The Squid's Ear Magazine


Attic, The (Amado / Almeida / Govaert): Love Ghosts (NoBusiness)

The third release from the Portuguese trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Gonçalo Almeida on double bass and Onno Govaert on drums in a studio album of assertively exploratory improvisation that builds from stark clarity to impressive hard blowing soloing and group interaction, an outstanding album of modern free jazz.
 

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Personnel:



Rodrigo Amado-tenor saxophone

Goncalo Almeida-double bass

Onno Govaert-drums


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Label: NoBusiness
Catalog ID: NBCD 159
Squidco Product Code: 32526

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: Lithuania
Packaging: Jewel Case
Recorded at Namouche Studios, in Lisbon, Portugal, on January 12th, 2020, by Joaquim Monte.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Love Ghosts is Amado's The Attic's third release. The music is a hard hitting sax, drum, and bass trio. This 'piano-less' format is a popular one, especially for musicians who want to free themselves from the harmonic constraints of chordal instruments. The Attic's music however, is not strictly about freedom from a harmony, one can almost hear the chords here, but rather, it seems like an deliberate choice to build on the space between the instruments that it affords.

Along with bassist Gonçalo Almeida and drummer Onno Govaert, Amado leads the group through a hard-hitting set of improvisations that often revolve around a classic sounding theme he introduces. The opening track 'New Tone,' after a exploratory introduction from Almeida and Govaert, Amado begins with one of the aforementioned riffs, after a few repeats, it starts feeling timeless. The improvisation that evolves from it is gentle at first, we hear Amado's full-bodied tone deliberate manipulations of the theme, then Almeida's playing soon morphs into a propulsive walking line, and Govaert nudges the music, adding extra tension and momentum. Half-way through the first track, the group is at a different place, up-tempo but very much in control, Amado starts to overblow notes to add emphasis, Govaert adds a splash of intensity with his cymbals, and Almeida's phrasing keeps the pace up, filling up the space. The track ends though with space reasserting itself. The drums drop out and the sax and bass engage in a duet that puts the melodic statements into even starker light.

As the music continues, 'Encounter' has a similar vibe, beginning with spacious playing and then filling in with a roiling rhythmic layer along with Amado's ever evolving melodic lines. At one point, Amado and Govaert drop out, giving Almeida a big hole to fill. It is on the title track, however, that the groups power is really exhibited. The track begins in exploratory mode: Govaert and Almeida providing tonal textures and Amado adding slightly overblown legato notes. When the tempo begins to solidify, the mood is set, paving the way for a slow building tension that reaches a peak of 'out' playing beginning about half-way through the explosive 16-minute track. All of the space is squeezed out by the end. 'Outer Fields,' the closer, begins with the suspense of Almeida's bass playing in the middle of the spacious silence. Govaert joins after several minutes and a moment later Amado joins with a somber melody. The starkness of track is alleviated towards as the improvisation continues, Amado's lines thicker and flowing, ably supported by the bass and drums.

The starkness of the trio is its superpower and the space between the instruments their potent weapon. The possibilities of The Attic feel immense, always something new to explore and room for more."-Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective


Get additional information at The Free Jazz Collective

Artist Biographies

"Portuguese saxophonist (alto, C melody, baritone, and tenor) Rodrigo Amado specializes in free-form, composition-in-the-moment jazz, and his various projects and trios have given him an international following. Born in Lisbon in 1964, Amado began studying the sax at the age of 17, briefly at the Hot Club Music School of Lisbon and with mentors Carlos Martins, Pedro Madaleno, and Jorge Reis, among other leading Portuguese jazz artists. With diverse musical interests, he explored how improvisation is handled in other genres, although his work with his various ensembles like the Lisbon Improvisation Players and the Motion Trio (with Miguel Mira and Gabriel Ferrandini) falls clearly under the umbrella of 21st century jazz, and he has been an in-demand studio player on numerous recorded projects. He started his own label, Clean Feed, in 2001, with brothers Pedro and Carlos Costa, before leaving the imprint in 2005 to start a second label, European Echoes. Also an accomplished professional photographer, Amado continues to be a bright light on the Portuguese and international improvisational jazz scene."

-All Music, Steve Leggett (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rodrigo-amado-mn0000249324/biography)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Gonçalo Almeida born in 1978 Lisbon, Portugal. Lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he followed studies at Rotterdams Conservatorium, having studied with Heyn van Geyn, Stefan Lievestro, Marius Beets and Peter Leerdman, finishing his master degree in 2008.

Plays in a variety of projects that go from modern jazz, freejazz, jazzcore and free improvisation music, having shared the stage with improvisers such has Chris Speed, Carlos Zíngaro, Wilbert de Joode, Martin van Duynhoven, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Rodrigo Amado, Tobias Klein, Jasper Stadhouders among others.

Also has been working in collaboration with multi media such as video artists, modern dancers, poets, and theater makers.

In the main projects that he is involved as double bass player, he has a deep input as a composer."

-Goncalo Almeida Website (http://gonzobass.wixsite.com/gonzoalmeida/biography)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Onno Govaert is a drumer from Amsterdamn performing free jazz, swing and rock. He is a member of Cactus Truck with Jasper Stadhouders and Wilbert de Joode, and has also recorded with Andy Moor, Colin McLean, and John Dikeman, and with Dave Rempis and Frank Rosaly.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. New Tone 12:16

2. Encounter 16:53

3. Love Ghosts 16:12

4. Outer Fields 13:25

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Collective Free Improvsation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
NoBusiness.


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