Breezy and sultry, the pop side of Brazil’s bossa nova conquered the world in the early 1960s. But bossa was always steeped in jazz and a sense of adventure; and from that there also grew a more experimental and radical ethos – giving the world artists like Baden Powell, Bola Sete, Airto Moreira, Egberto Gismonti and the master of Brazilian jazz iconoclasm, Hermeto Pascoal. The young musicians of Triorganico play acoustic music rooted in that ethos of adventure, managing to sound fresh and energetic while paying homage to their roots.
A good part of that freshness and energy comes from how well these guys play together. Interplay, counterpoint and responsive listening imbue Convivencia with an appealing sense of surprise and invention. The pieces are mostly originals in an impressionistic Brazilian jazz vein: melodic, chromatic, rich in changing mood, and surging with samba-esque rhythms.
Each member of the trio seems an equal voice. Guitarist Fabiano Do Nascimento has a supple command of his seven-string guitar, providing the crucial passing chords and rhythmic pulse with elegance, and also bringing deliciously longing saudade and emotional presence to his lyrical lines. Pablo Calogero’s flute is mercurial and dignified all at once, and his bass flute and clarinet bring unique and hypnotic colors and textures to ensemble lines. Drummer and percussionist Ricardo “Tiki” Pasillas might well be the reason the band is called Triorganico. His work here has all the “nature boy” colorations and textures of a Nana Vasconcelos; meanwhile the ever-changing but always solid accents of his trap work suggest a Brazilian Tony Williams.
It should also be noted that Convivencia is so well-recorded. There’s a high-resolution intimacy that puts the listener right in a small room with the trio – along with an attention to sonic detail and texture that echoes the most energized and adventurous ECM albums of the 1970s. Yet for all the echoes of the past, Triorganico displays enough verve and commitment to sound as if they’re inventing something new.