Tomatito
Tomatito ( born August 20, 1958 in Almería) is the stage name of Spanish flamenco guitarist José Fernández Torres. He is considered one of the pioneers of Flamenco Nuevo.
Life
" Tomatito " ( Tomätchen, Spanish diminutive of " El Tomate " = The tomato ) was born on 20 August 1958 in Almería. His grandfather Miguel Fernández Cortés, better known as " El Tomate ", and his father José Fernández Castro, also called " El Tomate " known, were well-known folk and flamenco guitarist. It was his uncle, Tío Miguel, who was his biggest inspiration and probably has dedicated Tomatito a Bulería in his CD Barrio Negro.
His first public appearance with the guitar has Tomatito age of 10. At age 12, the family moved from Almeria to Malaga. There he learned to play the clarinet. Besides being a musician in various orchestras in the city, he enters into various Tablaos with his father on together like the Taberna Gitana. There he not only had the famous flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía as a listener, but also met Camarón de la Isla. This was at a festival in Málaga on the guitarist and he remembered Tomatito, who was then 15 years old. It began an 18 -year-long collaboration between the two artists, which only ended with the death of Camarón.
During this time he stood with many important people of flamenco, such as Enrique Morente, La Susi, Vicente Soto, Pansequito among other things, on the stage. He has performed, among others, in Montreux and New York.
After the death of Camarón de la Isla, 1992, Tomatito began increasingly to play with other artists. He has performed on many festivals, among others, in Istanbul, Lyon and beyond in Switzerland, Japan, Germany and France. His fame grew rapidly, so that artists such as Frank Sinatra and Elton John worked with him.
1997 Tomatito was officially recognized by the provincial government of Andalusia with the " Medalla de Plata ". In the same year his first musical named Madre Caballo came out. A year later he wrote beautifully with the soundtrack for the German film Am I? by Doris Dorrie.
Followed in 2000 with the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album Spain ( with Michel Camilo ) Another highlight of his career. For París, 1987, he received another Latin Grammy for Best Flamenco Album.
Besides many tours around the world (Argentina, Japan, Cuba, Europe ) also increased in 2001 turned film Vengo, in which he is also co-author, his popularity tremendously.