Hernani Faustino

Born in Japan, but living and playing in Lisbon, Nobuyasu Furuya is agitating the waters of the jazz and improvised music scene in Portugal either with his smashing blow, remembering the washes of sound by Archie Shepp and Peter Brotzmann, or with an implacable energy control and rigor, the same we find in the Japanese tea ceremonies, bonsai trees and stone gardens.

The RED trio is quite a unique case in the Portuguese jazz and improvised music scene. The free music played by Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano, prepared piano), Hernâni Faustino (double bass), and Gabriel Ferrandini (drums, percussion) have no attachment to anything else presented in the little European country known for its unusually dynamic jazz, improvised and experimental scenes.

I was quite enthusiastic about Japanese reedist Nobuyasu Furuya's "Bendowa", released last year on Clean Feed. He confirms his skills with his second album as a leader, here with a trio and a quintet line-up, recorded earlier this year in Portugal.

The RED Trio is a free-jazz group based in Lisbon, made up of Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano, Hernani Faustino on bass and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums and percussion. For their second album they had the good fortune to welcome a special guest, British saxophonist John Butcher, a revered figure in the European free-improvisation scene.

“(…) Ao longo dos últimos anos, Rita Braga tem explorado um universo musical distinto que vai de Mozart a Bollywood, passando pelo folk sérvio, polaco e russo, canções de cowboys, jazz e novelty songs dos anos 20.

Recorded and mixed on 14 and 22 November, 2010 at Namouche / Lisbon by Joaquim Monte. All tracks were composed and conducted by Nobuyasu Furuya. All tracks were performed and improvised by Pinheiro / Lala / Faustino / Ferrandini / Furuya. Cover photo by Seiichi Sugita. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. Produced by Danas Mikailionis. Co-producer – Valerij Anosov

The history of improvised music is full of successful and even magical first encounters, but more common are the occasions in which the musicians don’t have the hability, or the possibility, to find bridges of compatibility among themselves. Even when we’re in presence of great players, it simply doesn’t work.