The Flamenco Festival at Sadlers Wells mainly showcases dance but this year there were two headline musical shows: singer Estrella Morente on Monday and, last night, guitarist Tomatito. He entered alone and started playing before the applause stopped, his dark wavy hair cascading over his shoulders.
Flamenco guitar is about more than the notes. It’s the slides up the fingerboard, the slap of hands on the body of the instrument and the grunts of approbation of the musicians who’ve joined Tomatito on stage — singers Simon Roman and Kiki Cortiñas, the latter with wonderfully sandpaper vocals, El Christi on second guitar and percussionist Israel Suarez.
Tomatito’s guitar play is formidable — lyrical melodies, muscular pyrotechnics, delicate ornamentation and percussive rhythms — although he occasionally strayed into jazz.
True flamenco is a symbiotic relationship of guitar, singing, palmas claps and dance. Tomatito kept his dance weapon until the end as Paloma Fantova’s twisting finger, hand and arm movements turned into vigorous twists and stamps. Her castanet-like foot tapping was lightning speed and at one moment so quiet someone yelled “unbelievable!”. An encore and standing ovation naturally followed.
The Flamenco Festival, until March 27 (0844 412 4300, sadlerswells.co.uk)
