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Henrique Mota Trio: É Pra Jazz
ByThe opening track is the album's one cover, Antonio Carlos Jobim's "One Note Samba," and here Mota displays his maverick tendencies, providing a spirited rendition that makes only tangential reference to the melody, using an odd-meter groove that highlights the prodigious rhythmic talents of Batista and Teixera, along with a beautiful rubato section from the pianist. It is both musically complex and danceable at the same time, an attribute that applies to much of the album as a whole.
While the other cuts may not be quite as memorable or impressive as the opener, they still reveal Mota's significant skills as a composer. The album's title track is an up-tempo workout, with Mota's right-hand acuity fully evident, while the tunefully swinging "Rudge Ramos" has a Thelonious Monk-like playfulness. And "Avocado" is another tricky piece, with shifting tempos that give all three musicians a chance to dig into the music's knotty contours. The contributions of Santo, whose electric bass has its own melodic charms on the ballad track, "Nobre," and Ferreira, who enlivens the album's closer, "Song for Isa" with a tenacious soprano sax solo, are both fine additions to the trio's successful formula.
É Pra Jazz is a satisfying and convincing glimpse of an artist on the rise, and Mota's upcoming projects will be worth investigating.
Track Listing
One Note Samba; Life Goes On; É Pra Jazz; Nobre; Rudge Ramos; Avocado; Song for Isa.
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Thiago Espirito Santo: electric bass (4); Cássio Ferreira: soprano saxophone (7).
Album information
Title: É Pra Jazz | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Self Produced
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