Domínguez’s seven-song collection fea- tures all of the Kind of Blue tunes aug- mented by two of Davis’s most popular songs, “Nardis” (put on the jazz map by Bill Evans and never recorded by the composer on any of his own albums) and “Serpent’s Tooth” (a pre-Kind of Blue tune that was part of the trumpeter’s ’50s songbook).


In reflecting on the deep connection Davis had with Spanish music—as evi- denced on his album Sketches of Spain and the song “Flamenco Sketches”— Domínguez says that he wanted to pay soulful respect to the trumpeter and his music. “For me the music of Miles has been a constant in my apprenticeship as a musician,” he says. “It is very important to preserve the spirit of musical freedom that permeates the entire work of Miles, so I changed some elements in the music to approach the language of my culture.”


Indeed, Flamenco Sketches is unique in its flamenco-fueled view of the Davis repertoire, especially with Domínguez’s choice of band mates: bassist Mario Rossy, percussionist Israel “Paraná” Suárez (on the box drum cajón), vocalist Blas “Kejío” Córdoba, and dancer Tomás “Tomasito” Moreno, with the latter two contributing percussive hand claps (pal- mas). “I basically walk through the lan- guages of jazz and flamenco,” Domínguez says. “I was born in Cadiz [Spain], where flamenco as we know it today was born. It was always around me through my parents who were big fans of flamenco. On the other hand, I’ve always felt the need to improvise and create in the moment.” (Te pianist’s jazz influences include Bill Evans, Telonious Monk, Bud Powell, Red Garland, Tommy Flanagan, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, among others.)


For Flamenco Sketches, Domínguez arranged each tune in different flamenco styles and even included dance steps. “We use dance as part of the flamenco percussion,” he says, “integrating it in introductions and improvi- sations within the structures of the song.”


Domínguez opens the title tune with a gor- geous solo piano rumination that blooms into a rollicking, dance-oriented groove with explosive handclaps, vocals and piano runs. It’s 16 minutes of fiery beauty. On “Freddie Freeloader,” Domínguez’s pianistic riff on the familiar theme leads into another wild ride, with the palmistas punctuating and accenting the polyrhythmic music as they heat the tempo for the leader to play with fast and tumbling grace. “Blue in Green” features Córdoba’s raspy vocals singing the lyrics from the Spanish poem, “Canción 51,” by Rafael Alberta Gaditano from the book Ballades y canciones del Paranå, written in 1954 (in the “blue and green” era of Kind of Blue, Domínguez explains).


“So What” opens with Rossi’s bass line that Domínguez soon joins with leſt-hand bass notes before it too takes speed. “All Blues” is less flamenco and more swing with flamenco spicing, as is the jazz-steeped take on “Nardis.” Te album closes with “Serpent’s Tooth,” an- other fast number with shiſting tempos.


Domínguez performed with his bands in jazz and flamenco clubs in Spain before, at age 33, deciding to make a go at playing in New York City in 1993. His goal? As he told DownBeat, he wanted to “discover if I can play jazz in the right way.” The result was his 1993 album Chano, on Nubba Records. Lat- er, he also added Afro-Cuban rhythms into his voice thanks to working with the likes of Paquito D’Rivera and Jerry Gonzalez as well as a trip to Cuba.


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