# Chano Domínguez at Miner Auditorium, May 25, 2018 [SFJAZZ](https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/chano-dominguez-flamenco-sketches/) presents a Flamenco Tribute to _Kind of Blue_: [Chano Domínguez'](http://www.chanodominguez.info/) _Flamenco Sketches_ [Robert M. Miner Auditorium](http://www.sfjazz.org/center) [SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=SFJAZZ+Center,+205+Franklin+St,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102+USA&hl=en) 7:30 PM, Friday, May 25, 2018 [[2018-05-23|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2018|Up to the 2018 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2018#May_events|Up to the 2018 event list!]] ☸ [[2018-05-27|On to the next event!]] ## One Set [7:30 PM lights down, announcements from SBD, band out, greetings and welcome from CD] 01. [7:34 PM] _Flamenco Sketches_ 02. [7:54 PM] _Freddie Freeloader_ † 03. [8:08 PM] _Blue in Green/Canción \#51_ 04. [8:18 PM] _So What_ 05. [8:29 PM] _All Blues_ 06. [8:39 PM] _Oye Como Viene_ † [set ends 8:50 PM; bows, then all off for a minute] **Encore** 07. [8:52 PM] ? (unidentified tune, maybe _Serpent's Tooth_? Pretty sure that it wasn't _Nardis_) [show ends 9:01 PM] ## Performers * [Henry Cole](http://www.henrycolemusic.com/): drums; * [Blas Córdoba AKA El Kejio](https://www.facebook.com/elkejio/): palmas, vox; * [Alexis Cuadrado](https://www.alexiscuadrado.com/): contrabass, palmas; * [Chano Domínguez](http://www.chanodominguez.info/): piano; * Daniel Navarro: palmas, † bailaor. ## Notes By now, I've been lucky to see Chano Domínguez several times, and tonight's show was no less of a treat than the others, even sitting way up in the top of the hall. I was surprised to see that the balcony was nearly empty -- maybe 20 people, tops? But the rest of the hall was pretty well sold; maybe the average fan realized that this was a show where it paid off to be sitting up close? I dunno. I was happy in my cheap seat! Anyways, if you haven't heard him before, Domínguez plays piano in a fairly percussive style, with occasional use of extended techniques such as slapping on the body of the instrument or plucking and sweeping across the strings -- all the better to evoke the characteristics of flamenco without the presence of a guitar player. Alexis Cuadrado did much the same with his contrabass playing. Although his technique was anchored in traditional jazz, now and then I would open my eyes to try and find out who was making some strange sound only to see that Alexis was scraping the tops of the bass strings, or rapping his bow on the tailpiece, or otherwise doing something unexpected. He may also have contributed coro vox, but without a mic, I couldn't really tell if he was singing or not. And to anyone wondering how a Miles tribute might possibly occur without a trumpet player, Blas Córdoba's singing hinted a lot at that role, without imitation or echoing the trumpet in any conventional sense. Overall, Blas Córdoba contributed much less singing to the performance than I expected, and his biggest part, during the intial tune, _Flamenco Sketches_, seemed to me to be jarringly out of key compared to the instrumental parts: as if he was singing in a Minor 2nd against the Major tonic. It was strangely discordant, and I noticed that at least a dozen couples got up and left after that tune concluded -- as if to indicate by their action, "Wow, that's not what I was expecting, let's get out of here." Those who stayed were richly rewarded, however, and I'm really happy that I attended the show. I think it's OK to get up and leave if you're not enjoying something, but dissonance has been a part of jazz since the start, and if the clash of major and minor modes makes you uncomfortable, I'd suggest that waiting to hear the next piece might be a better notion that walking out. After contributing a short but exciting dance solo to _Freddie Freeloader_, I was really disappointed that Daniel Navarro only danced once more tonight. He's a truly exceptional bailaor, and I was hoping that we'd see a lot more from him. Happily, Ting made a [video](urlTBD) of the last four minutes of _Oye Como Viene_, which gives you a pretty good idea why I wanted to see more dancing! As CD told us in the break after _Freddie Freeloader_, _Blue in Green_ was mashed together with a poem by [Rafael Alberti](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Alberti), [Canción #51](https://trianarts.com/rafael-alberti-siempre-rafael/#sthash.smHF9L0g.dpbs), written in 1931, and published in the 1954 collection, _Baladas y canciones del Paraná_. _So What_ was so radically rearranged that I didn't even recognize it. Either I was too tired, or the guys were being too smart for their own good (why cast away one of the single most recognizable riffs in jazz?). During his solo in the middle, Chano interpolated at least two or three other tunes. I thought I recognized one as a Thelonius Monk tune, but now that I'm reflecting on the experience, I wonder if CD might have instead been playing the classic _So What_ riff that I thought was entirely missing... I was bummed that _Nardis_ got omitted from the set (I was expecting it, sseing as it's on the _Flamenco Sketches_ album that they were celebrating), and ever since I've noticed the aural connection to John Coltrane's _Resolution_ off of _A Love Supreme_, I've looked forward to chances to hear other interpretations of the tune. Maybe next time I should holler for it! ## Photos Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery! {{gallery>:2018:2018-05?20180525-*.jpg}} {{:wip.png?nolink}} **Whoa!** This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}} {{tag>music Chano_Domínguez Miner_Auditorium Henry_Cole Blas_Córdoba El_Kejio Alexis_Cuadrado Daniel_Navarro }} [[2018-05-23|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2018|Up to the 2018 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2018#May_events|Up to the 2018 event list!]] ☸ [[2018-05-27|On to the next event!]]