Jazz Hybridity in theory: Flamenco, Hip-Hop, Latin, and European Fusions (Flash session)

Flamenco-jazz pianism often swings between cyclic compás meter and jazz's harmonic vocabulary of functional progressions, harmonic extensions and substitutions. This paper examines Andrés Barrios as a case of a jazz-trained pianist who “translates” flamenco guitar to the keyboard while retaining post-bop/bebop stylistic features. Working from transcriptions of selected recordings, I propose an analysis that joins transformational mappings of harmonic progressions with rhythmic timelines associated with specific palos.

On the harmonic side, the analysis focuses on harmonic substitutions and chord extensions (McClimon 2017, Childs 1998) within geometric voice-leading conceptions of harmonic space and contemporary discussions of octatonic practice (Tymoczko 2011). Rhythmically, a chronotonic approach to left-hand patterns identifies recurring accent cycles, palos (see Díaz-Bañez, 2017), and accompanimental archetypes that project flamenco references (including modo de Mi / Phrygian-dominant tendencies and Andalusian cadences) in tandem with the harmonic rhythm (Valenzuela, 2016).

Rather than treating hybridity as a stylistic label, the paper argues that Barrio's improvisations combine different styles —voice-leading plus compás articulations—that make flamenco stylistic elements audible inside a jazz harmonic surface, offering a transferable framework for comparing other jazz-fusion repertoires.

• Childs, Adrian P. 1998. “Moving beyond Neo-Riemannian Triads: Exploring a Transformational Model for Seventh Chords.” Journal of Music Theory 42(2): 181–193. https://doi.org/10.2307/843872
• Díaz-Báñez, José-Miguel. 2017. “Mathematics and Flamenco: An Unexpected Partnership.” The Mathematical Intelligencer 39(3): 27–39.
• McClimon, Michael. 2017. “Transformations in Tonal Jazz: ii–V Space.” Music Theory Online 23(1). https://doi.org/10.30535/mto.23.1.3
• Tymoczko, Dmitri. 2011. A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice. Oxford University Press.
• Valenzuela Lavado, Salvador. 2016. Armonía modal, modo de Mi y flamenco: Aproximación al “Modo de Mi Armónico” como sistema musical de tradición hispana. Doctoral thesis, Universidad de Granada.