierre de la
armona tonal), (Paper available online in pdf format at www.armoniamoderna.com, Cdiz, Spain, 2011). Perez
explains this theory on a YouTube tutorial included in that website.
55
Jos Antonio Prez, Las Tres Tonalidades del Flamenco: Teora Dual de los Relativos Menores,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWY6lrQ55R0. Accessed on November 15, 2015.

33
Example 12: Andalusian cadence, Traditional harmonic analysis

Example 13: Jos Antonio Prez, New model for Andalusian cadence analysis

Prez supports this argument by a comparison of the harmonic rhythm in the three variations of

buleras that he associated with these three tonal centers and how these three place the tonic chord

and the dominant chord in the same beats within the buleras rhythmic cycle:

Example 14: Prez, Justification of three tonalities in flamenco harmony based on buleras

harmonic rhythm

34
 Prezs arguments are demonstrated with this evidence. In, fact these three tonalities might

even coexist in the same performance, since flamenco singers may sing different letras in these

three different variations of buleras.56

Besides these three tonalities that share the same I chord and give the option for

exchanging modes in a parallel motion, there is another important aspect that needs to be

discussed. Both the first and the last chords of the Andalusian cadence allow for an important

modal exchange possibily by acting as pivot chords. The first chord may function both as i and iv,

and the last chord may function as V7 or I:

Example 15: Two options of the Andalusian cadence harmonic analysis

Figure 1: Pivotal options in flamenco harmony

56
Letras are short vocal stanzas. Flamenco singing performances consist of a succession of different letras and the
guitarist has to accompany and harmonize them according to the styles. In this performance, flamenco singer Beni de
Cdiz and guitarist Manolo Brenes use these three different styles/tonalities. Cante Beni de Cdiz-Buleras-.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO_mgsY6D54. Accessed November 15, 2015.

35
 Returning to Iturraldes Caf de Chinitas after this discussion of the three tonalities in

flamenco music, I would like to point out how Iturraldes arrangement explores these pivoting

possibilities in a challenging way. The solo section in Caf de Chinitas implies different tonal

centers. The melody during the head uses the Andalusian cadence landing on D (therefore, D could

be analyzed as I). Then, during the transition from buleras to the 4/4 swing, the D switches

function from I to V7. Grassls voicings also get more jazz-like, using chromatic alterations such

as the 9, sharp 9 and sharp 11 that make this functional transition more obvious. Then the solo

section starts with a Gm.

Example 16: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Harmonic and metric transition of solo section (2:15-

2:20)

Iturraldes arrangement after the rhythmic modulation features a 32-measure chorus where

the solos take place. There are two aspects that Iturralde might have considered for having a

different formal section in this arrangement in order to perform the improvised solos. First, other

arrangements in this project, as in the case of Buleras, features open vamps for the solo sections.

36
This new formal section in Caf de Chinitas consists of a 32-bar form, which is the most

employed form in the standards jazz repertory from the American Songbook; jazz solosits are used

to developing their improvisations in this form and the possibilities for developing and shaping an

improvised solo are different when using open vamp sections versus standard cyclical forms.

Second, the arrangements of Buleras or El Vito feature a slow harmonic rhythm with modal

harmonies during the solo section, and this new solo section features functional harmonies

exploring the pivoting qualities of the Andalusian cadence mentioned previously. An analysis of

the harmonies during this solo section shows how the use of these pivoting qualities is substantial:

The first 16 measures (A) are in Gm and feature some ii-V progressions. The last chord of this

section, a D7alt. becomes D (add flat 9) and serves as a pivot chord to go to the next section (B),

which is rooted in the flamenco tonal center (D flamenco). The flamenco tonal center is

emphasized by the use of an Andalusian cadence in the last four bars. At the end of the chorus, the

pivotal D becomes again a D7alt. in order to return to Gm:

Example 17: Iturralde, Caf de Chinitas, Harmonic analysis of Iturraldes solo section (3:18-

4:14)

37
 After analyzing the function of the harmonies of this solo section and how Iturralde

combined the Andalusian cadence with jazz functional harmonies in a minor key, it is important to

evaluate how the soloists navigate these changes. I believe that this solo section allows the soloists

to express themselves in the innovative jazz language of the 1960s, which combines the bebop

characteristic use of chromaticism, enclosures, and arpeggios, with some other improvisational

devices that recall the style of jazz artists such as John Coltrane and Joe Henderson.

It can be appreciated how Iturralde, during his solo, would approach the ii-V7/flat VI

progression within the solo form in a characteristic bebop manner.

38
Example 18: Iturraldes improvisational devices over ii-V of flat vi

Another interesting device used by Iturralde is the use of the dominant half-whole

diminished scale:

Example 19: Half-whole diminished lick

Iturralde plays a descending C half-whole diminished scale over the D (add flat 9) chord that

functions as I in the flamenco tonal center during his first chorus. In jazz improvisation, it is

common to use half-whole diminished patterns over the dominant chords, which results in a 13,

sharp 11, flat 9 sound. If Iturralde would have approached this D chord by playing a D half-whole

diminished, he would have underlined a different chord quality on the strong beats and therefore

would have gotten away from the flamenco (add flat 9) sound (Example 20a). By using a half-

39
whole diminished scale one whole step down, he still outlines the D (add flat 9) sound during the

strong beats while using this characteristic half-whole diminished post-bop sound (Example 20b).

Example 20a: D half-whole diminished over a D root

Example 20b: C half-whole diminished over a D root

Iturralde again uses a C-half whole diminished patterns in the same chord, during his second

chorus. This time, the ascending and descending patterns alternating seconds and forths recalls the

style of John Coltrane.

Example 21: Iturraldes half-whole diminished patterns in the style of John Coltrane

Iturralde uses arpeggiated ideas that recall chordal devices used extensively by tenor

saxophonist Joe Henderson. Henderson made popular a certain way of spelling some cluster or

closed voicings on the saxophone that when performed fast have a harmonic and rhythmic effect.

40
Example 22: Joe Hendersons arpeggiated voicing idea on Inner Urge (1964), 3:09-3:15

Iturralde uses the same arpeggiated voicing that Henderson used over the E flat Maj7 (sharp 11) of

Inner Urge, not only over the E flat chords but superimposed over D, highlighting as a result the

Phrygian (flat 9) sound:

Example 23: Iturraldes use of Joe Hendersons shapes

There is a recurring rhythm in Iturraldes solo that recalls the articulation of guitar falsetas.

Flamenco guitar falsetas frequently use legato step-wise motion, breaking the motifs with

41
articulated accents. Iturraldes persistency in using this particular rhythm might be a result of what

he hears in the background, the flamenco inspired harmonies.

Example 24a: Iturraldes recurring rhythm and articulation

Example 24b: Iturraldes second improvised chorus in Caf de Chinitas, (3:18-4:16)

42
 After Iturraldes, Grassls, and Eric Peters solos, Paco de Antequera has another solo

intervention, playing some falsetas in the style of sole (6:56-8:14). Then, he again plays the two-

quarter note pick-up leading into an abbreviated version of the head arrangement (8:15-8:44),

finishing the song with a rubato rendition of the tune by Iturralde and Antequera (8:45-9:54).

El Vito

Iturraldes arrangement of El Vito, the same Spanish popular theme that inspired John

Coltranes Ol, uses the rhythm and harmonic rhythm of another flamenco palo, called

seguiriya. Seguiriya rhythmic pattern consists of a twelve beat rhythmic cycle combining 3/4 and

2/4, as well as buleras, although the accents are distributed in a different way.

43
Example 25: Differences in the buleras and seguiriya rhythmic patterns

After a brief introduction by De Luca, playing the El Vito theme accompanied by the

bassist and pianist, Iturralde plays a two-note pick-up leading into the refrain of El Vito in

rubato style, with the pianist and bassist playing the harmonies, while the drummer accompanies

with cymbals and floor tom rolls. The trombonist plays a smooth line connecting the guide tones of

the harmonies (Example 27).

Example 26: Iturralde, El Vito refrain (0:22-0:45)

44
The refrain finishes with a fermata, and closes as Iturralde again plays a two-note pick-up. This

time, the pick-up suggests two half notes that would correspond to the first two measures in 2/4 of

the seguiriya rhythmic pattern. The rhythm section and the harmony enter in the 3/4 bar, and

Iturralde continues adjusting the El Vito melody to the seguiriyas pattern.

45
Example 27: Iturralde, Melody of El Vito verses adjusted to the seguiriyas rhythm and harmonic

rhythm (0:46-0:59)

46
47
 Besides this innovative use of the seguiriyas pattern in a jazz setting, Iturralde harmonizes

the refrain to El Vito in an interesting way, incorporating ii-Vs and tritone substitute chords (see

Example 29). El Vito presents the pivoting possibilities of the Andalusian cadence previously

discussed in Caf de Chinitas. The popular way to harmonize this song would only feature four

chords.

Example 28: Popular harmonization for El Vito

Iturralde adds a related ii in the front of the first V7 (Gm7-C7), and harmonizes the two notes of

the pick up with another ii-V7 leading into that new Gm7 (Am7-D7 to Gm7). Then he converts the

i chord (Fm7) into a iim7-V7 leading into the flat VII chord (Fm-B flat 7 to E flat 7). The flat VI

(D flat) could be analyzed as a subV7/V, so Iturralde adds its related tritone substitution, G7

48
(V7/V). Once the progression arrives to V (C), Iturralde adds its related tritone substitution, G flat

7 (subV7):

Example 29: Iturraldes reharmonization of El Vito refrain

Iturraldes reharmonization shows the potential of the Andalusian cadence to be reharmonized in a

jazz-like setting that allows Grassl to play jazz-like piano voicings and makes possible the

counterpoint line on the trombone connecting the guide tones (see Example 27).

Iturraldes Contributions to the Aesthetics of Flamenco Jazz

Iturraldes work helped to define what flamenco jazz is and what the paths were to achieve

a new music with its own identity, rather than just a source of inspiration for jazz artists. His

combo combined elements from both disciplines at a high level of sophistication and every

individual produced important contributions. The transcriptions and arguments presented in this

chapter not only demonstrate this combos creativity to integrate elements of flamenco music into

a jazz setting, but also an incredible capacity of absorbing the post bop traits of American jazz

artists. It is remarkable how these European musicians demonstrated in 1967 a thoughtful

assimilation of the artistry of some of the most important combos during the 1960s, such as Miles

Daviss groups and John Coltranes classic quartet. Iturraldes music in 1967 is not just the result

49
of imitating these models but a creative extension of their works, thanks to his groups use and

understanding of flamenco elements. According to the jazz pianist Walter Bishop Jr.:

It all goes from imitation to assimilation to innovation. You move from the imitation stage
to the assimilation stage when you take little bit of things from different people and weld
them into an identifiable style-creating your own style. Once youve created your own
sound and you have a good sense of history of the music, then you think of where the
music hasnt gone and where it can go- and thats innovation.57

Iturralde certainly took elements from Davis and Coltranes famous recordings and

demonstrated that another kind of jazz was possible and showed what would make this new music

different. He used the flamenco rhythmic elements of its styles (palos), the flamenco melodic

gestures, and the flamenco harmonic possibilities. He combined of all of them in a sophisticated

and integrated hybridization with jazz performance practices at the highest level. Lionel Hampton

was attracted by flamenco rhythm (the use of castanets), Miles Davis and Tony Scott by flamenco

singing, and John Coltrane by the flamenco Phrygian modal sound. Iturralde attempted to

accomplish all of the above, introducing more elements from flamenco than any of his

predecessors. His combination also represents an artistic synthesis of the post bop styles. This list

summarizes some of the main contributions by Iturraldes combo discussed in this chapter:

The integration of flamenco falsetas as a tool for jazz composition, using characteristic
melodic and rhythmic flamenco features such as the remate.
Using elements from flamenco musicians interaction with dancers, such as call and
response, in head arrangements for a jazz combo.
The use of melodic and rhythmic elements of flamenco palos, in this case buleras,
seguiriyas and sole.
The potential of improvised interaction between jazz musicians and flamenco musicians.
The modal possibilities of the flamenco tonal center sound and how to apply jazz post bop
devices into it: Coltranes and Hendersons sequential patterns, McCoy Tyners quartal
voicings, Elvin Joness interactional rhythmic approaches, bebop use of chromaticism and
enclosures, and Hancocks chord super imposition and outside playing.
The combination of jazz rhythmic elements (4/4 and 3/4 swing patterns, walking bass) with
flamenco rhythms and an exploration of rhythmic modulation possibilities.

57
Paul Berliner, Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 120.

50
 The pivotal possibilities of the Andalusian cadence and the combination of the flamenco
tonal center with its related minor key.
The inclusion of solo sections (in this case following the standard 32-bar form) featuring
different harmonies than the main theme in order to create challenging vehicles for
improvisation.
Reharmonization possibilities of the Andalusian cadence using ii-Vs and tritone substitutes.
Seeking melodic inspiration in flamenco singing as well as in flamenco guitar gestures.

While Zagalaz argues that flamenco jazz has its aesthetic origins in Coreas and De Lucas

Touchstone and some emerging Spanish musicians (such as Jorge Pardo), I believe my analysis of

these tracks from Jazz Flamenco will help scholars and readers to appreciate Iturraldes

contributions in an objective manner. 58 This analysis could also dissuade some of the negative

critics that have been associated with this outstanding music pioneered by Iturralde and Paco De

Luca:

The intended fusion does not go beyond that when the theme comes from flamenco music,
the jazzmen join in with their instruments, and when the theme comes from jazz, flamenco
guitar players just do what they can.59

Even though Paco de Luca was still at an early stage in his artistic development during these

recordings, his attitude contrasts with that of Paco de Antequera.60 Although Antequeras playing

in Caf de Chinitas is superb, Paco demonstrates a more open-minded and risk-taking attitude.

His comping on Buleras behind Dino Pianas solo and the way he improvises trading ideas with

the other musicians at the open section at the end of El Vito exemplify that attitude.

Nevertheless, I agree with Zagalaz that Chick Coreas Touchstone, also featuring Paco de

Luca, was the first recording to present an original music integrating both flamenco and jazz

elements in a perfect homogeneous blend where it is not easy to identify them alone. The first two

tracks on that album clearly embody a new stage in flamenco jazz.

58
Zagalaz, The Jazz-Flamenco Connection, 34.
59
ngel lvarez Caballero, ngel. Espectculo Msica Fusin. El Pas, October 17, 1989. Cited in Garca, Del
Fox-Trot al Jazz Flamenco.
60
Juan Jos Tllez, Paco de Luca: El Hijo de la Portuguesa (Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 2015), 155. Jorge Pardo
asserts that De Luca was not mature enough during these recordings to be aware of what he was doing.

51
 There are two important aspects that need to be taken into consideration before comparing

Iturraldes Jazz Flamenco with Coreas Touchstone. First, both flamenco and jazz would go

through many changes and innovations from 1967 to 1982. After Miles Davis In a Silent Way

(1969) and Bitches Brew (1969), jazz experimented significant aesthetic changes. This music has

been labeled as the fusion period, Corea being one of the leading figures together with Davis,

Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and Joe Zawinul among

others. 61 The same year, Paco de Luca and Camarn de La Isla started a revolutionary

collaboration in flamenco music with the recording Al Verte las Flores Lloran (1969).62 The

impact of this musical association could be compared to the bebop revolution led by Charlie Parker

and Dizzy Gillespie in jazz history. It is necessary, therefore, to review Corea and De Lucas

careers between 1967 and 1982 in order to understand the factors that made this new collaboration

such an artistic success.

61
Both of Miles Davis important recordings feature a young Chick Corea.
62
Some of the flamenco musicians discussed in this research have artistic names that include their nicknames. Their
nicknames will be enclosed in quotation marks.

52
 CHAPTER 4

DE LUCA AND COREAS MUSICAL ADVENTURES

Pedro asked me to do that recording, it was not a fusion experiment, but just
interspersing my playing between his jazz interpretations. And thats how I went to
Berlin, and by then, I did not even know who Miles Davis was.
Paco de Luca

Paco De Luca and the Guitar Trios

Paco de Luca has been an innovator in flamenco music itself as well as in flamenco jazz.

His innovations in flamenco music cannot be equaled by any other artist. He introduced new guitar

techniques, harmonies, and instrumentation, since he was the first artist introducing other

instruments besides the guitar into his group. Therefore, he is responsible for introducing new

aesthetics into flamenco music. His famous sextet, featuring Jorge Pardo on saxophone and flute,

Carles Benavent on electric bass, Rubem Dantas on cajn and percussion, Ramn de Algeciras on

guitar, and Pepe de Luca on flamenco singing, has always been credited as the starting point of

what people call New Flamenco.63 On the other hand, even though De Luca asserted, in the

beginning, I used to think that jazz sounded like dogs barking, he performed and recorded with

many important jazz musicians, such as Chick Corea, Al DiMeola, Larry Coryell, John

McLaughlin, and more recently, Wynton Marsalis.64 There is no doubt that Paco de Luca has

always been an enthusiastic musician, always seeking for new interests in music and remaining

open to other musical practices. His musical inquisitiveness, however, has been the cause for

negative criticism: Ill-advised when allowing himself to be led by the improvisors of his time, he

will end up last when he could have been first.65

63
Paco de Lucias official website. Solo quiero caminar, review. http://pacodelucia.org/disco/solo-quiero-caminar.
Accesed on May 4th, 2012.
64
ngel Casas, Paco de Luca. Vibraciones. (1974).
65
Lpez y L. de Tejada, Fernando. LXVI Congreso Odontolgico Mundial Anual. El Alczar. Cited in Jos Mara
Garca Martnez Del Fox-Trot al Flamenco Jazz.

53
 Besides his participation in Pedro Iturraldes group, Paco de Lucias jazz adventures

continued since his mastery of the guitar captured the attention of jazz guitar players such as Al Di

Meola, who invited him to participate in his second album, Elegant Gypsy (1977). DiMeolas

interest in flamenco music is reflected in the album cover art. Di Meola appears with his guitar

together with a flamenco dancer in a folkloric Spanish dress.

The tune Mediterranean Sundance enjoyed a successful reception by reviewers and

critics.66 It features a great number of acoustic guitar techniques and fingering styles. The

composition features flamenco guitar techniques such as the alzapa (0:00-0:06), rasgueos (0:21-

0:28), and fast picados (0:29-0:33).67 Di Meola contributes with his ability to execute the palm

mute technique (0:34-0:39). Mediterranean Sundance is a fiery duel by two masters of the guitar,

and the contrast between their styles gives a characteristic flavor to this recording, especially

during their improvisations (Di Meola at 1:01, De Luca at 2:15). While DiMeola improvises, Paco

de Lucia shouts the Spanish characteristic expression, Ole!, in a spontaneous expression of his

admiration for this artist (1:57). After Pacos solo, DiMeola and Paco trade ideas and improvise

together. It is noteworthy that the solo section has the same harmonic progression as one of the

sections in Pacos biggest hit, Entre Dos Aguas: Em, D7, C7, B, what is commonly referred as

the Andalusian cadence. Entre Dos Aguas was the first tune where De Luca improvises from

the beginning to the end. This was an improvised tune that De Luca included in the album Fuente

y Caudal in order to fulfill a recording label contract.68

66
There is a video where DiMeola explains the success of Mediterranean Sundance to his fans. He discovered De
Luca around 1974, during a European tour with Return to Forever. He went to El Corte Ingls and bought several
De Luca records. A couple of years later he asked CBS to contact their affiliation in Spain to make this duet possible.
DiMeola, Al. About the history of Mediterranean Sundance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkKLkk1lyU4
Accesed on November 28, 2015.
67
Alzapa, rasgueos, and picados are characteristic flamenco guitar techniques.
68
Tllez, El Hijo de La Portuguesa, 270-271.

54
 A couple of years later, in 1979, Paco de Lucia, Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin

formed the Guitar Trio, under the idea of the famous international manager Barry Marshall. Their

first concert took place in Copenhagen.69 Their performance in Londons Royal Albert Hall during

this European tour was recorded and released in a documentary called A Meeting of the Spirits.70

The documentary starts with the performance of Mediterranean Sundance, this time with Coryell

instead of DiMeola. On the track Morning of Carnival, Paco improvises using his characteristic

flamenco language.71 The trio arrangement features jazz voicings harmonized by the three

guitarists during the intro/interlude, which were unfamiliar to flamenco guitar players at that time.

The tune Meeting of the Spirits, by John McLaughlin, opens with an F sharp7sus4-G7 (sharp11)

vamp in a flamenco-arpeggiated figure that recalls De Lucas famous composition Zyryab

(1990).72 The flamenco harmonies and rhythmic figures, combined with the guitar jazz voicings

used in this particular song reveal that the musical exchange in the guitar trio was authentic. Paco

de Lucia sounds comfortable improvising over these harmonies.

The trio is also featured in one of Paco de Lucias albums, Castro Marn, recorded in

December of 1980.73 Paco plays a duet with Larry Coryell and then in a trio adding McLaughlin to

Convite and Palenque, respectively. The trio has outstanding musical chemistry on this album,

which served as a preparation for De Lucas celebrated album Solo Quiero Caminar (1981), the

first recording featuring his famous sextet. Solo Quiero Caminar has been credited as the key to

understanding the new flamenco aesthetic, and De Luca again included both tunes, Convite and

Palenque, in the repertory. One of the innovations of Solo Quiero Caminar, besides the inclusion

69
Tllez, El Hijo de La Portuguesa, 350.
70
Larry Coryell, Paco de Luca, and John McLaughlin, Meeting of the Spirits. AV Channel.
71
A.k.a. Manh de Carnaval, by Luiz Bonf and Antonio Maria, from the film Black Orpheus.
72
Zyryab will become one of De Lucas most successful albums, and the song Zyryab features Chick Corea on
piano.
73
Castro Marn is the name of a small town in Portugal, where Paco de Lucas mother was born.

55
of non-traditional flamenco instruments, such as electric bass, flute, and cajn, is that it may be the

first flamenco album to feature different improvisers and still be considered flamenco. The

harmonic language of that album opened up a new world of possibilities to the younger generation

of flamenco musicians.74

Al Di Meola replaced Larry Coryell in 1980, in a tour that was described by the specialized

magazine Guitar Player as a victory of the acoustic guitar.75 The guitar trio did two famous live

performances on December 5 and 6 at the San Francisco Warfield Theater. Fridays performance

was partially released on the album Friday Night in San Francisco. Bill Milkowski acknowledges

De Lucas exotic charm for the audience: Hoots and hollers accompanied every flamenco

flourish. Both Di Meola and McLaughlin pointed out it was a magical night.76

The performance started with solo interventions by each artist (McLaughlin, DiMeola, and

De Luca), continuing with different duets. The trio then performed Egberto Gismontis famous

composition Frevo, followed by DiMeola and De Luca playing the famous Mediterranean

Sundance, this time in a medley that also included Paco de Lucias rumba Rio Ancho. One of

the tunes included in the repertory was Chick Coreas Spain. De Lucas solo on this tune was

and is outstanding. The whole historic concert is now available on video.77

In 1982, DiMeola again invited De Luca to take part in the recording of his album Electric

Rendezvous, for a new duet, this time on his composition Passion, Fire & Grace. This track

74
Paco de Luca. Francisco Snchez: Paco de Luca. Alea TV. In this documentary, great flamenco artists such as
Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Jos Manuel Caizares and El Viejn, recognize the influence of Paco de Lucia on their
playing.
75
Bill Milkowski, Liner Notes, Friday Night in San Francisco, Paco De Luca, John McLaughlin, and Al Di Meola,
Columbia / Legacy CK 65168, 1997 re-issue.
76
Ibid.
77
There is a video where DiMeola returns to San Franciscos theater in 2015, 35 years later, visibly moved. DiMeola,
Al. Friday Night in San Francisco 35 Years Later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Miz4uJQdY_w Accesed on
November 28, 2015.
Bill Graham introduced the concert as a rare privilege for all of us. DiMeola, Al, Paco De Luca, and John
McLaughlin. Full Concert, 12/06/1980. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFlDf7Ck-N4 Accesed on November
28, 2015.

56
illustrates that DiMeolas flamenco understanding had increased by that time. The theme includes

flamenco harmonies and an arpeggiated figure similar to the ones that Paco popularized among

flamenco guitar (0:00-0:11). At the end of the tune (4:20), we can hear flamenco handclapping,

most probably recorded by De Luca. This fact may be evidence of DiMeolas intentions to

become more involved with flamenco music. The trio was to meet again in 1982, to record a studio

album with the same title, Pasion, Fire & Grace, in which the Spanish guitarist brings his

composition Chiquito, dedicated to Chick Corea.78 The harmony seems very advanced from a

flamenco guitar perspective, and the balance between jazz and flamenco can be heard throughout

the composition.

De Luca continued collaborating with John McLaughlin regularly, touring as a duo and

recording together, as in McLaughlins Manitas DOro from Belo Horizonte (1981) and El

Ciego from The Promise (1995). The trio (with Di Meola) played together again in 1996 for the

studio recording The Guitar Trio, although the chemistry between the musicians seemed to be

gone. De Luca would explain how he would not get any benefit from that second experience,

since it did not offer anything new to him.79 Di Meola also declared during an interview for

DownBeat that there was no more space in that trio, and how he got tired of creating dazzling

virtuosic fast runs to please the audiences. There was no place to go.80 De Lucas experiences

with Coryell, Di Meola, and McLaughlin, however, prepared him for the next musical adventures:

Coreas Touchstone and his famous and influential flamenco band.

There are several reasons why Paco de Lucias participation in the guitar trios was

significant and a turning point in the music being discussed throughout this study. First of all, it

represented his first success and recognition by jazz audiences. Secondly, the musical exchange

Juan Jos Tllez, Paco de Luca: En Vivo (Madrid: Plaza Abierta, 2003), 614.
78
79
Tllez, En Vivo, 299
80
Ibid., 359.

57
between both cultures enriched not only his playing, but also his peers musical approach.81 The

third is that such a high level of art music caught the attention of some other great musicians, such

as Chick Corea, who was associated with Di Meola (Return to Forever group) and McLaughlin

(Miles Davis group). Fourth, and perhaps the most important, can be found in an interview on a

British documentary about De Lucas life and career, Paco de Lucia-Light and shade (1993). Paco

asserts that he was introduced to the art of improvisation. In his own words:

I am a flamenco guitar player (), but I am also interested in getting to know other types
of music, to know how music is played in other cultures and styles (). I used to ask them
how they improvised, what was the way they would approach it. And they would laugh.
When I asked them why they laughed, they told me to stop kidding them. But I really did
not know. Then one day I started to work it out, and the day I worked out how to go about
improvising, I breathed a sigh of relief. Shortly after that, I began to discover how nice it
was to improvise. () At first I went through a rough time because I was learning on the
bandstand, competing against Al DiMeola and John McLaughlin, who had always
improvised. I had never improvised before () the sensation is amazing, and now I cannot
dispense with improvisation.82

Paco enjoyed this discovery to such an extent that, after that experience, he could no longer

conceive of his music without improvisation. There are many documented testimonies by De Luca

regarding improvisation that demonstrate how important this discovery was for his artistic

development, and therefore, to flamenco music, since it was one of his greatest contributions:

The satisfaction that improvisation gives youits like taking the leap and the day you
dont fallyou start flying.83

I believe every musician should know how to improvise.84

I discovered improvisation playing with them [jazz musicians]. When you are on tour and
therefore, you are playing the exact same things every night, it gets boring. On the other
hand, if there is some improvisation, every concert is a new adventure.85

81
Tllez, El Hijo de La Portuguesa, 360. Jazz flamenco pianist Chano Domnguez believes that De Luca influenced
McLaughlin and Di Meola even more than they influenced the Spanish guitarist. He supports his argument using
McLaughlins recording Belo Horizonte (1981) as an example. Curro Snchez, Paco de Luca: La Bsqueda. Bodega
Films, 2014. John McLaughlin, I have learned so much from Paco () and of course he influenced me. But I also
know from our association he steals whatever he can from me () in a way we are thieves.
82
Paco De Luca, Light and Shade. Arthaus Musik, 2001.
83
Curro Snchez, Paco de Luca: La Bsqueda.
84
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 347.

58
 De Luca acquired outstanding personal skills for improvisation during his tenure with

Coryell, Di Meola, and McLaughlin. De Luca described how he would get back to the hotel

suffering severe head and back pain because of the stress of competing with them on the

bandstand.86 Spanish journalist and personal friend with De Luca will assert years later that:

Once Paco figured out how to improvise over the chord changes, they [McLaughlin, Coryell]

were the ones who started suffering head and back pains, because nobody could stop Paco de

Luca.87

Coreas Spanish Heart

Chick Coreas admiration for and interest in Spanish music was heard for the first time on

the album Return to Forever (1972), the debut album of the great band with the same name,

featuring Stanley Clarke on acoustic and electric bass, Flora Plurim on vocals and percussion, Joe

Farrell on flute and soprano saxophone, and Airto Moreira on drums. In the medley Sometime

Ago-La Fiesta, we can first hear a deep musical dialogue between Corea and Clarke on bass,

which features flamenco harmonies and some gestures that recall flamenco guitar techniques.

Coreas introduction to La Fiesta (14:13) on electric piano, evokes the flamenco sounds that

seduced John Coltrane in the past. The bass line (15:38) echoes the sonority of Coltranes Ol as

well as Pedro Iturraldes group on the track Bulerias. La Fiesta is also in 3/4, featuring a

similar harmonic pattern. The use of castanets is noteworthy since it also captured Lionel

Hamptons attention in 1956, Mingus in 1957, and Miles and Evans in 1960. In the fifth album of

the Return to Forever band, No Mystery (1975), one can hear flamenco harmonic and guitar-

oriented melodic gestures and an exploration of the Andalusian cadence in the Celebration Suite,

85
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 355.
86
Paco De Luca, Light and shade. Arthaus Musik, 2001.
87
Paco De Luca, Flamenco Andaluca : Especial Paco de Luca. September 11, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJKJvKp7GJk. Accessed on January 3, 2016.

59
Part II. Although it seems to be written in 3/4, there are some moments in the track where the

band plays some hits on half notes, underlying the buleras accents (3:03 to the end). Coreas

music was progressively being affected by the music of Paco de Luca:

I first became really aware of flamenco music with Paco de Luca in the early seventies.
But I did not know it was flamenco. I just heard Paco and I thought: this musician is
incredible, what is he doing? I want to do learn this. I dont know this. I must learn this.88

It might have been Spanish musician Pedro Ruy-Blas who first introduced the music of

Paco De Luca to Corea. The Spanish musician met Corea in Madrid and made him buy two

albums by Paco De Luca.89

It was on his latter album, My Spanish Heart (1976), that Corea developed more of these

flamenco-inspired sounds and flamenco guitar-like sounds, on Spanish Fantasy Part I but

particularly on Spanish Fantasy Part III, where he harmonizes the Andalusian cadence adding

secondary dominants in between, as Iturralde did on El Vito.

Example 30: Coreas harmonic interpretation of Andalusian cadence using secondary dominants

on Spanish Fantasy Part III (0:20-0:37)

88
Diego El Cigala, Captulo 10: Flamenco Jazz from Flamenco Para Tus Ojos (2013), Televisin Espaola.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/flamenco-para-tus-ojos/flamenco-para-tus-ojos-capitulo-10/2036127/. Accessed on
September 9th 2015.
89
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 342.

60
On the track Day Danse, which features piano, string quartet, and percussion, Narada Michael

Walden plays handclaps and foot tapping, likely in an attempt to highlight the Spanish influence

that emerges from the music. The Gardens also contains some Spanish influenced melodies,

featuring Stanly Clarke playing bowed melodies that recall Mingus Tijuana Moods. There is a

section where Corea and Clarke imply the buleras rhythmic pattern and its combination between

ternary and binary (2:10-2:20).

Chick Corea demonstrated on My Spansih Heart that his compositions and musicianship

were more than outstanding by that time. Although My Spanish Heart has been categorized as one

of the most successful albums in Coreas discography, for the purpose of seeking the musical

identity of flamenco jazz, I consider that the Spanish elements borrowed on this recording

represent more of an inspiration, as they were for Miles Davis and John Coltrane, than a real

ambition to integrate flamenco into his music.90 The analysis of some of the tracks on Touchstone

reveal a more thoughtful and ambitious project regarding the jazz and flamenco cohabitation.

90
Top 2 Jazz Album in 1977 in Billboard. http://www.allmusic.com/album
/my-spanish-heart-r137064/charts-awards. Accesed on May 4th, 2012. Received five starts from DownBeat magazine.

61
 CHAPTER 5

COREA AND DE LUCA COLLABORATION: THE BEGINNING OFA NEW ERA IN

FLAMENCO JAZZ

He is a musician that I really enjoy playing with. Every day is different with him
because of his incredibly vast imagination. He even has two guitars, one in each
hand.
Paco de Luca

So we became friends and I tried to play the piano like the guitar.
Chick Corea

Ivn Iglesias opted to use the term hybridization rather than fusion when describing

Iturraldes Jazz Flamenco, arguing that fusion, a term that comes from technology, is applied to

perfect creations in which the original elements cannot be identified because they do not keep

their original state in the new structure.91 Chick Coreas encounter with Paco de Luca in

Touchstone presented a new stage in this hybridization between flamenco and jazz. The term

hybridization entered the musicology discourse in order to describe a musical process in which two

independent pre-existent genres are combined generating a new musical practice.92 It is not my

intention to discuss which terms would apply better to describe these recordings, although there is

an important reflection that arises from this issue. Whereas the flamenco and jazz elements in

Iturraldes Jazz Flamenco were easier to identify, Touchstone (1982) represents a big challenge for

its analysis; the musicians in Touchstone show a better understanding of the flamenco elements

than Iturralde. They integrated these flamenco elements quite naturally into their musical

personalities. Besides that, De Luca, after his experience with the guitar trios and his own

innovations in flamenco music, seems better prepared for this new encounter with a jazz musician.

91
Iglesias, La hibridacin musical en Espaa como proyeccin de identidad nacional orientada al mercado, 827.
92
Garca Canclini, Nstor. Culturas hbridas. Estrategias para entrar y salir de la modernidad. Buenos Aires: Editorial
Sudamericana, 1992, pg. 14-15. Cited in Ivn Iglesias, La Hibridacin Musical en Espaa como Proyeccin de
Identidad Nacional Orientada al Mercado: El Jazz-Flamenco.

62
 Unlike the works by some of the flamenco jazz predecessors, in Touchstone, jazz and

flamenco blend together to form one. Corea, De Lucia, and the electric bassist, Carles Benavent,

demonstrate a strong musical personality and absolute conviction about their musical endeavors,

switching languages, from jazz to flamenco, and emulating a bilingual conversation with

spontaneity. The presence of such celebrated icons in their respective musical practices, such as

Chick Corea in jazz and Paco de Lucia in flamenco, is a crucial factor to understanding the level of

sophistication on this album.

Touchstone: Procession, Ceremony, Departure

The opening track of the album is a suite made of three movements: Procession,

Ceremony, and Departure. The form of Touchstone is very complex, and it would be hard to

determine which sections in the tracks correspond to the three titles. The orchestration is highly

sophisticated and ambitious in the initial and closing sections of the track, featuring synthesizers

(Yamaha GS-1, Fairlight CMI, OB-Xa), overdubbed vocals by Gayle Moran, and percussion

effects by Chick Corea, Alex Acua, and Laudir De Oliviera. The middle section of the suite

features De Luca on guitar, Carles Benavent on electric bass, and percussionist Alex Acua on

cajn, in a jazz quartet format. One of the reasons why this recording represents this new stage in

jazz flamenco can be found in the capacity of these artists to cross over between styles during this

middle excerpt of the track. There are two solo rubato cadenzas by De Luca (1:46-3:19) and

Corea (3:21-3:50) that clearly exemplify this capacity of crossing over between flamenco and jazz.

Paco de Lucas Solo Cadenza

De Luca develops his cadenza shifting from flamenco to jazz language progressively

(1:46- 3:20). He starts in the key of Cm, moving from i (Cm) to iv (Fm), and then going back to i.

The melodic materials of this excerpt recall Joaqun Rodrigos Concierto de Aranjuez. Up to this

63
point, De Luca stays in the flamenco guitar language, other than a FmMaj7/C voicing that might

sound more modern.

Example 31: De Lucas solo cadenza (1:46-2:34)

64
Then, there is a surprising iim7-v7 progression (2:36), leading into flat III. What stands out is not

the harmonic movement, but rather the voicings De Luca uses. In the iim7 chord (Fm7), he plays

a So What voicing93 built over the root. In the V7 chord (B flat 7), he uses a dominant 13

voicing, and before approaching flat III (E flat 6), he inserts a rootless voicing that could be

interpreted as B flat 7 (flat 13) or E7 (9), which would be the tritone substitution of B flat 7. On E

flat 6 (flat III6), he plays a quartal voicing containing the notes E flat (root), D (seventh), G (third)

and C (sixth).

Example 32: De Lucas solo cadenza (2:35-2:47)

93
So What voicings are modal voicings constructed by three intervals of perfect forths plus a minor third. For
example, from the lowest voice to the top: D-G-C-F-A. Bill Evans popularized them in Miles Davis composition So
What, recorded in Kind of Blue (1959). The term So What voicings might have entered the jazz pedagogy discourse
throughout jazz piano methods, such as Mark Levines The Jazz Piano Book. Mark Levine, The Jazz Piano Book
(Petaluma, CA: Sher Music, 1989), 97.

65
The voicings employed by De Luca, So What, dominant 13, quartal, and rootless, were not

common in flamenco music at that time.94 Now, besides the voicings that he uses, his harmonic

language, inserting passing harmonies and jazz harmonic devices, is significant as well. After

arriving to the flat III (E flat) shown in the previous example, De Luca plays another interesting

harmonic device before returning to flat III again. He plays an A flat m7 chord with the ninth as

the top note, with some interesting contrapuntual lines. The melodic line resolves at some point the

seventh of the chord (G flat) to the sixth (F). This motion can be analyzed as a guide tone

resolution, therefore an A flat m7 chord leading into D flat 7, its related V7. In the key of flat III,

the related major key to Cm, this can be analyzed as ivm7 to flat VII7, what is known in jazz

pedagogy as the back door progression. Jerry Coker identifies three different ways the back door

progression occurs.95 One of them is when it is interspersed between two I chords, as it happens in

this example. Another A flat m7 chord appears later, this time over a bass note on B flat, resulting

in a B flat 7sus4 (flat 9, flat 13), V7 of flat III. Then the progression moves to two inverted

voicings for V7 (flat 9) of I in the key of Cm, resolving to i in a very bebop pianistic manner; three

chromatic simultaneous thirds resolving to Cm (i):

94
Rubn Daz, Paco de Lucia: The Only True Innovator of Flamenco Guitar. http://www.rdiaz.org/rdpacoart1.html.
Accessed on April 25th 2012.
95
Jerry Coker, Bob Knapp, and Larry Vincent, Hearing the Changes: Dealing with Unknown Tunes by Ear
(Rottenburg, West Germany: Advance Music, 1997).

66
Example 33: De Luca, Back door progression in the key of flat III, V7 going back to i (2:47-2:59)

The next harmonic surprise has to do with a direct modulation. Following the last i chord

(Cm), De Luca plays an unexpected F7 that leads into a B flat Maj7 chord, then to a Gm chord, its

relative minor. The melodic and harmonic phrase continues moving to an E flat chord, then to a D.

These key relations have been previously discussed in chapter two as one of the contributions to

flamenco jazz by Iturralde; the pivotal qualities of flamenco harmonies. Another direct modulation

occurs, in this case to the key of F sharp m, where De Luca finishes this solo intervention:

Example 34: De Lucas solo cadenza (3:00-3:20)

Paco De Luca demonstrates in this introduction an outstanding maturity of the jazz

harmonic language. This short instrumental excerpt features different harmonic skills. First, a good

67
understanding and good execution of jazz idiomatic voicings such as So What voicings, upper

structure triads, altered dominants, and rootless voicings. Second, a good sense of counterpoint,

featuring inner voices that interact with the principal melody on the top notes of his voicings.

Third, De Luca seems to have reached a higher state of harmonic freedom than during his time

with the Great Guitar Trios, since he modulates keys and manipulates the harmonic rhythm by

inserting passing chords between the target harmonies with obvious facility.

Chick Coreas Solo Cadenza

Corea begins his cadenza (3:21-3:50) speaking in the same flamenco language of Paco de

Luca, using some personal adaptations of flamenco guitar techniques to the piano. In a video

documentary from the Chick Corea Electric Workshop, he acknowledges Paco de Luca as a

great source of inspiration because of his vision and continuation of flamenco music. Corea

describes flamenco music as the blues of the other side of the world, pointing out its interesting

melodic expression, rhythmic interest and intriguing sound. Then, he speaks about adapting his

playing to sound like a guitar while improvising using some flamenco guitar techniques.96 Some of

these techniques include fast arpeggiated figures rather than block chords, alzapa, picados, and

characteristic flamenco grace notes. The alzapa is a flamenco guitar thumb technique. Consists of

a fingering pattern combination alternating the thumb moving bass notes, and the rest of the

fingers playing the same chord voicing. 97 Picados or the verb picar refers in flamenco music to

a right hand technique. It consists of playing fast ascending or descending runs using the index and

middle finger. It creates a percussive effect similar to flamenco foot-tapping. Returning again to

96
Corea, Chick. Chick Corea Lesson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVLoSPxtQDo&feature=related.
Accessed on May 4, 2012. Chick Corea acknowledges Paco de Luca as a great source of inspiration. He talks about
how to adapt the flamenco guitar techniques to the piano and he demonstrates.
97
Pianist Chano Domnguez has made and extended use of this technique on the piano in flamenco jazz contexts. See
Appendix C.

68
Touchstone, Coreas solo cadenza is a great example of his thoughtful assimilation of the

influence of De Luca.

Corea begins with a fast arpeggiated voicing in a descending-ascending motion that recalls

a characteristic flamenco guitar gesture in the style of taranta, one of the flamenco palos (3:21-

3:22). His use of grace notes recalls flamenco guitar articulation, particularly a characteristic

combination of articulated and then tied groups of two notes (3:24-3:25, 3:36-3:37). Corea uses an

alzapa effect over an Fm chord. In the contrapuntual melody (the melody flamenco guitar players

play with their thumb), moves from the root, to the major seventh, to the minor seventh. He

intersperses short articulated Fm chords (the flat third and fifth) in between these contrapuntual

melody notes. The alzapa device is followed by a fast ascending diatonic run that recalls De

Lucas fast picados. The dynamic contrast (piano to forte) in the descending gesture from 3:40 to

3:42 recalls the Spanish guitarists playing as well.

Example 35: Coreas adaptations of flamenco guitar techniques during his solo cadenza (3:21-

3:50)

69
 Corea demonstrates in this cadenza a better understanding and familiarity with flamenco

guitar than on the previously discussed track, My Spanish Fantasy Part III, from My Spanish

Heart. Besides these adaptations of specific techniques such as alzapa, Corea seems to be

concerned about three additional performance aspects: the use of range, the use of the sustain

pedal, and the interaction between both hands. On My Spanish Fantasy Part III Corea focused on

the use of flamenco guitar picados, since the piece is full of these fast runs. Nevertheless, Corea

uses a large amount of sustain pedal and therefore, the notes within these runs blend together in a

more classical piano stylistic approach than flamenco. Because of the nature of the instrument, fast

picados on flamenco guitar are not sustained. The detached articulation emphasizes its percussive

effect and its resemblance to flamenco foot-tapping. Regarding the use of range, the transcription

of Coreas solo cadenza reveals a concentrated use of the middle range of the piano (the common

range with the guitar), with the exception of a few low notes at the end. In contrast, Coreas fast

70
picados on My Spanish Fantasy Part III tend to move towards the high register of the piano. He

also plays some low octaves in the left hand that have a meaningful harmonic role in the piece that

would not be possible to do on a guitar. Finally, Corea seems to interact between both hands in a

complementing manner rather than as two independent units. This approach allows him to perform

the flamenco guitar techniques with more authenticity. Avoiding using them as two independent

units differentiates his performance from the traditional piano performance.

Touchstone Middle Section in Quartet Format98

After his solo cadenza, Corea plays a pick-up that helps to set up the tempo of the next

section, and De Luca joins him in unison playing the opening motif. Benavent and Acua later

enter as they all play in unison a remate, leading to the beginning of the form (3:51-3:59).

Example 36: Coreas pick-up setting up the tempo and the characteristic remate of Touchstones

middle section (3:51-4:00)

Paco De Luca plays the melody on this section, which was already introduced in a rubato style by

Chick Corea in his solo cadenza. This melody does not use any specific flamenco elements from

any flamenco palo, but the rhythms, gestures, and articulation still sound flamenco oriented as they

are based on and inspired by flamenco guitar. The time signature is 4/4 and the key is Fm/C

flamenco tonal center. The harmonic progression consists of an eight measure stretched

Andalusian cadence (Fm, E flat 7, D flat 7, C), four measures that modulate to Dm (A7, Dm), and

98
For a better understanding of Touchstone middle section see the complete analyzed transcription in Appendix A.

71
characteristic flamenco harmonic motion returning to the C flamenco tonal center (B flat m7, D

flat 7/C flat, C).

Example 37: Harmonic analysis of the form of Touchstone middle section

The performance follows the standard jazz practice of head-solo-head, therefore the improvisations

are based on this chorus structure. The last four bars correspond to the melodic materials used to

establish the beginning of the form (Example 36), and the group always plays these materials on

cue at the end of each soloists improvisation.

There are two elements that have remained throughout all the different transformations that

jazz has undergone since the 1950s: improvisation and interaction. Both are the key to understand

the significance of this small groups performance in the evolution of flamenco jazz. This section

of Touchstone reveals the mastery in improvised music performance achieved by these artists;

Corea, De Luca, Benavent, and Acua.

72
Chick Corea

Corea is the first to solo. He is one of the major innovators of jazz piano, being a leading

figure of the post-bop and fusion periods. His style assimilates the legacy of pianists such as

Horace Silver, Wynton Kelly, and McCoy Tyner, among others. In this solo, as in any other from

this period, Corea combines languages with great mastery. The rhythms and his articulation in the

first eight measures are clearly flamenco guitar-influenced (4:31-4:46). He plays a whole-tone idea

over the A7 chord that emphasizes the sharp 11 and the flat 13, matching the sound he suggested in

his voicing during the head in (4:46-4:48). Then, Corea resolves that A7 to Dm in a bebop manner,

using an enclosure and arpeggiated ideas spelling the changes (4:49-4:50). The next ascending

gesture over B flat m7 suggests a B flat m6 pentatonic (a minor pentatonic scale substituting the

natural sixth for the flat 7), and the descending resolution over C7 suggests a C super locrian

sound, with the inclusion of chromatic notes (B and A), resulting in a more sophisticated line

(4:53-4:59). Another sophisticated chromatic line happens from 5:13-5:14. This contemporary use

of chromaticism contrasts with a more bebop-like organization of chromatic notes, for example in

the gesture from 5:15 to 5:17. There are other examples of the use of altered pentatonic scales and

whole-tone sounds as well (5:23-5:28).99 It is this ability to switch languages that makes Coreas

improvisations unique. In this particular track, the flamenco context and background provides him

new ideas for articulation, rhythm, expression, and harmony.

Paco De Luca

Improvisation never happens in flamenco music the way it is understood in jazz: a soloist

creating lines or new melodies over an existing form based on the harmonic progression. As it has

been discussed earlier, the Spanish flamenco guitarist was quite new to this practice, although he

99
Instead of playing an F minor pentatonic (F-A flat-B flat-C-E flat-F) over B flat m7, he plays an altered pentatonic
(F-G-B flat-C-D flat-F) that emphasizes the sixth of the chord, creating a B flat m6 dorian sound. That is a
characteristic of post-bop piano players such as McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.

73
achieved a new level of musicianship thanks to incorporating this new challenge into his music

after his experiences with Di Meola, McLaughlin, and Coryell. De Luca already demonstrated his

ability to interact with other musicians in an improvised musical setting during his performances

with Iturralde. This track shows the maturity he achieved both in melodic improvisation and

improvised harmonic and rhythmic interaction by 1982.

The fact that Coreas composition seems to be inspired by De Lucas style, allows the

guitarist to develop his ideas in a familiar and comfortable atmosphere. De Lucas comping

behind Chick Coreas solo helps the pianist to shape his improvisation. During his first chorus

(4:31-5:00), Corea respects the space of the melody of the tune; his lines follow the same phrasing

of the melody. Therefore, De Luca finds his space and fills it with subtle ideas in a very effective

call and response manner (4:33-4:35, 4:51-4:52). De Luca is aware that his background figures,

plus Benavents comping, are also part of Coreas solo. He leaves some room for Benavent to

respond during Coreas space (4:48-4:50). Another device used by De Luca and Benavent is the

insertion of materials from the composition. They both play a couple of gestures in unison that

make the accompaniment more consistent and relates it to the tune (4:39-4:40, 4:45-4:46). In

another example of teamwork, they increase the tension in their accompaniment over the last two

measures of the form, emphasizing as a result the next structural marker, the top of the second

chorus (4:57-5:00). De Luca begins playing a double time feel rumba guitar rasgueado in this two

measures that helps to emphasize this transition. He keeps this comping device for the entire

second chorus, and the first half of the third, which corresponds and matches Coreas solo climax

(5:00-5:44). Benavent and Acua react to the double-time rasgueado, Benavent by implying a

tumbao line (5:01). De Luca simplifies his accompaniment in the last half of Coreas third chorus

74
as the pianist starts announcing the end of his solo (5:44-5:55). De Luca, Benavent, and Corea

play the closing lick in unison (5:56).

The guitarist starts his solo with a very expressive motif, that contains an A natural over the

changes D flat Maj7 and Fm. Rather than sounding as a mistake, this note reveals the musicians

personality, building a harmonic tension that resolves later to an A flat over E flat 7sus4,

emphasizing the suspended quality of that chord. The Phrygian natural 6 sound has been an

important characteristic in De Lucas playing.100 These first eight measures of solo are an example

of his capacity to develop his melodic ideas using motivic development (6:07-6:12). His ascending

run over A7 sounds like an attempt to use the whole-tone scale sound (6:15-6:17), which was

previously played by Corea in his solo over that same chord. De Luca finishes this ascending idea

anticipating the next change, Dm. Over the Dm chord, he uses the A flamenco Phrygian scale

(with the addition of a major third) that would correspond to that key relationship (Dm is iv in A

flamenco tonal center). This particular flamenco sound creates an important contrast with the

previous whole-tone based idea (6:14-6:19). This is followed by a fast descending diatonic picado

that creates a new contrast, in this case, a rhythmic contrast (6:20-6:24). De Lucas ideas remain

consistently varied in rhythms throughout the entire solo (6:30-6:34, 7:13-7:16). His harmonic

ideas reveal a fearless attitude; he is open to take risks, and Corea receives that attitude with

enthusiasm. A great example can be heard over the C7 dominant chord (6:40). Paco plays the first

four notes of a half-whole diminished scale over the tritone substitute chord of C7 (F sharp 7; so

the notes are F sharp, G, A, B flat). In response to that, Chick Corea highlights that substitution by

playing an F sharp as the top note of his voicing. The chord progression moves to A7 at that point,

so F sharp is the thirteenth of A7. The sonority of A7 changes because of that reaction, since they

change the common treatment of the sound that is derived from the composition: A7 (flat 9, sharp

100
The first falseta on Slo Quiero Caminar is a strong example of the Phrygian natural 6 sound.

75
11). Another example of harmonic understanding is an interesting ascending arpeggio that

underlines a whole tone sound over A7 (6:44-6:45). Something similar occurs in the same A7

during the next chorus (714:716).

De Luca finishes his solo with a melodic idea that concerns the pivotal options of

flamenco harmony and the duality between the minor tonal center (in this case Fm) and the

flamenco tonal center (in this case C). His closing motif contains the notes G-F-E-D-C in a

descending motion. This idea happens over D flat 7/C flat and C. The C chord could be analyzed

in this piece as V7 of i (Fm). However, De Lucas idea seems to spell a G7 resolution to a C

chord, being F the leading tone (dominant seventh) that resolves into the third of C (E). That would

reinforce the idea that flamenco musicians think of theC chord as I, since De Luca implies in his

line a V7-I resolution (7:21-7:24).

Paco De Luca exhibits all the skills acquired during his musical exchange with the guitar

trios and demonstrates his talent with adaptation, as well as his ability to interact. The contrasting

background provided by the cajn, piano, and electric bass, however, allow his musical ideas to

stand out in a less overwhelming way than with the guitar trios. It is not a coincidence that Paco

decided in 1981, a year earlier, to include electric bass and percussion in his most famous musical

formations for the remainder of his musical career. This musical experience in a small group

setting is a great demonstration of the possibilities and musical achievements that this artist

explored throughout the years. In fact, the influence that Paco De Luca had on the most promising

flamenco guitar players of the following generations can be related to this matter, since many of

them usually include electric bass players and percussionists in their small groups, such as

Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, and Nio Josele.

76
Carles Benavent

Carles Benavent is the last soloist (7:27-8:22). Before playing with Paco de Luca,

Benavent was already an active musician in the jazz-fusion scene in Barcelona. Then, being part of

Paco de Lucas famous sextet helped him develop a flamenco technique on the electric bass that is

still the main influence for young flamenco bass players.101 His improvised solo in this track has

both jazz and flamenco licks integrated with an incredible maturity and talent. He switches quickly

from flamenco expressive melodies in the style of Paco De Luca (7:33-7:39, 8:02-8:08) to modern

jazz licks (7:50-7:52) and bluesy riffs (7:56-7:59).102 One detail in particular reveals his knowledge

of jazz theory: before the A7 chord, there is always a C dominant chord, where the soloists plays

different sounds. In his second chorus (8:08), Benavent plays a half-whole diminished lick.

Benavent crosses over the bar line, keeping the same C half-whole diminished sound over A7. C

half-whole diminished and A half-whole diminished are the same sound because they are

symmetrical scales. The musical result is that the F sharp will become a natural thirteenth over the

A7 dominant. Chick Corea reacts immediately to Benavents idea and plays an F sharp on his A7

voicing, making it A7 (13).

Carles Benavents comping during Coreas solo reveals the bassists capacity to listen and

look for the space that the soloist leaves. It is usually during this space that he inserts some musical

ideas in reaction to Coreas previous phrase. Sometimes Benavent complements Coreas motifs

using imitation. The fact that Corea deliberately leaves spaces, together with Carles Benavents

ability to find space and insert musical comments, reaffirms Coreas discourse and makes this

conversation successful (4:48, 5:17, 5:21). Benavent also demonstrates he is an experienced jazz

101
Carles Benavents recording labels website. Carles Benavent Press Kit.
http://www.bebyne.com/files/BEBYNE_CDB001_PRESS_KIT_ENG.pdf. Accessed May 6, 2012. International
critics have said that Carles Benavent became for the flamenco style what Jaco Pastorious became for the Jazz Style.
102
Benavent plays a pentatonic scale in sixteenth notes in groups of six (accented every six notes).

77
performer, always emphasizing the form by inserting materials from the composition (4:39, 4:45),

or by building tension in order to emphasize important structural markers such as the beginning of

the chorus (4:53, 5:28).

After Corea, De Luca, and Benavents solos, they play the melody of this middle section

again (8:24-8:54). A new contrasting section that recalls the melodic and rhythmic materials of the

previous one follows this discussed middle section of Touchstone (8:54-9:40). The musical

elements that create this contrast can be found in the harmony and in the instrumentation. The new

harmonies are not based on the flamenco tonal center, as the previous section, and the constanting

chordal motion does not establish any new tonal center. Corea brings back the use of synthesizers.

Besides providing a timbral contrast to the previous section, it recalls the beginning of the suite.

The ending section is a recapitulation of the introduction and therefore, the synthesizers serve as

the common element that links them together.

Example 38: Touchstone contrasting section (8:55-9:39)

78
 The Yellow Nimbus

On Touchstones second track, The Yellow Nimbus, Chick Corea integrates flamenco

elements from the composition process.103 The song is based on the buleras rhythmic pattern. In

my previous analysis, I credited Pedro Iturralde for being the first jazz musician who attempted to

integrate this rhythm into a jazz small group setting with his composition Buleras. Besides some

deficiencies in the musicians understanding of this complex flamenco style, including accents and

harmonic rhythm, Iturraldes composition only takes advantage of one great feature of buleras,

the remate at the end of the head. On the other hand, Chick Corea shows a better understanding of

the buleras rhythmic subtleties.

The Yellow Nimbus starts with De Luca hitting with his knuckles the accents of

buleras on the body of his guitar, and Corea plays a remate on the synthesizers (0:02) before he

starts playing the introduction.104 The rhythms of the lines heard in the introduction feature many

upbeats, falling in line with the rhythmic patterns that a flamenco hand-clapper would usually play

in the style of buleras. Chick Corea overdubbed a second synthesizer, comping behind these lines.

It is clear how he highlights the odd meter of bulerias, that is to say, the shift from 3/4 to 2/4,

playing the downbeats of the 2/4 bars (0:18). One can hear a first falseta, played in unison by Paco

de Luca and Chick Corea, this time on piano (0:25). The gestures, the harmony, and the shape of

this falseta are clearly written in the style of buleras. Flamenco musicians start their falsetas

targeting the second 3/4 bar, and that is what Corea does. Chick Coreas success in this

composition is that, while the bulerias style can be recognized, his characteristic compositional

style and harmonic language are also evident (see the transcription in the appendix for more
103
Chick Corea. Chick Corea at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDWnfVNZPc. Accessed on May 4, 2012. During a concert in Copenhagen,
Corea introduces The Yellow Nimbus to the audience and explains that he wrote the piece for Paco de Lucia,
before he plays it in solo piano format.
104
For a better understanding of The Yellow Nimbus see the complete analyzed transcription in Appendix A.

79
details). This falseta is a great example, since it is rooted in the flamenco tradition, but at the same

time, introduces Coreas personality because of its rhythm. This falseta features certain rhythmic

motives that repeat but starting in different beat placements. This rhythmic displacement is a

characteristic in Coreas improvisational style, one of the features borrowed from Thelonious

Monk, a pianist that he admires. Another rhythmic element that Corea uses in this composition is

the use of uneven accents within the lines. This approach results in inner rhythms within the lines

that emphasize the upbeats and create small rhythmic cells that provide rhythmic contrast (0:39,

0:45, 0:50, 0:54).

The rhythmic approach of flamenco has caught the attention of jazz musicians since Lionel

Hamptons experience in Madrid. Buleras style is all about rhythm. De Luca overdubbed

handclaps and an interesting percussive effect with the guitar on The Yellow Nimbus. Besides

the main guitar, De Luca overdubbed another guitar track playing only rhythmic effects, muting

the strings completely with his left hand while using flamenco rasgueos on the right. This

percussive guitar track always underlines the buleras rhythmic pattern and accents throughout the

performance.105 Coreas composition reproduces flamenco foot tapping by using the picados

technique. He introduces a rhythmic figure in eighth note triplets that recalls this technique (1:02-

1:11). These picados are played in unison by the guitar and piano, and De Luca also overdubbs

them drumming on the body of the guitar with his knuckles on the second guitar track, imitating

flamenco dancers foot tapping. This particular rhythmic motif using picados underlines the

buleras pattern, differentiating the ternary and binary subdivisions. However, Corea repeats this

105
Rubn Daz. Paco de Luca: The Only True Innovator of Flamenco Guitar. http://www.rdiaz.org/rdpacoart1.html.
Accessed on April 25, 2012. Besides the handclaps and some knuckle drumming, Paco overdubs a rasgueo on the
guitar (from the beginning to 1:02 and from 6:15 to the end), but muting the strings, which creates a characteristic
flamenco percussive effect. According to Rubn Daz, that is one of the many innovations that Paco de Luca
introduced to flamenco guitar, specifically in his composition Almoraima, included in his album of the same title
(1976).

80
rhythmic motif three times, but starting it on a different beat within the 12-beat buleras pattern.

This new rhythmic displacement feature crosses the bar line in an innovative way that was not

idiomatic in flamenco music by 1982.

In addition to the ambitious compositional process integrating flamenco and jazz traits, this

track also showcases, like the previous track Touchstone, a great demonstration by Corea on

how to integrate his post-bop language into flamenco styles and harmonies during his solo (3:39 to

4:45). His use of a detached articulation throughout his improvisation blends naturally with the

background; that is to say De Lucas percussive accompaniment using buleras, rasgueos, the

handclaps, and Alex Acuas percussion using bat drums. Corea makes use again of rhythmic

displacement in his motivic development (3:46). Although Acuas accompaniment during this

section suggests 3/4, De Lucas accompaniment delineates the characteristic shifts from 3/4 to 2/4

in the buleras rhythmic framework. The way he groups the notes in his motifs suggests his ability

to either improvise in 3/4, or take advantage of the 3 groups of 2/4 of the buleras pattern (3:49).

Coreas improvised lines feature harmonic anticipation and De Lucas characteristic Phrygian

natural 6 sound (3:52). His use of chromaticism recalls Dino Pianas and Paul Grassls approaches

with Iturralde. The line at 3:55 starts with a characteristic bebop treatment of chromaticism, and

continues with an arpeggio over the upper structure of the chord, delineating an A triad over E flat

7, which results on an E flat 7 (flat 9 sharp 11) sound. This phrase is followed by some percussive

effects using chordal ideas over B7 (3:59-4:01). The Yellow Nimbus is in B flat flamenco tonal

center. Therefore, B7 is flat II and it functions as a dominant leading into I, which would be the top

of the next chorus.106 The chordal ideas used by Corea suggest a half-whole diminished treatment

of this dominant chord, and the shapes he uses recall Herbie Hancocks signature voicings on

106
This functional analysis has been done according to Jos Antonio Prezs theory, explained in chapter three.

81
Dolphin Dance. Coreas post bop language enriches flamenco melodies and harmonies,

continuing the works of Iturralde, Piana, and Grassl in that regard.

Example 39: Chick Coreas solo (excerpt) on The Yellow Nimbus (3:39-4:02)

82
Paco de Luca exhibits on The Yellow Nimbus the level of maturity he achieved in jazz

improvisation (4:46-5:52). He demonstrated to the younger generation of flamenco musicians that

improvising was not an unattainable goal. His solo on The Yellow Nimbus showcases all the

musical skills that he acquired during his cultural exchange with the North American jazzmen.

The closing track of this album, Touchstone, Dance of Chance, is written using the

buleras rhythmic framework as well. The lines played by the saxophone, trumpet, and keyboards

in unison, cross the bar line creating interesting rhythmic effects. Carles Benavent is featured in

this track, and the music demonstrates again Coreas maturity in using this particular flamenco

rhythm in his compositions.

Zyryab and the Touchstone Group

Coreas and De Lucas collaboration was not destined to be extinguished. The mutual

admiration that both artists professed of each other developed into a great friendship that persisted

until De Lucas last days. After their first concert together in 1982 in the Dominican Republic,

which resulted in the recording of Touchstone, they got together again in Cdiz (Spain) in 1985.

This second encounter was followed by a tour in Japan and the United States.107 In 1990, while

Corea was playing in XI edition of the Festival de Jazz de Madrid, De Luca was recording his

album Zyryab.108 After the pianists performance, De Luca recruited Corea and brought him to

the studio. Corea recorded the track Zyryab. As Paco de Luca noted in an El Pas interview on

October 20, 1990, It is a very spontaneous interpretation, and Chick played a beautiful solo,

although we recorded it at 8 a.m. The album contains a new composition by De Luca dedicated

to Corea, Chick, and the influence of the jazz pianist can be heard on De Lucas celebrated

107
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 362.
108
Federico Gonzlez, 115 msicos actuarn en el Festival de Jazz de Madrid, El Pas. October 13, 1990.

83
Cancin de Amor as well.109 Corea and De Lucas groups have reunited together on the stage in

a couple of different occasions thanks to the Festival Internacional de Jazz de Vitoria, in 2001 and

2013.110

In 2005, Corea formed a band called the Touchstone Group. Former Paco De Lucas

percussionist, Rubem Dantas, reproached Corea: Chick, le diste un bocado a la manzana, y

despus la dejaste tirada! (Chick, you just took one bite out of the apple, and then you left it

behind!).111 Coreas reaction was forming this new band with former De Luca musicians Jorge

Pardo (flute and saxophones), Rubem Dantas (percussion), Carles Benavent (bass). He added an

old associate, Tom Brechtlein (drums), and Gayle Moran (vocals). Corea explained to producer

Javier Limn his motivation to form this group on the TVE documentary Entre Dos Aguas:

Its my secret. I am a student. My secret is to always be a student. Music comes from the
heart, from peoples heart, and of course, each culture has its own way with music, and I
am interested in everything. I know that I cant learn something just by reading a book. I
have to be with the person. When I met Paco I wanted to work with him. We made some
recordings togetherand then I stole his musicians! No, I am kidding[laughs].112

Corea released two albums with Touchstone Group, Rhumba Flamenco (2005) and The Ultimate

Adventure (2006). A live concert in Barcelona was released as well, in DVD format, under the

same title, The Ultimate Aventure (2006). These recordings feature these artists at their best

capacities and confirmed Coreas passion for Spanish music. The repertory on the tours included

De Lucas Zyryab as a tribute to the Spanish guitarist.

109
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 370-371. The main motif of Cancin de Amor recalls Chick Coreas
composition Duende, included on Touchstone, which features Lee Konitz on alto saxophone.
110
Corea describes how sharing the stage with De Luca on 2013 was the culmination of a dream that started many
years ago. Jos Mara Garca Martnez, La Rumba de Chick y Paco, El Pas, July 21, 2013.
http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2013/07/20/actualidad/1374343915_069779.html. Accessed on November 15, 2015.
111
Rubem Dantas, interview by Sergio Pamies, Granada, December 10, 2015.
112
Javier Limn, and Javier Calvo, Entre Dos Aguas, Televisin Espaola. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-
documental/entre-dos-aguas/1463763/. Accessed on January 5, 2016.

84
 Evaluating the Results of the Experiment and the Concept of Creative Misreading

At the end of chapter three, I suggested that there was an important factor to take into

consideration before comparing Iturraldes recordings with Coreas and De Lucas Touchstone.

Both jazz and flamenco went through many changes and innovations between 1967 and 1982, with

Corea and De Luca leading most of these changes in both musical practices, respectively. Coreas

contributions to jazz and De Lucas contributions to flamenco have already been acknowledged

and documented by jazz and flamenco critics and historians. Chapter four presented an analysis

and evaluation of both artists evolution in their careers and musicianship between 1967 and 1982,

in order to find the reasons that made possible a more homogeneous blend of styles on Touchstone

than in any of its flamenco jazz predecessors. Some of the negative criticism that has been

associated with Iturraldes recordings comes from a lack of understanding of the different

contributions by the discussed artists presented in this work: how these contributions happened

chronologically in the flamenco jazz timeline, and how they are related. These negative critiques

have been made without taking into consideration what was happening around 1967 both in

flamenco and jazz. It is my hope that the analysis and arguments presented in chapter 3 will

contribute to generate new opinions and evaluations of Iturraldes accomplishments. Chapter three

concludes with a list that summarizes some of the contributions of Iturraldes group in suggesting

the aesthetics of flamenco jazz. However, I agree with Zagalaz that Touchstone accomplishes a

more homogeneous blend of the flamenco and jazz elements. The analysis of Touchstone and

The Yellow Nimbus presented in this chapter demonstrates a new level of sophistication in this

flamenco jazz hybridization and it reveals the reasons that made it possible.

One of the aspects that reached this higher level of sophistication can be found in the

compositional approaches. The differences between Iturralde and Coreas compositional

85
approaches exploring the buleras style can be taken as an example. Iturralde seemed to intend to

write an authentic bulera, using the Andalusian cadence and flamenco melodies and harmonies.

Iturralde takes advantage of the modality of flamenco, exploring the John Coltrane Quartets

aesthetics with a new background (flamenco rhythm). In contrast, Corea does not limit himself to

flamenco harmonies and the Andalusian cadence. The Yellow Nimbus combine with excellence

and balanced flamenco harmonies with his signature contemporary jazz harmonies, creating an

excellent vehicle for improvisation. Coreas approach to buleras style not only sounds fresh,

ambitious, and innovative to jazz musicians and aficionados, but to flamenco musicians and

flamenco audiences as well. Although flamenco aficionados could clearly hear this composition in

the style of buleras, Coreas melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic language would represent a

challenge and something innovative to their flamenco-educated taste.113

There is a concept known as creative misreading. It comes from literary criticism, and it

was introduced by Harold Bloom in his work The Anxiety of Influence. This concept refers to new

imaginative artistic productions that are the result of a misinterpretation of an old source, because

of a re-contextualization or new purpose. This concept has already been applied to music.114

Creative misreading could be an interesting way to describe and evaluate some of the innovative,

imaginative, and artistic achievements presented in Touchstone, and Coreas approach to buleras

is, again, a great example. The fact that Corea did not learn flamenco music, in this particular case

buleras, from its traditional form, facilitates that creative misreading. Corea was first exposed to

flamenco music through De Lucas music, and he described how impressive that musical

discovery was:

113
Guitarist Josemi Carmona shared with me how impacting this recording has been for him throughout the years, as a
flamenco musician. Josemi Carmona, interview by Sergio Pamies, Madrid, December 13, 2015.
114
Scott Lindroth, Teaching Composition: Artistic Growth through Confrontation, Tact, Sympathy, and Honesty,
Contemporary Music Review 31, issue 4 (2012): 297-304.

86
 When I hear Paco play, it does something to me; makes me want to write, make music. It
makes me [feel] a little bit of mistery because I dont understand what he is doing.115

Coreas words support this idea of creative misreading. The analysis of The Yellow Nimbus,

revealed some innovative and non-conventional elements in traditional buleras, such as rhythmic

displacement and its possibilities to cross the bar line. De Lucas part on The Yellow Nimbus

was challenging and sophisticated not only from a harmonic aspect, but from a rhythmic and

technical perspective as well. These challenges might have helped De Luca to find new musical

ideas and enrich his own conception of buleras. An analysis of De Lucas falsetas compositional

approach in the style of buleras throughout his artistic career, demonstrate this argument. There is

a tremendous evolution regarding the rhythmic aspects of composition in De Lucas falsetas in the

style of buleras. De Luca moves from the use of short rhythmic cells and motivic development,

to longer and more complex phrases crossing the bar lines. This evolution can be tracked in

different buleras throughout his extensive discography: Al Verte las Flores Lloran (from

Camarns Al Verte las Flores Lloran, 1969), Cepa Andaluza (Fuente y Caudal, 1973),

Almoraima (Almoraima, 1976), La Tumbona (Slo Quiero Caminar, 1981), El Pauelo

(Siroco, 1987), and Soniquete (Zyryab, 1990), among others.

There are important testimonies by De Luca that support this idea of creative misreading

as well. A young Paco de Luca responded in an interview for Spanish national television that the

main characteristic of the flamenco guitar players from his generation was [a] mistake. We are

trying to achieve new things, therefore we make mistakes.116 He would admit years later I dont

believe in fusion. I just think it is an excuse to learn from other genres, do things that we have

115
Snchez, Curro. Paco de Luca: La Bsqueda.
116
Paco De Luca, Interview, Televisn Espaola.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwvS5xgEdC4. Accessed December 15, 2015.

87
never done before, from jazz music, for example.117 Therefore, De Luca has never been afraid of

making mistakes, and that open minded attitude has allowed him to enrich his musicianship

throughout creative misreading: I try to surprise myself, because if you are able to surprise

yourself, you are automatically surprising those who are listening to you.118

In an interview with Juan Claudio Cifuentes, Jorge Pardo shared an anecdote about Miles

Espaol: New Sketches of Spain, which suggests this creative misreading phenomenon:

I was last year in a recording session in New York with Ron Carter, Chick Corea, and
Antonio Snchez. We were doing a tribute album to Miles Davis, produced by Bob Belden.
Chick wrote a tune in 3/4 that sounded somehow like a bulera, () and I was thinking
lets see how Mr. Carter handles this situation I was surprised. He just played what he
always plays! Thats the artistry: making your part fit with the others while playing what
you always play.119

It would be as impossible to determine to what extent this association influenced De

Lucas later music and style, as it is to determine how Coreas discoveries and adaptations of

flamenco music elements are responsible for his later music. Nevertheless, the analysis of

Touchstone presented in this chapter demonstrates the outstanding benefits that both musicians

received from this meaningful and ambitious collaboration. A new Chick Corea and a new

Paco de Luca can be heard on these two tracks.120 Besides the personal benefits that these artists

incorporated to their music, the fact that both of them are major figures in jazz and flamenco

respectively, magnifies this success widely. Their personal benefit from this collaboration resulted

in invaluable musical contributions to later generations in both cultures.

117
ngel lvarez Caballero, La Integral de Paco de Luca, El Pas, July 12, 2003.
http://elpais.com/diario/2003/07/12/babelia/1057964773_850215.html. Accessed February 16, 2016.
118
Mara Zabay, Paco De Luca, Vuelta Vuelta. Intereconoma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAO4h14fhHQ
Accesed February 21, 2016.
119
Cifuentes, Juan Claudio. Entrevista a Jorge Pardo: Huellas. A Todo Jazz. Radio3 (rtve.es). November 17, 2012.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/a-todo-jazz/todo-jazz-entrevista-jorge-pardo-17-11-12/1582085. Accessed February
16, 2016.
120
Josemi Carmona, interview by Sergio Pamies, Madrid, December 13, 2015. Flamenco guitarist Josemi Carmona
agrees that De Lucas music after Touchstone incorporates new harmonic elements. My interview with Carmona took
place after I completed my analysis and formed my own arguments about Touchstone. Carmona shows awareness of
the music presented on this album by Corea and De Luca, and asserts it influenced his own music.

88
 CHAPTER 6

THE INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF FLAMENCO JAZZ ON POPULAR MUSIC IN

SPAIN: NUEVO FLAMENCO

I play the cajn because of the Maestro [Paco de Luca]. I still remember the first
time I saw it, when Rubem Dantas brought itthe sound was so refreshingit is a
percussion instrument that seems to has its origin in Flamenco music, rather than
in Per!
Antonio Carmona

Paco not only taught guitarists; he has taught singers, dancersI unconsciously
use rhythms from Pacos falsetas in my foot-tapping!
El Farru

Spanish Jazz Musicians: Flamenco Jazz or Jazz Flamenco?

The analysis of Benavents solo on Touchstone revealed a bilingual quality in his

improvised lines. In contrast to Paco De Luca, a self-taught flamenco musician who learned

improvisation on the bandstand, Benavent demonstrated in Touchstone the promising

possibilities for Spanish jazz musicians who have been trained in both practices.121 A deeper

understanding of flamenco music allows them to conceive improvisation and other performance

aspects from both perspectives, being able to switch languages with the facility of a bilingual

speaker. Musicians such as Carles Benavent, Jorge Pardo, Chano Domnguez, Nono Garca, Tito

Alcedo, Antonio Mesa, Joan Albert Amargs, Perico Sambeat, and Javier Colina, among others,

continued to explore the paths opened by Corea and De Luca on Touchstone.

Paco de Luca is responsible for the majority of the great innovations that flamenco music

went through in the second half of the twentieth century. He is responsible for introducing

instruments such as electric bass, flute, and percussion into a flamenco performance setting, among

121
Producer Bob Belden about Benavent: [Benavent] is one of the most unique bassists in jazz, applying flamenco
guitar techniques to his instrument with a warm tone and flowing ideas. Bob Belden, Liner Notes, Miles Espaol:
New Sketches of Spain, Bob Belden, EOM-CD-2104, 2011.

89
other innovations. Traditional flamenco music used to be performed by cantaores (singers),

tocaores (guitarists) and bailaores (dancers). Flamenco percussion featured palmas (hand-claps)

and foot tapping. The inclusion of other instrumentation expanded the orchestration, arranging,

technical, and compositional possibilities. In spite of that, Carles Benavent explained the negative

reception they got from flamenco purists: Pacothe guy with the Chinese guitarask him to

leave the stage.122 Pedro Ruy-Blas believes De Luca included these new instruments in order to

be able to be booked in international tours at the level of groups such as Weather Report, Return to

Forever, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra: He needed to bring with him these young musicians that

could play in a contrasting way.123 He was not thinking of Spanish audiences. Thus, the

internationalization of his music through his exposure with the Guitar Trios resulted in these

changes that affected flamenco enormously.

The dedication of his musicians (Benavent, Dantas, Pardo) in finding their own ways to

combine jazz and flamenco elements made the experience successful and accepted by flamenco

musicians. Flamenco guitarist Pepe Habichuela, leader of one of the most important flamenco

families, describes how passionate and dedicated Jorge Pardo was about learning flamenco music,

and how flamenco musicians would appreciate that effort.124 Chick Corea praises the distinctive

qualities in Jorge Pardos playing:

Jorge can play any style of music. Although he is rooted in flamenco, he is a great
improviser as well. () I dont know anybody who plays the flute like that; maybe he
hears it as a voice. Sounds very vocal. He doesnt fall into playing a lot of notes all the time
() He introduces his phrases like poetry, into the music. He is very much interactive with
the performance, with the other musicians.125

122
Alicia De la Cruz, and Chema De la Torre, Jorge Pardo, en el 3 y en el 2 from Imprescidibles.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/imprescindibles/imprescindibles-jorge-pardo-3-2/3309156/. Accessed on January
15, 2016.
123
Ibid.
124
Ibid.
125
Ibid.

90
Pardos language combines the deep and sorrowful qualities of cante jondo with bebop, blues and

post-bop languages. His outstanding performance of flamenco palos such as taranta and sole in

the role of the flamenco cantaor (singer) can be heard in the tracks Se Me Parti La Barrena (10

de Paco, 1994) and Duende (Miles Espaol: New Sketches of Spain, 2011). One of the reasons

that might have challenged him to accomplish this ability to switch languages can be found in the

kind of exposure he got through his years in Paco De Lucas band. Pardo talks about his debut

with the Spanish guitarist in a theater in Brussels:

When I arrived to the theater the concert had already started. () After the intermission,
we were supposed to play [Manuel de Fallas] Danza del Fuego, since we kind of
rehearsed it. I went to the stage, getting ready to do that, when Paco asks me Play
something by yourself!and I had to do something solo. After that first time, these solo
interventions became something important that we always did.126

The fact that international audiences were attending a flamenco concert might have forced Pardo to

develop this interesting combination of both languages. A great example of this mixture is his

rubato solo introduction to Chiquito on LiveOne Summer Night (1984), where flamenco

singing and bebop inspired statements influence each other.

Example 40: Jorge Pardos introduction to Chiquito (0:06-0:33)

126
De la Cruz and De la Torre, Jorge Pardo, en el 3 y en el 2.

91
 Pardo states that there were two important factors involved in the development of his

improvisational language: action and reflection. He describes action as the interaction that happens

on the bandstand, which depends not only on the communication and energy among the musicians,

but also on the musicians subconscious musical associations and the response of the audience.

Pardo believes that the music that improvisors have been exposed to throughout their lives and the

influence of their models has an important impact on the choices they make on the bandstand. He

mentions Juan Talega, bebop, and Manuel de Falla as important influences during his time with

Paco De Luca. Pardo describes reflection as the critical evaluation that artists go through after the

action process. It is through a process of self-criticism and a conscious evaluation of their recorded

improvisations that improvisors can shape their language according to their taste, ambitions, and

musical goals.127

Paco De Luca explains how he and Rubem Dantas discovered the cajn during a tour in

Per, and the first time Dantas played it in Spain. De Luca describes how impressed the young

flamenco gypsies were by this strange instrument. He asserts that, after six months, every flamenco

127
Paraphrase of Jorge Pardo, e-mail message to author, March 27, 2016.

92
family would own a cajn at home. Some of the most important percussion players in the

development of the cajn technique in flamenco after Rubem Dantass contributions attended that

concert: Antonio Carmona, and Ramn Porrina, among others.128

De Lucas famous bands during the 1980s and 1990s helped to establish the sound of the

flamenco small group, and now, all the leading figures in flamenco guitar feature percussionists,

bassists, and horn players in their respective groups. De Luca changed flamenco music not only

with the inclusion of non-traditional instruments, but also with the inclusion of non-traditional

harmonies, and improvisation. His albums Almoraima (1976), Slo Quiero Caminar (1981),

LiveOne Summer Night (1984), Siroco (1987), and Zyryab (1990) trace the history of his

evolution in flamenco.129

Paco De Lucas musicians started being admired by Spanish musicians. They

demonstrated, together with Iturralde, that another kind of jazz was possible. Luis Clemente starts

his book with a discussion on jazz flamenco, making an overview from its predecessors (including

Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, and Coltrane) to this new generation of versatile Spanish musicians:

Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Chano Domnguez, among others. 130 This particular generation is

connected with a broader musical phenomenon that has had a wider impact in Spanish popular

music than flamenco jazz: nuevo flamenco.

Mario Pacheco and Nuevos Medios

The label nuevo flamenco embraces the production of the generation of flamenco musicians

who took advantage of the revolution led by Paco de Luca, Camarn, and Enrique Morente. This

generation took responsibility for the evolution of flamenco music. The photographer and producer

128
Limn and Calvo, Entre Dos Aguas.
129
Paco De Lucas contributions to flamenco music are well documented by authors such as Juan Jos Tllez, Jos
Manuel Gamboa, Faustino Nuez, Spanish newspaper interviews, and the video documentaries cited in this work.
130
Pianist Chano Domnguez has also made important contributions to flamenco jazz. See the appendix to find some
of his most celebrated recordings.

93
Mario Pacheco introduced this label to the media.131 Pacheco founded the recording label Nuevos

Medios as a vehicle to support these new approaches to flamenco music, under the slogan a kind

of music too beautiful to be ignored.132 Nuevos Medios supported this cultural movement before

the national and international media were even aware and interested about it. Some of the artists

who reached popularity and recognition thanks to Nuevos Medios are Pepe Habichuela, Pata

Negra (Rafael and Raimundo Amador), Ketama, Ramn El Portugus, Ray Heredia, Jos Soto

Sorderita, La Barbera del Sur, Jos El Francs, Aurora Losada, Pep Luis Carmona

Habichuela, Diego Amador, and El Potito. There is a common link between these artists: they

all came from traditional flamenco families, and learned flamenco in its traditional and pure

manifestation from a very early age. These artists represent important flamenco families from

different areas in Spain such as the Habichuelas (Granada), Sorderas (Jerez), Amador

(Sevilla), Losada (Madrid), and Porrina (Extremadura).

Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, and Rubem Dantas, who became some sort of spiritual

leaders in flamenco music because of their experiences with Paco De Luca and Camarn, always

supported and participated with the Jvenes Flamencos. In fact, Pardo and Benavent signed with

Nuevos Medios and released their solo albums on Mario Pachecos label. Therefore, Nuevos

Medios not only became the main support for nuevo flamenco, but also for Spanish flamenco jazz.

The cultural exchange between the young flamenco gypsies and the Spanish jazzmen,

resulted in many great recordings in the Nuevos Medios catalog. Flamenco cantaor Pepe Luis

Carmona Habichuela describes how Mario Pacheco invited him to sign a contract with Nuevos

Medios after attending his debut concert as a soloist. Mario gave him the opportunity to put

together a band, La Barbera del Sur, which had a tremendous impact in the development of nuevo

131
Pepe Luis Carmona, e-mail message to author, March 2, 2016.
132
Mario Pacheco, Liner Notes, Karma, Ketama, Nuevos Medios NM 15 705, 1996.

94
flamenco.133 Pepe Luis Carmona contributed to nuevo flamenco not only during his time with La

Barbera del Sur but through his debut solo album, Cado del Cielo (1998), presented an innovative

concept that combined cante jondo in different styles (sole, martinete, buleras) with a modern

jazz fusion oriented rhythm section, featuring Josep Salvador (electric and acoustic guitar), Jos

Mara Cortina (piano, keyboards), Juan Antonio Ramos El Maka (electric bass), and Pedro

Barcel (drums). This combination explored the superimposition of different subdivisions in the

background, while Pepe Luis would perform his cantes in a traditional way.

Los Jvenes Flamencos

Besides promoting the individual careers of these artists, Mario Pacheco made a conscious

attempt to unite these artists efforts in order to reach collective success as a cultural movement.

Pacheco contributed to the organization of some historical concerts that helped nuevo flamenco

reach the national and international media and to consolidate the achievements and possibilities for

future artistic expressions of these artists. One of them was a concert titled Los Jvenes

Flamencos that took place in the Alhambra of Granada (Patio de los Aljibes). This concert

featured Spanish flamenco jazz artists such as Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Tino Di Geraldo, and

Rubem Dantas, working as a stable rhythm section. Each artist joined them and performed their

own compositions, showcasing their different individual artistic expressions of nuevo flamenco,

including Ketama, Jos El Francs, Pepe Luis Carmona, Aurora Losada, Duquende, El

Potito, and Jos Soto Sorderita. This concert was filmed and broadcasted on National Spanish

Television (Canal + Spain), and it helped promote a series of CD compilations that Pacheco

released under the title Los Jvenes Flamencos as well. These compilations were distributed in

different countries worldwide.

Jazzpaa

133
Pepe Luis Carmona, e-mail message to author, March 2, 2016.

95
 The next important concert in which Pacheco had an important role was the project called

Jazzpaa, in 1993. Jazzpaa was a very ambitious project, led by the composer and arranger Vince

Mendoza (WDR Big Band in Cologne), together with the producer and arranger Arif Mardin.

Jazzpaa reunited jazz artists such as Michael Brecker, Al Di Meola, Peter Erskine, and Seve

Khan, with a group of Pachecos protges, combining some of his flamenco jazz representatives

(Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Rubem Dantas) with some of the Jvenes Flamencos (Ramn El

Portugus, Juan Manuel Caizares, Joseln Vargas). Mendoza and Mardins ambition was to

combine in the repertory original compositions and songs from the flamenco repertory, and then

orchestrate them for big band. Jazzpaa was probably the first project combining flamenco jazz

with the characteristic sound of jazz: the big band. Mendoza arranged one composition by Jorge

Pardo (Entre Tinieblas), a rendition of the popular Spanish theme El Vito (recorded before by

Coltrane and Iturralde), and an important flamenco song written by Vicente Amigo and

popularized by Camarn, Soy Gitano (I am a Gypsy).134 Ralf Rohmer, one of the saxophonists

with the WDR Big Band, expressed the excitement, enthusiasm, and novelty that Jazzpaas

project represented for them:

It was fascinating and demanding to play the scores of Arif Mardin and Vince Mendoza
and to assimilate the spirit and enthusiasm of the music. The arrangements were superb
and certainly not among the easiest we have been called upon to play. But, happily, we
were given a week of a rehearsal to get a really good feel for the music, and then a week for
the recording. By the time we got to play in the sell-out concert at the Philharmonie in
Cologne, we were in good shape because we really caught and enjoyed the flavor of the
music. The uninhibited fire and fervor of the Spanish musicians and Ramn El Portugus,
with that hoarse, declamatory vocal style were truly inspiring for us.135

134
Jorge Pardo, e-mail message to author, March 27, 2016. Pardo states that Mendoza did not need much help from
him to undertand his music. He believes Mendoza based his big band arrangement of Entre Tinieblas on the earlier
recording on Pardos Las Cigarras Son Quiz Sordas. However, Pardo introduced Mendoza to Madrids flamenco
scene during the time they spent together in the preparation of Jazzpaa. Pardo believes that Mendozas experience of
flamenco music in person was more relevant than any of his explanations, because of Mendozas musical abilities.
135
Mike Hennessey, Liner Notes, Jazzpaa, Vince Mendoza and Arif Mardin, Act Records 9212, 1992.

96
Mike Hennessey asserts that Pardo, Benavent and Caizares were truly outstanding, pointing out

that the combination of these jazz international artists (Brecker, Di Meola, Erskine) with the

Jvenes Flamencos made Jazzpaa an exceptional and outstanding recording event by any

criteria.136 The recording, Jazzpaa, was nominated for two Grammys.137 Later, other jazz artists

would explore the possibilities for combining flamenco music with the orchestration textures of the

big band, such as Maria Schneider (Bulera, Sole y Rumba, from Concert in the Garden, 2004),

Perico Sambeat (Flamenco Big Band, 2009), and Jorge Pardos project Huellas XL, featuring

arrangements by Gil Goldstein and Vince Mendoza.138

Mario Pachecos accomplishments in the development of Spanish popular music are

invaluable. Pacheco promoted Spanish flamenco jazz (Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent, Joan Albert

Amargs, Diego Amador), and nuevo flamenco (Ketama, La Barbera del Sur, Pata Negra).

However, as Pepe Luis Carmona points out, he also included in his label flamenco artists rooted in

the tradition such as Pepe Habichuela, Tomatito, Rafael Riqueni, and Ramn El Portuges.139

Pachecos strategy of combining all these personalities was beneficial for everyone. The younger

generations that were attracted to nuevo flamenco were introduced to the flamenco jazz of Pardo

and Benavent and the traditional flamenco of Riqueni and El Portugus. Flamenco audiences

were introduced to flamenco jazz, and jazz audiences became aware of flamenco music, in its

broader meaning. In a documentary released after Pachecos death in 2010, some of his protges

expressed their gratitude to him:140

Ramn El Portugus: He had an important role in the evolution of flamenco

136
Hennessey, Liner Notes, Jazzpaa, Vince Mendoza and Arif Mardin.
137
Tllez, En Vivo, 373.
138
Maria Schneider about Bulera, Sole y Rumba: I could talk about the fact that this composition uses flamenco
forms that I love -the sound I first fell in love when I first heard Paco De Luca perform. Maria Schneider, Liner
Notes, Concert in the Garden, Maria Schneider, ArtistShare, 2004.
139
Pepe Luis Carmona, e-mail message to author, March 2, 2016.
140
Luca Gonzlez, Mario Pacheco: Historia de una Pasin, 2011. https://vimeo.com/64894892. Accessed December
12, 2015.

97
 Raimundo Amador: He had a great vision. He was not looking for business, he
was looking for good music.
Josemi Carmona: He gave us the freedom and the means to reach our ambitions.

The Increasing Interest of Flamenco Musicians in Jazz

After examining how jazz indirectly enriched flamenco music, there is another fact that

needs to be addressed in this discussion. Some of the gypsy artists involved in nuevo flamenco

received the opportunity to share stages and projects with musicians from other disciplines:

Ketama collaborated with musicians such as Toumani Diabate, Michel Camilo, Paquito D Rivera

in different projects. Raimundo Amador collaborated with one of his greatest idols, B.B. King.

These musical exchanges that happened during the last two decades of the twentieth century

certainly changed the mentality of flamenco musicians. Benavent described how flamenco purists

would reject the inclusion of non-conventional instruments into flamenco music when they first

started working with De Luca. However, the success of De Luca and Camarns careers, together

with the emergence of nuevo flamenco, drastically changed the musical scene in Spain. There are

three gypsy musicians rooted in flamenco traditional families who exemplify this different

mindset.

Guitarist Josemi Carmona, from the Habichuela flamenco dynasty (the son of Pepe

Habichuela), was a member of Ketama for twenty years. He has continued exploring De Lucas

acquired ability for improvisation. As it happened with Paco de Luca, Josemi Carmona learned

how to improvise on the bandstand, through creative misreading.141 He always had an innate

curiosity for harmony. His collaboration with Carles Benavent (Sumando, 2006) demonstrated a

different approach to composition than during his time with Ketama. Jorge Pardo has been

recruiting him for different projects in the past in different formats: trio, quartet, and even big band

141
Josemi Carmona, interview by Sergio Pamies, Madrid, December 13, 2015. Carmona asserts how some of his most
exciting musical discoveries were the result of a mistake.

98
(Huellas, Huellas XL). The exposure that Josemi Carmona has had with Jorge Pardo in jazz

festivals and clubs has helped him to develop a personal approach to improvisation. His debut solo

album Las Pequeas Cosas (2011) together with his participation in his fathers project with Dave

Holland (Hands, 2010) and his recent work with Javier Colina (De Cerca, 2016), are good

examples of his particular combination of flamenco and jazz.

Pianist and multi-instrumentalist Diego Amador, younger brother of Rafael and Raimundo

Amador (Pata Negra), is an example of the contribution of flamenco musicians to Spanish Jazz.

Amador has toured the world sharing his particular vision of flamenco jazz with international jazz

musicians such as Charlie Haden. Like his older brothers, Amador has a wide knowledge of

flamenco guitar and its different palos. He has been able to transfer the modern flamenco guitar of

Paco De Luca to the piano, combining it with a very personal approach to jazz improvisation that

features elements from avant-garde jazz. His album Piano Jondo (2003) is a good example (Sole

del Churri, Vivan los Gitanos!). Amador recorded an album in 2012, Live in Paris, using the

classic jazz piano trio setting, where he pays tribute to Paco De Luca and Camarn, but also to

Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, Charlie Haden, and Chick Corea. The track A Bill Evans

demonstrates his knowledge of jazz harmony and jazz piano voicings.

Guitarist Nio Joseles album Paz (2006) is a tribute to pianist Bill Evans. Josele includes

some Bill Evans originals such as Waltz for Debby, Peace Piece, and Turn Out The Stars, as

well as standards that the pianist kept in his repertory, such as My Foolish Heart, and Never Let

Me Go. Paz features jazz artists such as Marc Johnson (Bill Evans trio former bass player), Joe

Lovano, Horacio El Negro, Tom Harrell, and Jerry Gonzalez. It also features flamenco artists

such as Estrella Morente. His interpretation of Waltz for Debby is outstanding, and demonstrates

his study of jazz harmony and guitar voicings. His later albums Espaola (2010) and Chano &

99
Josele (2014) confirm the Spanish artists passion for jazz. Josele participated in Bob Beldens

Miles Espaol: New Sketches of Spain, and recorded with Chick Corea the track Tirititran

Catalan. Chick Corea invited him to participate in the concerts for his seventieth birthday at the

Blue Note jazz club in New York. Josele has been performing Chick Coreas Touchstone and

The Yellow Nimbus in his last European tour, as a tribute to the pianist and his much missed

Paco de Luca.

100
 CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION

What is it? he asked the Singing Woman. The Touchstone. And what is a
touchstone? he asked, gazing at the great luminous object. A test of worth. A
measure against falsity. Why do you need a touchstone? () The Singing
Woman was smiling at him. Without the touchstone, she said, there can be no
standard of value
Touchstone story by Tony Cohan

The study of the recordings and the review of literature presented in this research illustrate

the lack of agreement about this particular music that has been described as flamenco jazz. On the

one hand, critics, journalists, scholars, and historians seemed to concentrate their efforts in

describing the label or evaluating the artists success according to their own assumptions about the

flamenco jazz label without doing an exhaustive investigation of the music they created. Their

opinions about these recordings differ depending on their backgrounds. Iturraldes recordings are

the key in order to understand this flamenco jazz controversy. While international critics have

praised these recordings, the reception of Spanish critics has been changing depending on different

factors.142 Flamenco critics, who are familiar with De Lucas career and tremendous later

contributions, have rejected Iturraldes musical accomplishments.143 On the other hand, jazz critics

such as Javi Bayo, who has an awareness of jazz history, evaluated Iturraldes accomplishments in

a positive manner.144 Finally, Spanish musicologists do not attribute the same importance to

Iturralde in the development of flamenco jazz.145

The historiographical discussion and the analysis of the selected recordings presented in

this research contribute to new arguments that should be considered critically in the evaluation of

142 Hans Hielscher,
Liner Notes, Flamenco-Jazz, Pedro Iturralde, MPS 0209738MSW, 2014 re-issue.
143
Jos Manuel Gamboa, and Faustino Nuez, Liner Notes, Paco de Luca: La Integral, Paco de Luca, Universal
Distribution, 2010.
144
Bayo, Liner Notes, Jazz Flamenco, Pedro Iturralde.
145
Zagalaz and Iglesias have different opinions about Iturraldes accomplishments.

101
flamenco jazz. These recordings by such important musicians in the Spanish and international jazz

scenes had an significant role in determining the style and the possibilities of this music, which is

starting to become more familiar for jazz audiences and has sparked the interest of jazz musicians

all over the world. After De Lucas encounters with Chick Corea, Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin,

and Larry Coryell, there have been many other musical exchanges between flamenco and jazz

musicians, such as the big band project Jazzpaa, Chano Domnguez and Wynton Marsalis,

Wynton Marsalis and Paco de Luca, Jerry Gonzlez and Los Piratas del Flamenco, Dave

Holland and Pepe Habichuela, Charlie Haden and Diego Amador trio, the Touchstone group,

Perico Sambeats Ademuz, Maria Schneiders Bulera, Sole y Rumba, Michel Camilo and

Ketama, Jorge Pardos Huellas XL, George Benson and Tomatito, Danilo Prez and Gerardo

Nuez, Marc Miraltas New York Flamenco Reunion, Bob Beldens Miles Espaol: New Sketches

of Spain, and Pat Metheny and Enrique Morente, among others. Furthermore, flamenco jazz has

been a model for Spanish jazz musicians to produce another kind of jazz, helping them to achieve

international recognition; just a few of the musicians thus affected include Jorge Pardo, Carles

Benavent, Chano Domnguez, Marc Miralta, Perico Sambeat, and Diego Amador.146

In his book De Jerez a Nueva Orleans, German Herrero carried out a comparative study

between jazz and flamenco with respect to their similarities and differences.147 The book was

written in 1989. There is a section near the conclusion in which he expressed pessimistic thoughts

about the future of both flamenco and jazz. He asserted that, whereas jazz is capable of being

reinvented and reborn, flamenco, on the other hand, appeared to be destined to decay.148 He

argued that this lack of evolution was caused by the absence of artists with an innovative character,

146
For further information about the works produced by these artists, see the Suggested Recordings list in Appendix B.
147
Germn Herrero. De Jerez a Nueva Orleans: Anlisis Comparativo Del Flamenco Y Del Jazz (Granada: Don
Quijote, 1991).
148
Herrero, De Jerez a Nueva Orleans, 133.

102
mentioning a few exceptions, such as Paco de Luca, Camarn, and Enrique Morente. Interestingly

enough, although he was probably right at the time (1989), the younger generation of flamenco

artists took part in the revolution started by Paco de Lucia, Camarn, and Enrique Morente during

the 1990s. The consequence was a new movement in flamenco music discussed in this research,

called nuevo flamenco.149 Nuevo flamenco has been criticized as much as their predecessors.

However, the Jvenes Flamencos, always supported by the recording label Nuevos Medios,

continued exploring the paths that Paco de Luca and Camarn introduced to them by including

new harmonies in their repertories, new instrumentation, and even new attitudes or clothing styles,

borrowing all these elements from other musical practices, such as jazz, Latin music, pop, rock,

and fusion. De Luca and his American adventures with the guitar trios and Chick Corea not only

helped with the creation of new artistic possibilities for the evolution of jazz, but also made a

significant contribution to flamenco music with new ideas and possibilities in order to avoid its

decay. Flamenco music is certainly not the same after Camarn and Paco De Lucas contributions.

Regardless of the different opinions by critics about flamenco jazz, important institutions have

acknowledged the contributions of the artists discussed in this study. Paco De Luca received the

award Prncipe de Asturias de las Artes from the Spanish king in 2004, the Medalla de Oro al

Mrito de las Bellas Artes (1992), Distincin Honorfica de los Premios de la Msica (2002),

two Doctorates Honoris Causa by Cdiz University and Berklee College of Music, and two Latin

Grammys, among other awards. Pedro Iturralde has been recently awarded with the SGAE

(Spanish Authors and Editors Society) Medal of Honor (2016). 150 Jorge Pardo was awarded in

149
Alfredo Grimaldos, Evolucin del flamenco en Madrid a travs de la crtica periodstica (1980-2006). Msica
oral del Sur: Revista Internacional (2006): 130.
150
Pedro Iturralde, Pedro Iturralde recibe la Medalla de Honor de la SGAE, ABC, February 25, 2016.
http://www.abc.es/cultura/musica/abci-pedro-iturralde-recibe-medalla-honor-sgae-201602251335_noticia.html.
Accessed March 2, 2016.

103
2013 Best European Jazz Musician by the French Academie du Jazz, and the Premio

Nacional de Msicas Actuales by the Spanish government.151

The purpose of this research is not to resolve the controversy behind the label jazz

flamenco itself, but to address the lack of agreement surrounding the cited recordings. While

critics and journalists have articulated some of their critiques according to the expectations of the

label instead of the quality of the music, the musicians do not seem to give any importance to the

label itself. Iturralde has insisted that it was not his intention to create any type of hybridization,

but to produce a kind of modern jazz with an Andalusian spirit.152 De Luca asserted, Music

does not have names, but of course, I am rooted in flamenco. Ultimately, my music will sound the

way I feel.153 Finally, Corea does not seem to be worried about how critics have labeled the

resultant music of his collaboration with De Luca:

The flamenco goes this way, and the jazz goes this way, but then, later they meet. Now in
the world they meet. When me and Paco meet, we play music I dont know what you call
it. People calls it flamenco jazzbut its definitely some of my favorite way to make
music.154

Jazz musicians such as Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, John

McLaughlin, Charlie Haden, and Pat Metheny, among others, have praised flamenco music.

While flamenco jazz has had a great reception by musicians, the popular media and audiences, it

has not had a major presence in the jazz scholarly conversation. Jazz has been a fusion from its

roots, and scholars have accepted the integrative qualities of jazz.

151
Pardo, Jorge, Un flamenco en el olimpo del jazz, El Pas, January 15, 2013.
http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2013/01/15/actualidad/1358275976_965147.html. Accessed March 2, 2016.
152
Tllez, El Hijo de la Portuguesa, 153.
153
De Luca, Paco, La pureza es hacer lo que sientes, no lo que est establecido, El Pas, September 7, 1977.
154
Diego El Cigala, Captulo 10: Flamenco Jazz from Flamenco Para Tus Ojos (2013), Televisin Espaola.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/flamenco-para-tus-ojos/flamenco-para-tus-ojos-capitulo-10/2036127/. Accessed on
September 9, 2015.

104
As Paul Berliner states:

Just as jazz was born from an amalgam of African, European and African American
musical elements, it has continued the practice of absorbing different musical influences.
Jazz remains a characteristically open music system capable of absorbing new traits
without sacrificing its identity.155

Although innovative scholars such as Berliner and Scott DeVeaux have helped to construct new

narratives in jazz historiography that have solved most of the controversies existing before,

flamenco jazz has been ignored. The jazz canon has omitted any flamenco jazz practice. As

Christopher Washburne points out in his article Latin Jazz: The Other Jazz, the canonization

process of jazz history inhibits the internationalization of the jazz scene.156 If the African-

American writer and intellectual Amiri Baraka explained that the collaboration between white

American musicians and African-American musicians helped to legitimize jazz as cultural

expression of national [North] America, why is it not possible for such an unique and creative

music as the one produced by Corea and De Luca to be valued as a world art form?157 As Hans

Hielscherm points out in the liner notes for Iturraldes Flamenco-Jazz reissue, Today, Europes

jazz musicians use the folk and classic music of their countries as sources of inspiration to help

shape jazz in the 21st Century.158 We have to consider that some of the cultural exchanges

discussed in this article introduced flamenco to jazz audiences and vice versa. The inclusion of

flamenco jazz in the jazz scholarly conversation would help this music to become appreciated and

respected in jazz education. This music has an enormous potential as a source of inspiration for

international aspiring jazz musicians, in their own combination of jazz elements with their cultural

heritage. As Mario Pacheco would say, this music is too beautiful to be ignored.

155
Berliner, Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 489.
156
Washburne, Latin Jazz: The Other Jazz, 419.
157
LeRoi Jones [Amiri Baraka}, Blues People: Negro Music in White America (New York: W. Morrow, 1963), 148-
156.
158
Hielscher, Liner Notes, Flamenco-Jazz, Iturralde.

105
 APPENDIX A

ANALYZED TRANSCRIPTIONS

106
Touchstone (Excerpts)

Paco Lucas Solo Cadenza

107
108
Chick Coreas Solo Cadenza

109
Touchstone Middle Section

110
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
The Yellow Nimbus (Excerpt)

128
129
130
131
132
133
134
 APPENDIX B

SUGGESTED RECORDINGS FOR FURTHER LISTENING IN FLAMENCO JAZZ

135
Amador, Diego. 2008. Ro de los Canasteros. Nuevos Medios NM 15 891.

Barbera del Sur, La. 1997. Algo Pa Nosotros. Nuevos Medios. Featuring Jorge Pardo, Carles

Benavent, Chano Domnguez, Javier Colina, and Jorge Rossy.

Benavent, Carles. 1995. Agita que Corre. Nuevos Medios NM 15 646. Featuring Paco De Luca,

Gil Goldstein, Rubem Dantas, Joan Albert Amargs, and Jorge Pardo. Listen to Dicen de m,

tribute to Camarn.

Colina, Javier, and Serrano, Antonio. 2009. Colina-Serrano Project. Universal Music Spain

0602527238708. Listen to El Blues de la Alegra and Zyryab.

Corea, Chick. 2001. Past, Present, and Futures. Universal/Polygram 3008. Featuring Avishai

Cohen, and Jeff Ballard. Listen to Fingerprints, Rhumba Flamenco, and Life Line.

Domnguez, Chano. 1992. Chano. Nuba Records NUBA 7756.

_____. 1996. Hecho a Mano. Nuba Records NUBA 7759.

_____. 2000. Imn. Nuba Records NUBA7767. Featuring Enrique Morente.

_____. 2002. Oye Cmo Viene. Lola Records LR1004.

_____. 2012. Flamenco Sketches. Blue Note 509996 79453 2 0.

Gonzalez, Jerry. 2004. Jerry Gonzlez y los Piratas del Flamenco. Lola Records 1003.

Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra, 2010. Vitoria Suite. DECCA 2737863. With Wynton

Marsalis, featuring Paco de Lucia and Chano Dominguez.

Jazzpaa II. 2000. Jazzpaa II. ACT 92842. Featuring Chano Domnguez, Carles Benavent,

Jorge Pardo, and Gerardo Nuez.

Jazz Viene Del Sur. 2002. Pasajes/Passages. Resistencia RESCD 135. Featuring Perico Sambeat,

Gerardo Nez, Paolo Fresu, George Colligan, Javier Colina, Marc Miralta.

136
Ketama. 1992. Pa Gente con Alma. Polygram 5103002. Listen to El realejo, featuring Michel

Camilo.

Miralta, Marc. 2013. New York Flamenco Reunion Vol. 2. Karonte.

Morente, Enrique. 2006. Morente Suea la Alhambra. Emi Music Distribution 336926. Featuring

Pat Metheny.

Nuez, Gerardo. 1998. Calima. Alula Records 1007. Featuring John Patitucci and Danilo Prez.

Pamies, Sergio. 2011. Borrachito. Bebyne Records CDB 004. Featuring Christian Scott, Antonio

Serrano, Rubem Dantas, Diego Amador, and Pepe Luis Carmona Habichuela.

Pardo, Jorge. 1997. 2332. NM 15 712. Featuring Carles Benavent, Tino Di Geraldo, Rubem

Dantas, Agustn Carbonell El Bola, and Chonchi Heredia.

_____. 2005. Vientos Flamencos. Manantial.

Pass, Joe. 1977. Virtuoso #3. Pablo OJCCD-684-2. Listen to Paco de Luca.

Sambeat, Perico. 1998. Ademuz. FSNT 041. Featuring Bard Mehldau, Mark Turner, Kurt

Rosenwinkel, Jorge Rossy and Enrique Morente.

Tomatito. 2003. Paseo de los Castaos. Polydor 0143132. Listen to La vacilona, featuring

George Benson.

Zebras, The. 2010. Flamenco Jazz Project, directed by Sergio Pamies. North Texas Jazz ZE1005-

SP.

137
 APPENDIX C

ADDITIONAL MUSICIAL EXAMPLES FROM RECORDINGS CITED

138
Pardo, Jorge, and Domnguez, Chano. 1994. 10 de Paco. Nuevos Medios NM 15 665.

Chano Domnguezs adaptation of Paco De Lucas alzapa in his own version of Yo Slo

Quiero Caminar (0:45-0:52)

Corea, Chick. 2001. Past, Present, and Futures. Universal/Polygram 3008.

Coreas modern adaptation of the alzapa technique, featuring rhythmic displacement

(1:21-1:28)

139
Miralta, Marc. 2000. New York Flamenco Reunion. Nuevos Medios NM 15 744.

Piano reduction of Miraltas arrangement of Evidence. Miraltas version adapted

Thelonious Monks composition to the buleras rhythmic framework (0:19-0:29)

140
Amador, Diego. 2003. Piano Jondo. Nuevos Medios NM 9333.

Amadors knowledge of flamenco guitar and his adaptation to piano can be heard on his

composition Sole del Churri (2:59-3:25)

141
Pamies, Sergio. 2011. Borrachito. Bebyne Records CDB 004.

Pamies combines jazz harmonies and melodic gestures with flamenco the rhythmic

language of alegras, Alegras de la Paquita (0:30-1:04)

142
Miralta, Marc. 2000. New York Flamenco Reunion. Nuevos Medios NM 15 744.

Saxophonist Perico Sambeat adaptation of the bebop and post-bop languages to the

rhythmic framework of buleras, Bye Bye Blackbird (3:39-3:44)

143
Domnguez, Chano. 1992. Chano. Nuba Records NUBA 7756.

Chano Domnguez performs a rhythmic modulation combining 4/4 swing stride piano and

buleras. The swing quarter note becomes the dotted quarter note in buleras, Bemsha

Swing (0:30-0:41)

144
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Articles

DeVeaux, Scott. Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography. Black American
Literature Forum 25, no. 3 (1991): 525-60.

Garca Martnez, Jos Mara. Los 50 aos musicales de Pedro Iturralde. Cuadernos de Jazz
(1994).

Grimaldos, Alfredo. Evolucin del flamenco en Madrid a travs de la crtica periodstica (1980-
2006). Msica oral del Sur: Revista Internacional (2006): 125-34.

Iglesias, Ivn. La hibridacin musical en Espaa como proyeccin de identidad nacional

orientada al mercado: El jazz-flamenco. Revista de Musicologa (2005): 826-838.

Lindroth, Scott. Teaching Composition: Artistic Growth through Confrontation, Tact, Sympathy,
and Honesty. Contemporary Music Review 31, issue 4 (2012): 297-304.

Reeves, Scott D. Gil Evans: The Art of Musical Transformation. Annual Review of Jazz Studies
12 (2002): 1-40.

Washburne, Christopher. Latin Jazz: The Other Jazz, Current Musicology 71-73 (Spring 2001-
Spring 2002): 410-25.

Waters, Keith. Modes, Scales, Functional, Harmony, and Nonfunctional Harmony in the
Compositions of Herbie Hancock. Journal of Music Theory 49, no. 2 (2005): 333-357.

Zagalaz, Juan. The Jazz-Flamenco Connection: Chick Corea and Paco de Luca Between 1976
and 1982. Journal of Jazz Studies 8, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 33-54.

Books

Balliett, Whitney. Jelly Roll, Jabbo, and Fats: 19 Portraits in Jazz. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1983.

Berliner, Paul. Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1994.

Clemente, Luis. Historia del Nuevo Flamenco. Valencia: Editorial La Mscara, 1995.

Calvo, Pedro, and Gamboa, Jos Manuel. Historia-Gua del Nuevo Flamenco: El Duende de
Ahora. Madrid: Ediciones Gua Musical, 1994

Davis, Miles and Troupe, Quincy. Miles, the Autobiography. New York: Simon and Schuster,
1989.

145
Delannoy, Luc. Caliente: Una historia del Jazz Latino. Mxico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica,
2001.

DeVeaux, Scott and Giddings, Gary. Jazz. New York: Norton & Company, 2009.

Gridley, Mark C. Concise Guide to Jazz. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 1992.

Schuller, Gunther. Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1986.

Garca Martnez, Jos Mara. Del Fox-Trot al Jazz Flamenco: El Jazz en Espaa, 1919-1995.
Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1996.

Herrero, Germn. De Jerez a Nueva Orleans: Anlisis Comparativo Del Flamenco Y Del Jazz.
Granada: Don Quijote, 1991.

Jones, LeRoi [Amiri Baraka]. Blues People: Negro Music in White America. New York: W.
Morrow, 1963.

Lord, Tom. The Jazz Discography. West Vancouver: Lord Music Reference Inc.

Martin, Henry, and Waters, Keith. Essential Jazz: The first 100 years. Belmont:
Thomson/Schirmer, 2005.

Simpkins, Cuthbert Ormond. Coltrane: A Biography. New York: Herndon House Publishers,
1975.

Tllez, Juan Jos. Paco de Luca: En Vivo. Madrid: Plaza Abierta, 2003.

_____. Paco de Luca: El Hijo de la Portuguesa. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 2015.

Discography

Amador, Diego. 2003. Piano Jondo. Nuevos Medios NM 9333.

Amador, Diego. 2012. Live in Paris. Auto-produced.

Belden, Bob. 2011. Miles Espaol: New Sketches of Spain. EOM-CD-2104.

Benavent, Carles, and Carmona, Josemi. 2006. Sumando. Nuevos Medios NM 15883.

Carmona, Josemi. 2011. Las Pequeas Cosas. Universal 981421.

Carmona, Josemi, and Colina, Javier. 2016. De Cerca. Universal Music Group 0602547763693.

146
Carmona, Pepe Luis. 1998. Cado del Cielo. Universal 0001101.

Coltrane, John. 1961. Ol. Warner Jazz 3699.

Corea, Chick. 1972. Return to Forever. ECM 8119782.

_____. 1973. Light as a Feather. Polydor 827 148-2.

_____. 1975. No Mystery.Polydor 827149-4.

_____. 1976. My Spanish Heart. Polygram 825657.

_____. 1982. Touchstone. SCD 90032.

_____. 2002. Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop. Warner Bross. Classics DVD 904912.

_____. 2005. Rhumba Flamenco. CCP 001.

_____. 2006. The Ultimate Adventure. Stretch Records SCD 9045-2.

_____. 2007. The Ultimate Adventure: Live in Barcelona. Stretch Records / Concord Jazz. DVD-
7026-9.

Davis, Miles. 1957. Miles Ahead. Columbia 65339.

_____. 1959. Kind of Blue. COL 0649359.

_____. 1960. Sketches of Spain. Columbia 9108.

De La Isla, Camarn. 1969. Al Verte Las Flores Lloran. Universal Distribution 7147.

De Luca, Paco. 1973. Fuente y Caudal. Polygram 8323402.

_____. 1976. Almoraima. Polygram 8320222.

_____. 1981. Castro Marn. Polygram 8320232.

_____. 1981. Solo quiero caminar. Polydor 810009-2.

_____. 1984. LiveOne Summer Night. PHILIPS 822 540-2.

_____. 1987. Siroco. Verve/Polydor E8309132.

_____. 1991. Zyryab. Phillips 846 707-2.

147
De Luca, Paco, and DiMeola, Al, and McLaughlin, John. 1980. Friday Night in San Francisco.
Columbia / Legacy. CK 65168.

_____. 1983. Passion, Grace & Fire. Columbia 38645.

_____. 1983. The Guitar Trio. Verve 314 533 215-2.

DiMeola, Al. 1977. Elegant Gypsy. Columbia 9181.

_____. 1981. Electric Rendezvous. Columbia 9182.

Hampton, Lionel. 1956. Flamenco Jazz. RCA 74321364002.

Holland, Dave, and Habichuela, Pepe. 2010. Hands. Decca 2738853.

Iturralde, Pedro. 1967. Jazz Flamenco. Hispavox HHS 11-128.

_____. 1967. Flamenco-Jazz. MPS 0209738MSW.

_____. 1968. Jazz Flamenco 2. Hispavox HHS 11-151.

Josele, Nio. 2006. Paz. Calle 54 Records 82876865142.

_____. 2009. Espaola. Warner Bros. / Warner Music 2564686065.

Josele, Nio, and Domnguez, Chano. 2014. Chano & Josele. Sony Music 3097372.

Jvenes Flamencos, Los. 2000. 7 CDs compilation. Nuevos Medios NM 15783.

McLaughlin, John. 1981. Belo Horizonte. WEA International 57001.

_____. 1995. The Promise. Verve 314 529 828-2.

Mendoza, Vince, and Mardin, Arif. 1992. JazzPaa. Act Records 9212.

Mingus, Charles. 1957. Tijuana Moods. RCA 05533.

Miralta, Marc. 2000. New York Flamenco Reunion. Nuevos Medios NM 15 744.

Pardo, Jorge. 1991. Las Cigarras Son Quiz Sordas. Nuevos Medios NM 15 574.

_____. 1993. Veloz Hacia su Sino. Nuevos Medios NM 15 629.

_____. 2012. Huellas. Cabra Road CR 1201.

148
Pardo, Jorge, and Domnguez, Chano. 1994. 10 de Paco. Nuevos Medios NM 15 665.

Sambeat, Perico. 2009. Flamenco Big Band. Verve 0602517808294.

Schneider, Maria. 2004. Concert in the Garden. ArtistShare.

Scott, Tony. 1957. Dedications. Lines 900803.

Filmography

Coryell, Larry and de Luca, Paco, and McLaughlin, John. Meeting of the Spirits. Alfa Centauri
Entertainment, 2003.

De Luca, Paco. Francisco Snchez: Paco de Luca. Alea TV, 2002.

_____. Light and shade. Arthaus Musik, 2001.

Snchez, Curro. Paco de Luca: La Bsqueda. Bodega Films, 2014.

Miscellaneous

Bayo, Javi. Liner Notes. Jazz Flamenco. Pedro Iturralde. VAMPI CD 154. 2015 re-issue.

Belden, Bob. Liner Notes. Miles Espaol: New Sketches of Spain. Bob Belden. EOM-CD-2104.
2011.

Cohan, Tony. Liner Notes. Touchstone. Chick Corea. SCD 90032. 1982.

Gamboa, Jos Manuel, and Nuez, Faustino. Liner Notes. Paco de Luca: La Integral. Paco de
Luca. Universal Distribution. 2010.

Hennessey, Mike. Liner Notes. Jazzpaa.Vince Mendoza and Arif Mardin. Act Records 9212.
1992.

Hentoff, Nat. Liner Notes. Hard Bop. Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. Columbia 1040. 1956.

Hentoff, Nat. Liner Notes. Sketches of Spain. Miles Davis. Sony Music Distribution 743949. 50
Anniversary Legacy Edition, 2009 re-issue.

Hielscher, Hans. Liner Notes. Flamenco-Jazz. Pedro Iturralde. MPS 0209738MSW. 2014 re-issue.

Milkowski, Bill. Liner Notes. Friday Night in San Francisco. Paco De Luca, John McLaughlin,
and Al Di Meola. Columbia / Legacy CK 65168. 1997 re-issue.

149
Prez, Jos Antonio. Teora Dual de los Relativos Menores o Teora Dual del Sistema Tonal
(Posible Cierre de la Armona Tonal). Paper available online at
www.armoniamoderna.com. Cdiz, Spain, 2011.

Schneider, Maria. Liner Notes. Concert in the Garden. Maria Schneider. ArtistShare. 2004.

Schuller, Gunther. Liner Notes. Sketches of Spain. Miles Davis. Sony Music Distribution 743949.
50 Anniversary Legacy Edition, 2009 re-issue.

Tesser, Neil. Liner Notes. Ol. John Coltrane. Atlantic [81227 3699-2]. 2000 re-issue.

Unknown author. Liner Notes. Flamenco Jazz. Lionel Hampton. RCA 74321364002. 1956.

Magazines

Casas, ngel. Paco de Luca. Vibraciones, 1974.

Contreras, Flix. Ol! Pianist Chano Domnguez Fuses Flamenco and Jazz in a Way that Makes
You Scream. Jazz Times, April, 2008.

Panken, Ted. New Flamenco Jazz Impressions. DownBeat, September, 2009.

Regen, Jon. Spanish Piano Master Mixes Flamenco and Jazz. Keyboard, August, 2009.

TV Documentaries

De la Cruz, Alicia, and De la Torre, Chema. Jorge Pardo, en el 3 y en el 2 from Imprescidibles.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/imprescindibles/imprescindibles-jorge-pardo-3-
2/3309156/. Accessed on January 15, 2016.

El Cigala, Diego. Captulo 10: Flamenco Jazz from Flamenco Para Tus Ojos (2013).
Televisin Espaola. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/flamenco-para-tus-ojos/flamenco-
para-tus-ojos-capitulo-10/2036127/. Accessed on September 9, 2015.

Gonzlez, Luca. Mario Pacheco: Historia de una Pasin. 2011. https://vimeo.com/64894892.

Accessed December 12, 2015.

Limn, Javier, and Calvo, Javier. Entre Dos Aguas. Televisin Espaola.
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-documental/entre-dos-aguas/1463763/. Accessed on
Januery 5, 2016.

Zabay, Mara. Paco De Luca. Vuelta Vuelta. Intereconoma.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAO4h14fhHQ Accesed 21 Febrero 2016.

150
 On-line Sources

Allmusic database. http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-spanish-heart-r137064/charts-awards.

Accesed on May 4, 2012.

lvarez Caballero, ngel. La Integral de Paco de Luca. El Pas. July 12, 2003.
http://elpais.com/diario/2003/07/12/babelia/1057964773_850215.html. Accessed February
16, 2016.

Benavent, Carles. Carles Benavents recording labels website. Carles Benavent Press Kit.
http://www.bebyne.com/files/BEBYNE_CDB001_PRESS_KIT_ENG.pdf. Accessed May
6, 2012.

Cifuentes, Juan Claudio. Entrevista a Jorge Pardo: Huellas. A Todo Jazz. Radio3 (rtve.es).
November 17, 2012. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/a-todo-jazz/todo-jazz-entrevista-
jorge-pardo-17-11-12/1582085. Accessed February 16, 2016.

Conrad, Thomas. Maria Schneider Orchestra: Concert in the Garden (2004)

http://jazztimes.com/articles/15015-concert-in-the-garden-maria-schneider-orchestra.
Accesed on September 9, 2015.

Corea, Chik. Chick Corea at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDWnfVNZPc. Accessed on May 4, 2012.

Corea, Chick. Chick Corea Lesson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVLoSPxtQDo&feature=related. Accessed on May 4,
2012.

De Cdiz, Beni. Buleras. Video excerpt from TVE (Televisin Espaola).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO_mgsY6D54. Accessed on November 1, 2015.

De Luca, Paco. Solo quiero caminar. Overview. http://pacodelucia.org/disco/solo-quiero-

caminar. Accessed on May 4, 2012.

De Luca, Paco. Flamenco Andaluca: Especial Paco de Luca. September 11th, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJKJvKp7GJk. Accessed on January 3, 2016.

De Luca, Paco. Interview. Televisn Espaola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwvS5xgEdC4. Accessed December 15, 2015.

Daz, Rubn. Paco de Luca: The Only True Innovator of Flamenco Guitar.
http://www.rdiaz.org/rdpacoart1.html. Accessed on April 25, 2012.

Lindeman Malone, Andrew. Vince Mendoza/ Arif Mardin. JazzPaa. (2004)

http://jazztimes.com/articles/15104-jazzpana-vince-mendoza-arif-mardin.Accessed on
September 9, 2015.

151
Mendoza, Vince. About Vince. http://vincemendoza.net/about-vince/. Accessed on September 9,
2015.

Myers, Marc. Lionel Hampton: Jazz FlamencoMarch 05, 2008.

http://www.jazzwax.com/2008/03/lionel-hampton.html. Accessed on February 15, 2016.

Prez, Jos Antonio. Las Tres Tonalidades del Flamenco: Teora Dual de los Relativos Menores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWY6lrQ55R0. Accessed on November 15, 2015.

Yanow, Scott. Charles Mingus: Tijuana Moods. Album review for allmusic.com.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/tijuana-moods-mw0000088232. Accessed on February
28th 2016.

Jazz Theory Methods

Berkman, David. The Jazz Harmony Book. Pentaluma, CA: Sher Music, 2013.

Coker, Jerry, and Knapp, Bob, and Vincent, Larry. Hearing the Changes: Dealing with Unknown
Tunes by Ear. Rottenburg, West Germany: Advance Music, 1997.

Crook, Hal. How to Improvise: An Approach to Practicing Improvisation. Rottenburg, West

Germany: Advance Music, 1991.

Dobbins, Bill. Jazz Arranging and Composing: A Linear Approach. Rottenburg, West Germany:
Advance Music, 1986.

Haerle, Dan. The Jazz Language: A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation.
Lebanon, Ind: Studio 224, 1980.

Levine, Mark. The Jazz Piano Book. Petaluma, CA: Sher Music, 1989.

Levine, Mark. The Jazz Theory Book. Petaluma, CA: Sher Music, 1995.

Mulholland, Joe, and Tom Hojnacki. The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony. Boston, Berklee Press:
2013.

152