Rui Eduardo Paes “Ponto de escuta” 27.08.2018
The promotion of the Free Pantone Trio, a Portuguese group formed by Manuel Guimarães (piano), Rui Sousa (bass guitar) and João Valinho (drums), presents the project as a trans-idiomatic experience, but if indeed the music we listen in this debut album incorporates aspects of several musical languages (those of contemporary music, especially by the pianist, and rock, via the bassist, who once dedicated himself to interpret / convert Frank Zappa), something that is immediately evident in the themes of “The Blink of an Eye to the Nature of Things” is the jazz affiliation. The strategies are those of improvised music, but the matrix is undoubtedly in jazz. Still, it is not the coordinates of the “piano jazz trio” that we find here: quite simply, the formation does not accept the hierarchical organization that comes with this model, preferring the equality and autonomy of the instrumental roles, as a result of the harmolodic games proposed by Ornette Coleman.
His influence stops here and also not because we are in the presence of a bass guitar, and not the usual (in jazz) double bass, that there is some ancestry of a Steve Swallow, the main reference when we come across a situation. Fortunately, the avoidance of this disk is the application of stereotypes. Sousa and Valinho are very well in this “debut”, but what most charms us is the work developed by Guimarães. Always with a free approach, congregated on the heritage of free jazz, what we hear has more connections with Paul Bley than with Cecil Taylor, which is not at all customary in the present scenario. The lyricism and the delicacy of its pianistic constructions coexist with a very rhythmic and even percussive sense, appearing this with weight, account and measure, albeit in a very natural way. And yes, decisively contributing to the immense pantone color catalog that music gives us.
A Blink of an Eye to the Nature of Things Free Pantone Trio : Manuel Guimaraes Rui Sousa Joao Valinho + Noel Taylor (deux plages) FMR.
Publié par Jean-Michel Van Schouwburg (Orinx Improv’ and Sounds blog) 4.10.2018.
Association libre d’un pianiste, Manuel Guimaraes, d’un bassiste, Rui Sousa et d’un batteur, João Valinho, tous trois Lisboètes. Présence fluide d’un clarinettiste, Noel Taylor. Un canevas imaginaire sert de fil conducteur à des improvisations mélodiques collectives élaborées en rythmes libres. Le batteur manie ses fûts et cymbales avec une belle sensibilité, le pianiste marie secrètement les tonalités, le bassiste électrique alterne les registres. Le matériau tournoie d’une main à l’autre, notes et cadences se partageant et s’échangeant d’une main à l’autre. Le souffle ductile du clarinettiste Noel Taylor vient se loger avec goût dans leurs évolutions durant deux plages. Suivant leurs notes de pochette, le trio décrit sa musique comme une expérience trans-idiomatique avec un caractère expérimental cherchant à explorer quelques approches musicales et des sub-genres depuis le free-jazz jusqu’au classique contemporain. L’improvisation est le vecteur de communication qui les unifie, utilisant le background (substrat) d’écoute actif et passif en suivant et en générant des notes avec un sens unique et aggrégeant pour que se déroule une forme de composition spontanée en temps réel. Tout est ici entièrement improvisé et sans overdub. Le groupe navigue avec talent à la limite du jazz libre contemporain en se concentrant sur l’écoute mutuelle sans franchir celle du domaine « non-idiomatique » de l’improvisation libre radicale. On explore essentiellement les notes et leur relations polytonales laissant de côté l’aspect sonore, timbres et textures. Par exemple, le batteur adapte avec souplesse des figures récurrentes qu’il désagrège avec naturel. Musicalement, les trois membres du Free Pantone Trio n’ont pas spécialement un style personnel distinctif original particulier, mais leur savoir-faire musical et instrumental indiscutable, la lisibilité équilibrée de leurs propos créent un style collectif de conversation à trois spécifique, celui du Free Pantone Trio. L’avant-dernière improvisation est une belle conclusion énergique et volatile des précédentes explorations. Le dernier morceau, spiralé sur un ostinato accomplit une belle lévitation et s’étale en questions réponses suivies d’échappées. Cette musique fluide, aérienne, basée sur l’écoute, ravira un public sensible qui veut découvrir la musique libre, sans référence ni parti-pris, car celle-ci est bien rendue avec talent et évite l’excès de virtuosité pour exprimer une réelle émotion. La seule remarque, et elle se veut positive, on entend ici que la guitare basse électrique n’est pas un instrument aisé quand il est mis en avant en respectant l’éthique musicale de ce trio. La musique improvisée est en permanence faite de choix dans l’instant, lequel se renouvelle au point d’user le parcours musical, l’art de l’improvisateur le pousse à maintenir le processus en vie et à le transcender. C’est ce qu’essaie de faire ici le Free Pantone Trio avec une concentration palpable.
FREE PANTONE TRIO «a blink of an eye to the nature of things»
FMR RECORDS, FMR496-0618 (Salt Peanuts*) por : Eyal Eyal Hareuveni 14.11.2018
The Portuguese , Lisbon-based Free Pantone trio defines itself as a «trans-idiomatic and experimental» unit, exploring different schools and sub-genres of modern jazz and contemporary music through improvisation. The trio features electric bass player-educator Rui Sousa, who led a homage band to Frank Zappa called Zappanoia, pianist Manuel Guimarães, also a guitarist interested in folk and rock, and drummer-percussionist João Valinho, who collaborates with other local free-improvisers as viola player Ernesto Rodrigues and cellist Miguel Mira. «a blink of an eye to the nature of things», the debut album of the trio features British clarinet player Noel Taylor, who recently relocated to Lisbon.
Free Pantone focus on each piece on different aspects of free improvisation. The trio feels at home when it explores muscular territories that flirts with elements of fusion and rock on «Pantone A», «Pantone D» and «Pantone E». But Free Pantone also investigates quiet and abstract soundscape on «Pantone B» and enjoys sketching a playful and powerful melodic interplay on «Pantone C». Surprisingly, the addition of Taylor on «Everything» and «Evaporates» shifts the trio dynamics and suggests a more delicate and complex equilibrium. Taylor presence emphasizes the distinct voices, allows Free Pantone dynamics to incorporate few, different dynamics to the same piece and assists in expanding the sonic palette of the trio towards lyrical and emotional expressions.
Manuel Guimarães (p), Rui Sousa (b), João Valinho (dr), Noel Taylor (cl)
FREE PANTONE TRIO «a blink of an eye to the nature of things»
FMR RECORDS (bodyspace.net) by Nuno Catarino 21.11.2018
Trans idiomatic musical experience
Free Pantone Trio is a musical project that brings together three Portuguese musicians: Rui Sousa, mentor of the group Zappanoia (a project subordinated to the music of Frank Zappa) recently explores the free improvisation and participates regularly at the MIA – Encounter of Improvised Music of Atouguia da Baleia; the pianist Manuel Guimarães, also guitarist, linked to the rock and folk universes, member of the group Metaphysical Angels by Vítor Rua and published in 2016 the solo album “Flow Me” (Creative Sources edition); and João Valinho, percussionist integrates several formations, ad-hoc, has collaborated with improvisers like Ernesto Rodrigues and Miguel Mira and participated in the edition of the Young Improvisers (in a quartet with João Silva, Philippe Thunder and André Hencleeday). The trio presents themselves to the world with the debut record, “A blink of an eye for the nature of things”, it counts with the collaboration, in two tracks of the English clarinetist.Noel Taylor, recently living in Portugal and has played with some national musicians.
The trio self-defines their music as a “trans-idiomatic musical experience”, that is, a sound proposal that crosses several musical languages, without focusing on any. Assumingly experimental, this music is starts from the pure improvisation, to integrate elements of jazz and contemporary music. Starting from the blank sheet, the trio (and punctually quartet) develops the structure of each theme from the individual suggestions, in a strategy of articulation and dialogue. The group connects the instrumental voices without hiccups, resulting music rich in ideas. Piano, bass and percussion chain sounds in a process of permanent attentive listening, action and reaction. And the music evolves gracefully. The group assumes the definition “trans-idiomatic”, in this disc we hear free improvisation, elements of jazz and chamber music, crossing different sound universes. Liquid music never gets caught.