Luís Vicente 4tet: House In The Valley

There is a synergy in simplicity and, with the Luís Vicente 4tet, a simplicity which comes from the synergistic effects of this unpretentious quartet. The four musicians—Portuguese composer, leader & trumpeter Luis Vicente, Dutch drummer Onno Govaert, and the Americans, tenor saxophonist John Dikeman and bassist Luke Stewart—assembled for a series of concerts in Portugal in 2021. This recording was captured in Caldas da Rainha on July 19th. The simplicity here is the same honesty we hear in the early recordings of Ornette Coleman and austere sounds of Albert Ayler's music.

Previously, three of the musicians have formed ensembles in various combinations, Vicente and Dikeman in various quartets, including the Twenty One 4tet with Govaert and Wilbert de Joode. The same for Vicente and Govaert, in trios and quartets, and the Govaert-Dikeman connection plus Jasper Stadhouders gives us the trio Cactus Truck. The addition of Stewart (Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Irreversible Entanglements, Luke Stewart's Silt Trio) adds a certain energy to the affair. Not that Stewart's bandmates have ever lacked energy in their performances. It is just that the bassist brings a passionate muscular approach which complements the others here quite well. Vicente's compositions, inspired by his daughter, hearken back to his own childhood and his carefree gamboling in meadows and valleys. In other words, an innocent freedom as expressed in insouciant free jazz. Together Vicente and Dikeman resemble the connection Ornette Coleman had with Don Cherry and the one Albert Ayler shared with Donald Ayler. They continuously swivel and spin around each other while Stewart and Govaert keep time, also pressing on the accelerator. Captured within these two lengthy tracks are both roaring energy blasts and meditative pauses which all launch from Vicente's compositions and mushroom into extended improvisations and soloing.