Tomatito

José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito, is best known as the guitarist who accompanied Camarón de la Isla for the last eighteen years of the great singer’s life, collaborating with him on on the seminal album La Leyenda del Tiempo (The Legend of Time), and many other essential flamenco recordings.

Since Camarón’s tragic death in 1992, Tomatito has ensured the evolution of flamenco guitar, as well as securing his own place as the leading flamenco guitarist of his generation and one of the greatest flamenco guitarists of all time. He has recorded six solo albums, winning a Latin Grammy for his 2004 album Aguadulce. In addition to his renown as a concert flamenco guitarist who has performed at international venues from the Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels to London’s Albert Hall, he has continued to cross new frontiers in an ongoing collaboration with Latin jazz pianist Michel Camilo. Tomatito and Camilo’s 2000 Grammy-winning alnum Spain was followed by Spain Again (2006).

Tomatito was born in Almeria in 1958 into a family of great flamenco guitarists, including his father, Tomate, and uncle Niño Miguel. The family moved to Málaga when Tomatito was twelve, and there he began his musical career performing in flamenco clubs such as the Taberna Gitana, where he met Paco de Lucía among his audience, and Camarón de la Isla.

Tomtatito has performed with many other great cantaores including Enrique Morente, La Susi, Vicente Soto and José Menese. His collaborations outside of the flamenco world include performances with Elton John and Frank Sinatra, John McLaughlin, Irakere and Chick Corea. He has written film and theatre scores and appeared in the movie “Devil’s Advocate” with Al Pacino. In 2007, he paid homage to Camarón at Malaga’s flamenco biennial with a performance he called Camaroneando.