The Squid's Ear Magazine


Rodrigues, Ernesto / Luis Senra / Gianna De Toni / Luis Couto / Biagio Verdolini: Prima Pratica (Creative Sources)

A very open free improvisation of Portuguese musicians recording in Azores, PT from the quintet of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Luis Senra on tenor saxophone, Gianna de Toni on double bass, Luis Couto on electric guitar, and Biagio Verdolini on homemade instruments, using space amid patiently evolving conversation with an overall acoustic feeling in three movements of "Dissonanze".
 

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Personnel:



Ernesto Rodrigues-viola

Luis Senra-tenor saxophone

Gianna de Toni-double bass

Luis Couto-electric guitar

Biagio Verdolini-homemade instruments


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UPC: 5609063406214

Label: Creative Sources
Catalog ID: cs621
Squidco Product Code: 28206

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2019
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded in Ponta Delgada, in Azores, Portugal, on January 7th, 2019, by Emanuel Cabral.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"[Another recent album from Creative Sources, in this case taking a while to make much of an impression on me, is Prima pratica by another quintet led by Ernesto Rodrigues (on his usual viola), and recorded in the Azores this past January. Prima pratica is another long album (over an hour), and largely features musicians with whom I wasn't familiar. The exception is Gianna De Toni (double bass), who appeared e.g. on the short yet often potent quartet album Synchronous Rotation with Vasco Trilla & the two Rodrigueses (as discussed here in March 2018).... Beyond that, Biagio Verdolini (homemade instruments) is credited with zither on string 11tet+1 album Sul (mentioned here in August 2018, although not Verdolini himself), while Luis Senra (tenor saxophone) & Luis Couto (electric guitar) were unknown. (I won't assume they're all young, but they may be....)

In any case, what instrument is making what sound tends toward the opaque on Prima pratica, as sounds are decontextualized (i.e. per classic musique concrète, but done live) & then used gesturally. Beyond the imposing album title, individual tracks are also titled "dissonanze" I-III (thus evoking e.g. Nashaz, on which sounds are actually far easier to place), providing an enigmatic prompt for what is otherwise rather sparse music. (And when it does emerge into a rare forte, it's usually tonal.) The sparse decontextualization involves taking another step - toward austerity or essence? - from e.g. Coluro, on which timbral spanning is rather systematic, yet also "thicker" & more individually discernible.

Prima pratica is then not only more distended in its sonic materials, but adopts a more linear approach (via its gestural clarity) in order to sketch long arcs & their imputed space. It's also largely acoustic. Further, I wouldn't be discussing this album (at least in any detail) if it weren't ultimately affective, and although that affectivity does require listener investment, a potent & calming quality consistently emerges via such attention. (I'm thus unsure whether to differentiate Prima pratica from ambient music - in that, absent investment, very little seems to happen: Nonetheless, the affectivity is real.) The sparseness thus comes to suggest something essential about musical line & timbre, as well as asks one to take (often subtle) dissonance per se seriously: A plaintive quality also comes to emerge, somehow evoking its island setting (in modes seemingly allied to those of Rodrigues' work with his Suspensão ensemble...), while remaining carefully balanced.

Quiet thus comes to yield transformativity, as muted colors arc like threads through invisible space.... (In this, Prima pratica is similar yet different from Stratus, which although layered in pastels, is tauter & in broader timbral strokes, featuring more general continuity....) In some ways, the sometimes mysterious origin of the sounds contributes to the impression of space, but in other ways, concerns of that sort tend to fade away: The first track is already especially satisfying in that regard, invoking a sort of kenosis that's expounded into the second (which does come to seem a bit overlong, at over a half hour by itself...) with its sometimes extended "radio signal" atmosphere. Shadows of melody do also appear, though, amid various bubbling & bouncing fluid streams. The shorter third track soon seems overlong again too, but its pulsations also continue the theme, as arcs of color continue to outline broad affective spaces. It seems that this sort of style could continue to be abstracted & elaborated quite broadly & evocatively.... Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts


Get additional information at Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts

Artist Biographies

"He has been playing the violin for 30 years and in that time has played all genres of music ranging from contemporary music to free jazz and improvised music, live and in the studio.

His main interest shifted towards contemporary improvised and composed music.

The relationship with his instruments is focused in sonic and textural elements.

Electronic music was an early influence on his approach to violin playing, which challenges traditional romantic concepts of the violin/viola through use of preparations and micro tuning.

Active in different settings on the Portuguese scene for free improvised music, both as a collaborator and in leading his own groups.

Music for Dance, Cinema, Video and Performance.

Has created the record label Creative Sources Recordings in 1999, which mainly concentrates on releasing experimental and electro-acoustic music."

-Creative Sources (http://creativesourcesrec.com/creative_artists.html)
3/13/2024

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

"Luis Senra is a saxophonist, born and raised in Rabo de Peixe in the Island of São Miguel.

on on

He learnt the clarinet and flute at age 11 in the School of Music of Rabo de Peixe, doing at 17 the transition to the saxophone. At 18, he enters the Regional Conservatory of Ponta Delgada. By this time, he participates at the Jazzores'09 Festival and discovers his fascination with jazz, experimental music and free improvisation.

on on on

Since then he's had several musical contacts and moments of learningwith various national and international musicians. He participated in master classes and workshops with names like Michael Wimberly, Sabir Mateen, Raymond King, Thollen Mcdonas, Pau Rodriguez, Eduard Pao, Laurent Filipe, Claus Nymark, Pedro Moreira, Paula Oliveira, Bruno Santos, Rui Massena, Francisco Ferreira and Gilberto Bernardes . He participated in jam sessions with James Spaulding, Daniel Waples, Jon Irabagon, Moppa Elliott, John Blum, Michael Smith, Michael Ross, Biagio Verdolini, Daniel Carter, Paul Vincent, Ricardo Reis, Carlos Mendes, John Macedo, Pedro Silva, Sara Miguel, Paulo Cunha, Gianna Toni and Carlos Massa. He played at Jazzores'11 Festival presenting a free jam session together with Box Deserter Ensemble and the pianist Thollen Mcdonas.

on on

Since the beginning of his musical career he has played in several small orchestras, The Orchestra of Jazz of the Music Academy of Rabo de Peixe, Oi.Jazz, and Regional Orchestra Lira Açoreana. He was a member of projects such as Sax 'n' Fun, MP4 BAND and Dixiebando. He also collaborated in concert with Za!, Tran-Tran Manush, Lulu Monde, Broad Beans, Social Software, Romeo Bairos, Rift n'Roll and Jaime Goth.

on on

Currently, having discovered the chill out / lounge and the connection music / emotion / energy he has developed his approach to improvisation through the project ON. In this project, which includes musicians Jorge Valerio and Daniel Tavares, the main focus is the creative freedom as a means of musical exploration and direct connection with the public.

on on

Luis is part of the governing and teaching body of Rabo de Peixe Academy of Music, resident in Theatre Miramar, which is a project of social action through art where he teaches saxophone."

-PPL Portugal (https://ppl.pt/en/prj/saxofone-para-o-Luis)
3/13/2024

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

Italian double bassist Gianna de Toni is a member of the Portuguese-based groups IKB and String Theory.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

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

"Luís Couto is a guitarist known for the bands Teatro Grotesco, The Joy Of Nature, The Joy Of Nature And Discipline."

-Discogs (https://www.discogs.com/artist/1226979-Lu%C3%ADs-Couto)
3/13/2024

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

Biagio Volandri Verdolini is an instrument maker, a member of IKB.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Dissonanze I 17:46

2. Dissonanze II 32:03

3. Dissonanze III 12:18

Related Categories of Interest:


Creative Sources
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Quintet Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Creative Sources.


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