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CD
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AMAC 727CD
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Arjunamusic Records presents the new album The River, from the trio of João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mário Franco, and Samuel Rohrer, following on the aesthetic developed on their previous release Brightbird from 2017: it is characterized by meaningful pauses and clever subtractions, but it is also a strong and mature demonstration of the fruitful partnership that exists between them and more undeniably perceptible musical features. The group's willingness to consider the value of the spaces between the notes (and their understanding that reflection and contemplation upon those spaces is an act of engagement rather than detachment) is one immediately recognizable feature of their sonic terrain. However, it's far from the only one. In the final estimation, the dialogue between the perceptible and the imperceptible works as well as it does here because an aesthetic of mutual exchange is central to these musicians' playing styles. It is rare to hear albums in which the gestalt can be comprehended rather than voluntarily or involuntarily zooming in on a single player or aspect of the presentation; the trio here has created something that can be appreciated in its totality and which challenges listeners to apply its qualities to other areas of lived experience.
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CD
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AMAC 715CD
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A gentle maelstrom! João Paulo Esteves da Silva, Mário Franco, and Samuel Rohrer together combine all the qualities that are currently making this most classical chamber-music format of jazz so successful. Intuitive understanding, transparent flows of communication between the musicians, their actions and reactions, soloistic sequences that continue the balanced flow of sounds, as well as musical culture and noblesse. This trio does not boast but trusts the spaces between the notes. Yet its music develops a pull, gently insisting, that becomes ever more plausible. Nobody in this trio acts in an authoritarian way. Everything breezily interlinks following a collective thought; catchy, sometimes almost song-like and always of iridescent beauty. The trio is not defined by melodic bliss, melancholy, or the pure pursuit of harmony. It searches in the openness of improvisation, dispensing with ready-made intentions for a piece or composition. It transforms what is found into concise sonic images, which maintain rigor and concentration because they do not become unruly under the musicians' fingers. Themes are illuminated without being overworked. Subtle free flights of fancy are interwoven. There is lyrical introspection as well as an intricate groove, and everything occurs far away from routine. This balanced develops its strength from congenial casualness. Improvised bagatelles add together to form an unobtrusive bath of sound because no-one feels the need to exhibit their virtuosity. The playing of pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva is shaped by the worlds of jazz and fado, classical, and folklore. Virtuosity yes, but soulful depth is even more important to him. In such contexts, bassist Mário Franco is also an ideal choice for the line-up. As a musician at home also in the classical repertoire, his warm, smooth sound is now enormously in demand. He his warm, smooth sound is now enormously in demand, which has made him a playing partner of well-known jazz musicians. Playing in comparable trios, the Swiss citizen of the world and urbane nomad Samuel Rohrer is one of the influential improvisational musicians of his generation and has gained the experience required for this intuitive communication with double bass and piano. This album is not an umpteenth variant on the plethora of piano trios, but leaves the pure jazz idiom to stride across further territories: wide awake and lost in dreams.
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