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File under: Free Improvisation

Sei Miguel, Pedro Gomes

Turbina Anthem

Label: NoBusiness Records

Format: LP

Genre: Jazz

In stock

€18.00
VAT exempt
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"It's almost a given that any new release on the Lithuanian No Business label is going to be a bit out of the ordinary. As the catalogue grows, so does its depth and breadth. Turbina Anthem vouchsafes that proposition, comprising an unusual guitar and trumpet duet by two Portuguese improvisers who deserve a wider audience. Trumpeter Sei Miguel boasts a discography stretching back to 1998 in the company of compatriots, but in recent years has made a number of appearances with American free guitarist Joe Morris, while his foil here, Pedro Gomes, appears to be a new voice on guitar. Together they create 14 short sound sculptures totaling some 50 minutes. On trumpet, Miguel takes an anti-virtuosic approach, alternating short phrases and sustained tones with a folkloric innocence. On the acoustic tracks, Gomes recalls Brazilian guitarist Egberto Gismonti in his fragmented arpeggios and restrained melodicism, but when electrified, his vocabulary is one of odd twangs, long, held reverberations, and a scrabbling mass of crackles and distortion. Consequently it is the guitar which determines the overall ambience. Indeed, the density of the resultant soundscapes seems to increase through the set until, by "Bright Star Anyway," Gomes is creating a virtually unbroken sonic backdrop. Thereafter the firestorm recedes back to the earlier levels, allowing more air into the mix on the remaining pieces. The stark contrast between the pastoral lyricism of the five "Pale Star" numbers, in comparison with the more determinedly abstract nature of the balance of the program, produces a slightly schizophrenic feel. The most extreme example comes at the start. On "The Pale Star I," Miguel's smeary pocket trumpet resembles a foghorn, resounding over a misty bucolic landscape, while on "Spoon," his pitch becomes more uncertain, as it wanders through a nightmare environment of short circuiting sparks, crashes of indeterminate source and violent distorted guitar slashes. It's a barebones affair, where each man's separate lines take a parallel course but don't overtly relate to one another. Nonetheless, there is something about the relative weight and placement of each sound that makes this set a curiously engaging and singular experience."Allaboutjazz.com

Details
File under: Free Improvisation
Cat. number: NBLP34
Year: 2010
You feel the sounds, the sounds are what you feel in a real phyisical sense : setting your nerves on edge, sending shivers down your spine, giving you goosebumps, making you want to flee or cryRead more

There aren't that many trumpet-guitar albums, and I must admit that I like the line-up. This duet between trumpeter Sei Miguel and Pedro Gomes on guitar is something unique. Both are minimalists, but while Miguel using his trumpet mainly in a traditional and voiced mode, Gomes extracts sweet acoustic sounds or extremely harsh electric sounds from his guitar.

Yet it is far from noise : the volume of the guitar is low, the distortion maximal, the notes minimal. Both musicians play plaintive, sad phrases, full of longing and crying and pain and restrained anger, quietly, almost resigned yet extremely expressive. The album is so powerful that the listening experience is of an immediacy that is uncommon. The feelings they have seem to be transmitted directly to the listener, without the distance of appreciation or interpretation or any other form of rationalisation.

You feel the sounds, the sounds are what you feel in a real phyisical sense : setting your nerves on edge, sending shivers down your spine, giving you goosebumps, making you want to flee or cry. The few, more bluesy, pieces with acoustic guitar come as a relief, a welcome pause for the nervous system ... only to be dragged back into a universe of extreme tension : an uneasy beauty, harsh warmth, raw embraces, hard truths ... as if every release of tension creates its own new tension again ... And it requires incredible skill to maintain this for the entire album, without straying, without relinquishing the concept.

This is music without compromise, yet its vision is clear, its voice is unique, a listening experience that is not always pleasant, but extremely rewarding.

Great art.

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