Javier Colina & Chano Dominguez - Chano & Colina (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS June 1, 2018)

There are bonds that cannot be broken. Brotherhood and musical understanding are two such bonds. Pianist Chano Dominguez and bassist Javier Colina grew up together exploring musical genres that moved them like no other, namely jazz and flamenco (a music that is inherently tied to their Spanish identities and heritage). Their new recording, Chano & Colina, reunites the two after 15 years of pursuing differing musical courses. 

It was in 1986 that the Cádiz born Dominguez met the Pamplona native Colina at Spain’s National Jazz Young Talents Contest, where the pianist won first prize. The two had much in common as they were both self taught and they were both fascinated by the possibilities of combining flamenco and jazz. Flamenco was engrained in their consciousness from early on. Dominguez hailed from the capitol of flamenco music and Colina’s northern Pamplona was the home of one of the masters of the form, the incredible guitarist Sabicas. 

The two were able to develop their own, very unique language blending jazz and flamenco, thus developing a simpatico relationship in a short time. Soon thereafter, they formed the NeoBop ensemble in Madrid, which performed standards and original jazz material. Dominguez and Colina continued to play together regularly through the next decade. Their popular trio made its first recording, entitled Chano in 1992. 

In 2002, Dominguez moved to Barcelona and the distance made collaboration between the two more difficult;i they stopped playing together. Both musicians went on to accomplish some incredible things. Dominguez has led ensembles of all sizes, effectively establishing the flamenco jazz genre and even releasing two recordings on the illustrious Blue Note jazz record label. Colina has worked with some of the most highly regarded musicians in jazz and flamenco, including Bebo Valdés, Tete Montoliu, Al Foster, Chucho Valdés, Agustín Carbonell, Silvia Pérez Cruz and Diego El Cigala, among many others. 

The two had not played together in 15 years when they decided to meet up and perform with a trio at the Clamores Jazz Club in Madrid in November 2015. The intimate connection that they had fused years before was undiminished. Plans to play together more regularly were quickly made. 

The recording Chano & Colina was culled from the duo’s live performance at Sala de Camara del Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid on January 19, 2017. The performance captured the musicians’ incredible musical breadth and skill, not to mention their fascinating rapport as musicians and friends. 

The program begins with Colina’s “Luces De La Fragua,” a festive tribute to the region where Dominguez was born . The track contains some intriguingly nuanced playing from both musicians. The Schwartz and Dietz standard “You the Night and the Music” receives a flamenco treatment with a rhythm straight from the tanguillos of Cádiz. Dominguez’s lovely “Habanera De La Habanera” was originally written for the WDR Big Band but is reduced here for a hypnotic duo treatment. The Wood and Mellin standard “My One and Only Love” is performed movingly in a waltz- time signature, while Dominguez’s tribute to Chick Corea, “Para Chick,” is an aggressive rumba that the duo had honed for years. 

Under the aural influence of piano great Bill Evans, the duo’s take on Parker and Charles’ “We Will Meet Again” is done in a slow-flamenco rhythm that goes into double time upon each chord change. Michel Legrand’s haunting “You Must Believe In Spring” follows and fits their setting as a flamenco tango. The great guitarist and composer Paco de Lucia remains a huge influence on Dominguez and Colina. They perform the maestro’s wonderful ballad “Canción De Amor” to perfection and create some tremendous moments on his “Ziryab.” The program concludes with a spontaneous (and very fast) rendition of Miles Davis’s “Serpent’s Tooth.” 

Building on a history and style they championed for decades, Chano Dominguez and Javier Colina have reunited to create a truly stunning recording that will stand as a perfect consolidation of their craft and influence on Chano & Colina. 

1. Luces De La Fragua

2. You The Night and The Music

3. Habanera De La Habanera

4. My One and Only Love

5. Para Chick

6. We Will Meet Again

7. You Must Believe In Spring

8. Canción De Amor

9. Ziryab

10. Serpent's Tooth

Javier Colina - acoustic bass

Chano Dominguez - piano

Chano Dominguez - Over the Rainbow (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS 2017)

Jazz music is very much a living art. The music’s best practitioners are elite heard in live performance. The energy of an audience brings something special to a performer, especially in a solo setting. Spanish pianist Chano Dominguez proves this on his extraordinary new live recording Over The Rainbow, a wonderfully nuanced and diverse collection of music spanning many of Dominguez’s own musical interests, including flamenco music, Latin American folk music and the classic jazz composition. 

Of course, Dominguez has been highly regarded as the leader in marrying the Spanish folkloric musical style of flamenco to the more improvisational concepts of jazz music. Dominguez hails from Andalusia, the home of flamenco, and was steeped in the musical tradition from a young age. His growing appreciation for jazz helped him come to a realization about the connection between the two forms of music: both were created by persecuted peoples, namely the gypsies of southern Spain and the African American population. 

Jazz and flamenco are very different and it takes a special musician to make the combination work. Dominguez has brought this special approach to many projects, including his work with Paco de Lucía, Martirio and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchetra, to name a few. His work has allowed him to branch out to musicians all over the world, whose influence can be heard in the material he chose to record on Over The Rainbow. 

The recording was made during a live performance from February 24, 2012 at the Palau Falguera in Barcelona, Spain. Pieces were recorded before and during the concert. The selections being released were pared down from two hours worth of material that stylistically covers pieces by two outstanding jazz composers, Latin American folk and popular music writers, a couple of original songs and one hallmark of the American songbook. 

The recording begins with a poignant take on John Lewis’s “Django,” Dominguez utilizing patience in the rise and fall of the composition. Eliseo Grenet’s “Drume Negrita” is a masterpiece of Cuban song played here with a dancing flair. Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence” is played in a haltingly fascinating arrangement and is followed by Chilean folk legend Violeta Parra’s “Gracias A La Vida,” beginning as a subtle, poetic ballad and picking up steam, ending in a dynamic exclamation of joy. Dominguez reinterprets his former collaborator Cuban composer Marta Valdés’s “Hacia Dónde” beautifully as a stirring ballad. 

The evocative take on Argentinean folk legend Atahualpa Yupanqui’s “Los Ejes De Mi Carreta” seems to capture gauzy rustic scene as the piece ambles along. “Mantreria” and “Marcel” are pieces Dominguez wrote in dedication to his children, the former being rigorous and enchanting and the latter a thoughtful rumination that blossoms into a heartwarming, gospel tinged ode. “Monk’s Dream” is done in a refreshingly direct manner lending to Monk’s stride piano influence. The recording concludes with Harold Arlen’s “Over The Rainbow,” a perfect song for Dominguez to showcase his rhapsodic mastery. 

The solo concert is the most exposed place for a musician to bare his or her musical soul. Chano Dominguez puts his fabulous technique and artistry on full display on his new recording Over The Rainbow.

1. Django 06:53

2. Drume Negrita 05:17

3. Evidence 05:15

4. Gracias A La Vida 09:36

5. Hacia Dónde 07:11

6. Los Ejes De Mi Carreta 05:11

7. Mantreria 06:18

8. Marcel 09:02

9. Monk's Dream 06:02

10. Over The Rainbow 07:39

Chano Dominguez - piano