Slow is possible

10 August, 2019

Violoncello: André Pontífice
High saxofone: Bruno Figueira
Drums: Duarte Fonseca
Guitar: João Clemente
Piano: Nuno Santos Dias
Double bass: Ricardo Sousa

The jazz they practice reveals erudite influences, but also from rock and exploratory songs, highlighting the melody and rhythm that makes it particularly accessible. The harmonic work developed by the group can be complex, as strange will be to a non-trained ear some of the sonorous situations they explore, but their songs easily enter the ear and stay there. This is due to the cinematographic nature of the compositions, result of a special interest in experimental cinema and filmmakers, such as Maya Deren and David Lynch.

The instrumentation of the sextet is quite unusual. There are two melodic instruments, a high saxophone and a violoncello. The rhythm section includes two harmonic instruments, guitar and piano, associated with the jazzy conventional double bass and drums. This combination of timbres gives their music a chamber dimension that is meticulously leveraged. Slow is Possible is the chamber music that touches anyone who has listened to Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Mr. Bungle and Keiji Haino, and it is as good as the best you could ever wish for.