The Listening Guide
🎶 The listening guide: five albums, released during the past twelve months, chosen around a weekly theme 🎶
This week, we look to Brazil for our five selections. The influence of the great Hermeto Pascoal is evident on at least two of these albums: with a theme and guest appearance from the Brazilian multi-instrumentalist on Mariana Zwarg’s sensational Sexteto Universal recording Nascentes, plus a rendition of his composition Bebê on Vitor Arantes’ fantastic quartet album Elo. There are two wonderful voices in Luedji Luna and São Paulo Panic’s Dani Gurgel, plus a fine new record from the pianist and bandleader Amaro Freitas, who has been praised highly by the celebrated trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. You can support Luedji Luna’s album on streaming services, whilst the other four are available on Bandcamp.
Mariana Zwarg Sexteto Universal – Nascentes
Luedji Luna – Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'Água
Album of the Week
Our NQ Jazz album of the week comes from experimental trio Archipelago and is entitled Echoes To The Sky. The group consists of Faye MacCalman on tenor saxophone, clarinet, synthesizer and vocals, with John Pope on electric bass, FX and vocals, and Christian Alderson on drums and percussion. Lead single Chemical boasts a meaty riff, crunchy electric bass and punishing drums from Alderson, but there’s plenty of subtlety to the tune too! You can support the project on Bandcamp.
Classic Album
This week’s classic album comes from the late trumpeter, composer, and educator Jacques Coursil. Featuring Anthony Braxton on contrabass clarinet and Arthur Jones—the saxophonist Coursil played alongside in Frank Wright’s quintet in New York—it’s a seminal free work that Eugene Chadbourne of AllMusic described as one of Coursil’s two LPs for BYG’s Actuel series ‘to take off to the desert island’. Note the deliberate absence of rhythm, brilliant bass playing of Beb Guerin, and the fantastic brooding atmosphere created at the beginning of the second part.