David Maranha, Rodrigo Amado

The second duo album by David Maranha (electric organ) and Rodrigo Amado (tenor saxophone), two central figures of the Portuguese experimental and improvised scene: Maranha with Osso Exótico and his long work on drones and repetition, Amado with the Motion Trio and his many records on European and American labels. Their first meeting, Wrecks, recorded in 2023, was described by The Free Jazz Blog as possibly the most powerful recording of its year.

Desolation Row is a single improvisation, a little over forty minutes split across the two sides of the LP, recorded live by Pedro Freixo at ADAO in Barreiro on 3 October 2025, during the 22nd edition of Out.Fest. Maranha builds a dense, shifting wall of organ, full of air, high whistling tones and voices that seem to come from inside the pipes; Amado enters with a few spare phrases and then climbs, through split tones, cries and long melodic lines, to a climax around the 35th minute before the piece settles into calm.

In his liner notes Stuart Broomer points to two references: Olivier Messiaen's organ and the late, spiritual music of John Coltrane and his successors Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders. The Wire called the record a psychedelic encounter between two Portuguese masters. Mixed and produced by the two musicians, mastered by Dave Zuchowski, cover photo and design by Amado. Released by Comets Coming.