Sumari (flamencoJazz project)

Sumari (flamencoJazz project)

According to the philosopher Jane Roberts, "sumari" denotes the free creative consciousness which is not restrained by dogma or boundaries. The music project SUMARI is based upon this principle: preserving different styles of music in their original form, while at the same time finding new expressions and variations in unique compositions. The individual background of each musician plays a significant role in the cross-fertilization between the traditional and the new.

Sumari's 'noches' project links flamenco with jazz musicians.
Miles Davis already coined it : 'Flamenco is the Spanish equivalent of the blues. Both emerged from a fusion of cultures.
'The idea behind Sumari is like a tree with its roots deeply embedded in culture and tradition,while its branches reach for the sky, growing new fresh green every spring.'
The performance of 'noches' evokes reminiscences of the early 1950's, when be-bop was introduced into jazz. Many musicians with very different backgrounds who had by then reached the summit of their artistry, joined to create entirely new music no one had ever heard before, music that did not exist before. Today 'fusion' generally comes down to infusing ingredients from other genres and cultures into one's own work, in an attempt to spruce it up a little. The resulting sauce, 'la salsa', may have a nice and easy taste, but in the process it will also have lost all qualities of the individual ingredients. It is significant in this respect that the father of the 'salsa', Tito Puente, stated that 'salsa' should only be served on a plate, never in music.

The be-bop musicians of the 1950's went an entirely different way to fuse different genres. They invited musicians from other cultures and disciplines to create jazz together, leaving the individual qualities of each artist intact while mutually striving for new harmonies.
Since 1997 the flamenco guitar virtuoso and percussionist José Toral works in a similar way with three of the very best jazz musicians : Stefan Bracaval (flutes), Serge Dacosse (electrical bass) and Michel Bisceglia (piano).
They define their collaboration as 'a cross-fertilization between the traditional and the new', wherein 'the individual background of each musician plays a significant role'. For the performance of 'noches' four gifted musicians were added to the quartet : percussionist Ramón el Chispa, singer Roberto Chamorro 'El Roto', and the flamenco dancers Sofía Yero and Julián Martín.
The impeccable sound control by Gyuri Spies and lighting by Jean-Jacques Deneuvostier make the scene perfect for their deeply moving performance.e.

Musicians