José Soares

Program music whose program isn’t present, alto saxophonist José Soares’ Soma was conceived to be presented live with visuals by Argentinean Várvara Tazelaar along with the sounds of texts by five contemporary writers. Neither are present on the disc, yet the quiet, atmospheric and somewhat dissonant original music created by this quartet can still be appreciated. Besides Soares, who divides his time between Amsterdam and Lisbon and is also a member of the Axes group, the band consists of two other Portuguese, pianist/synthesizer player José Diogo Martins, who has worked with Pedro Melo Alves and drummer João Lopes Pereira in the !Golpe! group; plus Israeli bassist Omer Govreen, who has a duo with Aleksander Sever.

Perhaps relating to its visual-literary roots, performance on Soma become progressively more creative as the suite develops. Initially it seems as if the saxophonist’s echoing airs are almost camouflaged by the juddering synthesizer tones which extend enough shaking washes and affiliated rustles to almost fill every empty space on the tracks. Luckily the double bass string’s high-pitched whines, drum rumbles and strained keyboard plinks join with reed split tones to add pointed sonic discord,

Interpretation improv advances immeasurably with “wayfarerer” as simple drum beats, a stinging double bass introduction and tremolo reeds slurs mix with muffled voices to give the remaining voltage projections a sense of menace. Finally “telha – ode á separação” and the nearly 13 minute “uma vez várias vezes” put into bolder relief what the fully integrated band textures can express.

Concentrating on piano, the ebb and  flow of Martins’ tinkling clip and pedal point ostinato provide the proper contrast and underscore to Soares’ intermittent pinched reed squeaks on “telha – ode á separação”. Meanwhile Govreen’s measured pulse frame the extended track. Expressed in various pitches and tempos, “telha – ode á separação” adds a semi-swing feel to its exposition otherwise characterized by dissected reed snarks and elevated split tones in occasional unison advancement with keyboard clips. While bass drum accents and cymbal clanks also preserve narrative flow, the turns towards the abstract are superseded by a return to the double bass string throbs that began the track.

Starting slowly but memorable by the conclusion, Soares’ musical concepts should ascend to even more notable work in the future.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing:  1. distância 2. word:cloud 3. aether 4. wayfarerer 5. uma vez várias vezes 6. telha – ode á separação

Personnel: José Soares (alto saxophone, vocals); José Diogo Martins (piano, synthesizer); Omer Govreen (bass); João Lopes Pereira (drums) and Várvara Tazelaar (live visuals)