A quiet triumph for the quartet is the lovely ballad ‘Fado Poinciana for Ahmad Jamal’ in which the pianist gets his moment to shine.
ACT 9980-2
Júlio Resende (piano); Bruno Chaveiro (Portuguese guitar); André Rosinha (double bass); Alexandre Frazão (drums)
Special Guest: Salvador Sobral (vocals on 11)
Recorded June 2023
Meaning destiny or fate, the musical genre Fado has its approximate origins in Lisbon in the 1820s. It is of course the Portuguese version of the blues, in much the same way Flamenco is in Spain, and like the blues, Fado probably has its origins further back in history than the early 19th century.
The Fado is an integral ingredient in the playing style of pianist, Júlio Resende and this is his second album for ACT with this quartet, with the music having developed over the twelve months following the release of ‘Fado Jazz’ in 2022.
The way Resende melds the two idioms so seamlessly is quite astonishing and his jazz credentials – he has several trio albums under his belt in a small but growing discography – is never allowed to dominate.
What is very much to the fore is the melodic contour and structure of the Fado and given the very nature of the genre having a mournful and resigned feeling (hence the similarity with the blues), Resende’s music has a strong sense of lyricism that is most engaging.
There is a strong sense of this being very much a collective album. Resende is not one who is given to pyrotechnics and his playing is characterised by contributing only what is needed to make the composition work. He is selfless in his arrangements of the music, and often casts himself in an accompanying role to the delicate Portuguese guitar of Bruno Chaveiro.
Their relationship and mutual understanding is sublime on the duet “Anagrama – The Retornadoes Love Two Lands,” and piano and guitar dance joyously on the aptly titled “Portugal Dances Another Mariquinhas.”
The quartet make their appearance on “Mr Fado Goes To Africa For The First Time,” after two opening duets for guitar and piano, in an exuberant piece that is fuelled by bass and drums that drive along Resende’s composition with gusto.
A celebratory air is captured in “End of Colonial War! No Saudade,” which is then solemnly cemented in “Mano a Mano – Now We Are Brothers.”
A quiet triumph for the quartet is the lovely ballad “Fado Poinciana for Ahmad Jamal,” in which the pianist gets his moment to shine. His playing is full of subtle nuances and a lyricism that is jaw dropping.
The album’s title “Sons of Revolution” references the peaceful overthrow of the dictator Salazar and the road to democracy in Portugal, and the Portuguese people’s right to freedom of speech. That freedom of speech and individual expression are essential to both Fado and jazz and Júlio Resende captures the essence of both in an album that is ultimately a joyous listen.
