The Chano Dominguez concert last night was amazing. Dominguez is a fantastic pianist. I loved how he fused jazz with flamenco. The juxtaposition of the two different worlds for me was mind boggling.

Listening to Dominguez play jazz last night made me realize all the associations I make from jazz. When I listen to jazz, in my mind I see cities like NYC, Chitown and Philly, I see smoky bars, I see dark alleys and streets, and I hear the noise of rush hour traffic.

I also kind of think of bad sex, but that's only because I was introduced to jazz when I was 18 by this guy I was sleeping with occassionally in college. It wasn't a dating thing. He lived on my floor, I was a freshman, he was a senior, he had a mercedes, and if the two of us happened to run into each other late at night on the floor, we'd eventually end up in bed. It was all very light, very casual, and mildly amusing at times.

Anyway, he had a huge jazz record collection (he was a total purist) and a to die for stereo set up in his room and he'd always have the music going during our interludes. The sex was awful, but the music was fantastic and since he knew I didn't know anything about jazz he decided to educate me. The whole thing with him probably wouldn't have gone as long as it did without his music and his willingness to share it with me.

Back to Chano Dominguez. So I'm hearing Dominguez play these jazz riffs, and I'm thinking NYC, and then I hear his singer belting out a flamenco style song and his dancer doing the flamenco hand claps and then getting up and dancing during the piece. It was wild.

Jazz combined with moorish influenced flamenco music is just a bizarre combo, but I loved it.

While listening to the music, I kept thinking of a modern Spanish city filled with tall buildings and all the trappings of any major metropolis. And if I was going to film a movie in Spain, I would have to have Dominguez's music on my soundtrack.

Here's a link to one of his cds, Hecho a Mano. Listen to Retailia, which is a bulerias, to see what I mean.

I would love to see Dominguez play his music in Spain, just to see what his hometown crowd thinks of his flamenco/jazz fusion.

There's also another cd of his worth checking out called 10 de Paco, especially the track "La Tumbona".

Is it ill if to get in the mood for a jazz/flamenco performance, I listen to Enrique Inglesias' song "Escape" in english and spanish? It's like a favourite song for me.

Si decides dejarme
No te voy a suplicar
Alla tu si mas tarde
Aunque corras, te escondas
No puedes escapar
Aunque corras, te escondas
No puedes escapar

Did I tell you my fifth generation West Texas man speaks, reads and writes french and spanish fluently? I've already got digs in about leftist San Francisco politics, dotcomers, and the french.

And yes, he's a tobacco chewing, whip cracker smart, SUV driving, former bull-riding rodeo wannabe, ex-Dallas the series extra, single malt scotch whiskey sipping, life long, Bush voting republican, oozing with heaps and heaps of guy-guy non-metrosexual animal charm.

He's somebody any Cali girl worth her salt knows she shouldn't be attracted to, but is anyway because it's like an animal and/or a karmic thing.

For looks, think Steve Croft from 60 Minutes, or Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security, only younger, with reddish hair, but not so chubby and wrinkled.

I didn't write yesterday, but I just finished chapter 2 and I'm now caught up for my word count for Day 4. I'm at 6,700 words. I still have to write for Day 5, which means the start of Chapter 3. That's 13 pages of single spaced text. Yikes!

Chapter 3 and 4 is Day 1, first meeting in Dallas, lunch at the Hyatt Regency Dallas. I stayed at this hotel the last time I was in Dallas. It's a great hotel, and within walking of the site of the Kennedy shooting, the book depository and the infamous grassy knoll.