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Amaro Freitas on Enchantment, Ancestry, and the Future of Solo Piano
by Steven Roby
The Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas doesn't just perform pieces--he creates an atmosphere. A pilgrimage to the Amazon inspired his recent music, and his solo set translates that experience into sound: rainforest textures, ritual movements, and the feeling of two mighty rivers converging and flowing as one. “I create a unique approach to music in my concerts," he says. “I have my sound engineer's support during the performance... I craft moments using loops, small flutes, instruments from the Amazon, and special ...
Continue ReadingAmaro Freitas, Emma-Jean Thackray, Club D'Elf, Jowee Omicil and More New Releases
by Ludovico Granvassu
2022 has arrived, and from a jazz perspective, it came right after a truly spectacular year in terms of the quality and quantity of jazz albums that were released... so the pressure is on! Mondo Jazz's New Year resolution remains the same: keep searching for the most exciting, left of center, fresh, possibly under-exposed, certainly deserving wider recognition jazz we can find. In this edition, a touch of Zappa, and the excitement coming from the Brazilian, British, French, German and ...
Continue ReadingAmaro Freitas: Rasif
by Chris M. Slawecki
In the small coastal city of Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Amaro Freitas began playing piano in his local church at age 12. A few years later, the jazz gods intervened in the form of a Chick Corea concert DVD. “He completely blew my mind," Freitas once recalled. “I'd never seen anything like it but I knew that's what I wanted to do with a piano." The refocused Freitas became resident pianist at Brazil's legendary jazz bar Mingus ...
Continue ReadingAmaro Freitas: Rasif
by Mark Sullivan
Brazilian pianist/composer Amaro Freitas is from the coastal city of Recife in the northeastern state of Pernambuco. His geographic background is important, because he has been heavily influenced by the Afro-Brazilian maracatu (dating from slavery days) and the high intensity carnival rhythms of frevo and baião, as well as the jazz tradition. Most of this album is played by the Amaro Freitas Trio, his group with drummer Hugo Medeiros and double bassist Jean Elton. Opener “Dona Eni" immediately ...
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