'Almanjáyar': Flamenco With a Jazz Pulse

The guitar might be the instrument most associated with flamenco, but the piano took center stage Friday and Saturday at the start of GALA Hispanic Theatre's second annual flamenco festival with Pablo Rubén Maldonado's "Almanjáyar."

The Granada-born classical pianist's fusion of Spanish Gypsy tradition and jazz is hardly new, but Maldonado's contemporary compositions take it to a new level. The engaging performer played superbly, as did percussionist Moisés Natenzon and bassist Jorge Luis Cerrato Méndez, although the flamenco root was at times elusive.

Fortunately, singer Ismael Fernández and dancer Jose Manuel Flores Macías provided a steadier connection to the Gypsy source. Fernández, perhaps the program's most charismatic performer, overlaid jazz harmonics with an edgy but authentic flamenco style.

Flores Macías, impeccably schooled in the form's strictly accented rhythmic phrases, adapted well to the pulsations of jazz, relying on upper-body fluidity in the opening "Cautivo de Mi Destino," whose configurations limited the footwork that is usually the meat of a dancer's interpretation. But he gave an explosive display in "Invocación," a composition quoting more explicitly from flamenco.

Flores Macías returned in "Anhelo de Tus Besos," a joyous finale that showcased the entire ensemble to stunning effect. In a memorable sequence, Maldonado's tinkling high notes played off the dancer's rhythms. Later, Flores Macías stamped his cadences "a palo seco," that is, accompanied only by the clapping of the other four men. This was flamenco distilled to its essence, sober and enthralling.

-- Paula Durbin