My Content
Membership has its privileges! Sign up or sign in to gain full access to both All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. Learn more.
João Barradas: Directions
Since childhood, Portuguese accordionist João Barradas has been winning awards on his instrument at national and international level. His undoubted talent on his chosen instrument—and its midi version—is on display throughout Directions, his first album as leader. So, too, is his talent as a composer—all but one of the tracks are his original compositions.
Barradas is accompanied by his excellent Portuguese quartet across these tunes and is joined by guests Greg Osby (who also produced), Gil Goldstein and Sara Serpa on selected tracks. Saxophonist Osby first appears on the punchy but rather bizarre "Expressive Idea"—a tune featuring Barradas' midi-accordion and centered around a recorded conversation between Wayne Shorter and Joe Lovano on which Barradas matches the cadences and rhythms of the speakers' voices.
Directions demonstrates two sides of Barradas' talents—the influence of what might be called the "accordion tradition" on tunes such as "Letter To Mother's Immersion" (featuring some fine guitar from André Fernandes), "Homeric Hymn" and the forceful "Amalgamat" and the freer, more contemporary, vibe to be found on "Expressive Idea," "Unknown Identity," "Ignorance" (all of which feature Osby) and the angular rhythms of "Amalgamat (Outro)" where Serpa's wordless vocal adds an ethereal atmosphere. "Homeric Hymn" combines both approaches, opening in the tradition before moving towards a more contemporary sound. Goldstein's composition, "Tiling The Plane," is a twin-accordion piece: apparently based on "Giant Steps" it's an interesting shift of pace but the return of the band on "The Red Badge Of Courage" is welcome.
Barradas is accompanied by his excellent Portuguese quartet across these tunes and is joined by guests Greg Osby (who also produced), Gil Goldstein and Sara Serpa on selected tracks. Saxophonist Osby first appears on the punchy but rather bizarre "Expressive Idea"—a tune featuring Barradas' midi-accordion and centered around a recorded conversation between Wayne Shorter and Joe Lovano on which Barradas matches the cadences and rhythms of the speakers' voices.
Directions demonstrates two sides of Barradas' talents—the influence of what might be called the "accordion tradition" on tunes such as "Letter To Mother's Immersion" (featuring some fine guitar from André Fernandes), "Homeric Hymn" and the forceful "Amalgamat" and the freer, more contemporary, vibe to be found on "Expressive Idea," "Unknown Identity," "Ignorance" (all of which feature Osby) and the angular rhythms of "Amalgamat (Outro)" where Serpa's wordless vocal adds an ethereal atmosphere. "Homeric Hymn" combines both approaches, opening in the tradition before moving towards a more contemporary sound. Goldstein's composition, "Tiling The Plane," is a twin-accordion piece: apparently based on "Giant Steps" it's an interesting shift of pace but the return of the band on "The Red Badge Of Courage" is welcome.
Track Listing: Expressive Idea; Letter To Mother’s Immersion; Varazdin’s Landscape; Unknown Identity; Amalgamat; Amalgamat (Outro); Tiling The Plane; The Red Badge Of Courage; Manners Of Normality; Homeric Hymn; Ignorance.
Personnel: João Barradas: accordion, midi accordion; André Fernandes: guitar; João Paulo Esteves da Silva: piano; André Rosinha: bass; Bruno Pedroso: drums; Greg Osby: saxophone (1, 4, 11); Gil Goldstein: accordion (7); Sara Serpa: vocals (6).
Title: Directions | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Inner Circle Music
Tags
João Barradas
CD/LP/Track Review
Bruce Lindsay
Directions
Inner Circle Music
Greg Osby
Gil Goldstein
Sara Serpa
Wayne Shorter
joe lovano
Andre Fernandes
Related Articles
CD/LP/Track ReviewHaydn: Symphony No. 39, Symphony No. 87, Mozart –...
by C. Michael Bailey
Published: November 17, 2018
Genius Guide to JazzTop 10 Moments in Jazz History
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
Published: November 12, 2018
CD/LP/Track Review
Nattens Skogar – version for four playersby John Eyles
Published: December 1, 2017
Album Showcase
-
La Fenice by Keith Jarrett
Shop Amazon
Story of the Day
In 1998, having a blast playing with a big band made up of students from Thelonius Monk's Institute of Jazz, outdoors, surrounded by the gorgeous mountains of Aspen Snow Mass, I was thinking how much I wanted to create a smaller band that would have the same power of a big band, but with so much more room in it for each musician to shine. Little did I know this was the beginning of a beautiful journey, one that continues to this day, in which every concert, every recording is another beginning, another thrill, another joy. I conceived of the band as a septet 20 years ago, and later refined it to a sextet in 2005
Read more
By Amina Figarova
Member since: 2014
Cast Your Vote!
Help us identify the world's top 100 jazz venues. Voting takes seconds so please participate!
