Rodrigo Amado: Refraction Solo

Are you familiar with Pablo Picasso's found art sculpture "Bull's Head"? It was created in 1942 from bicycle handlebars and a bike's saddle. Picasso was walking down the street and spotted the discarded items, and in a flash joined the two, creating an obvious depiction of a bull's head. That same spontaneous moment of creation informs the music from Rodrigo Amado's Refraction Solo.

Like Picasso, the musician is a trained and highly skilled artist. Amado leads or is a member of several improvising units, including a quartet with Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler and Chris Corsano, The Attic with Gonçalo Almeida and Onno Govaert, Rodrigo Amado's Northern Liberties with the Scandinavian cast of Gard Nilssen, Jon Rune Strøm, and Thomas Johansson, and his Motion Trio with Gabriel Ferrandini and Miguel Mira which have hosted guest artists such as Alexander von Schlippenbach, Peter Evans, and Jeb Bishop. His diverse interests (including photography) have conditioned him to create, like Picasso, his art in multiple settings.

Recorded at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, as the worldwide pandemic was fading in 2021, this recording is his first solo outing. Amado assembles a collection of musical found objects to create his own personal sound sculpture. Like Picasso's creation, Amado's ingredients are straightforward, yet when combined, genius. He draws from a stockpile of components, the bulk of which is the music of Sonny Rollins and Joe McPhee. "Sweet Freedom," the opener, draws from Rollins' Freedom Suite (Riverside Records, 1958) and McPhee's Sweet Freedom -Now What? (Hat Art, 1995). Amado's tenor synthesis compliments both artists while articulating his unique sound. His elocution may start with Rollins (as Rollins has done with Coleman Hawkins) as he quotes passages from "St. Thomas" before sculpting his improvisational prowess. This live performance maintains an intimate connection, where the listener has a front-row seat to this spontaneous moment of creation.