DE CAI

The work entitled "de Cai" came into being from the idea of composing a piece for a brass quintet and flamenco box-drum with a view to creating a repertoire for brass quintet using this style that I adore so much. Therein different forms, known locally as 'palos', converge that unveil an intuitive and crisp manner join forces. The work has been very highly received in this chamber music formation thanks to performances with Spanish Brass, one of the leading Spanish chamber music groups with the widest international outreach in our country. Thanks to them, the work is known both nationally and internationally.

The work dates back to 1997 and was written using scant compositional resources, as at that time I was still undergoing my musical tuition. Afterwards, the version for a full band was devised, the last version that retains some of the clearer nods to jazzy language, a language with which I feel quite at home as I have trained as a trumpeter playing modern music or jazz over a lengthy and intense professional path, never overlooking however other disciplines such as conducting or composition.

Tangos, the renowned Bulería melodies, and the odd undefinable interlude come together in this work with its simple yet catchy melody in which different instrumental solos are woven in using a Flamenco-Jazz style. The name of the piece denotes its origin, "de Cai" alludes to music from the city of Cadiz. This title has been borrowed from a slogan on a t-shirt worn by a well-known musician who I had the honour to share a stage with, Chano Domínguez. The t-shirt simply said, "I am de Cai (from Cadiz)" and this piece aims to be just that, "de Cai".