Ken Filiano

One of the most accomplished musicians in the Portuguese jazz and free improvised music scene, Paulo Curado plays with a credo: give disorder a place to develop and grow. Disorder, for him, is a pillar of freedom, freedom to create and freedom to deal with the jazz idiom. More than a philosophical point of view, this is his pragmatic approach to music.

In just the last few years of working and living in Lisbon, Brazilian saxophonist and composer Alípio Neto has flowered, if you will, as an important force in free jazz. “The Perfume Comes Before the Flower” is evidence that his influence now extends way beyond the borders of Portuguese jazz scene.

You’ve never heard a string quartet like this, that’s for sure. In place of the classical grouping of two violins, viola, and cello that is ubiquitous in chamber music, this improvising string quartet consists of guitar, violin, cello, and double bass. The musicians in this quartet bring with them an almost astoundingly varied set of musical histories.

The Implicate Order “At Seixal” is the recording of a memorable concert in Auditório do Forum Cultural do Seixal, home of one of the most important Jazz Festivals in Portugal. It is also a landmark in the collaboration between Portuguese and American improvisers.

“I had asked Rodrigo to let me be present at the recordings, but unfortunately I arrived late. As I entered the studio I was immediately amazed by the sheer intensity of the music. The band had already taken off in a wild fury that streamed out of the studio monitors.

Music always speaks for itself, and this disc is no exception: a spirited dialogue between four musicians who are not only conversant in the idiom of improvised expression but who have something profound to say together. Trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez and saxophonist Oliver Lake are well-traveled musical explorers whose collaborators comprise a "who's

Here is an item in Vinny Golia’s discography that gives a global sense to his life as an artist. Before being a musician, Golia was a painter. A very particular one, trying to translate to color what he heard in the music he liked most, from Varèse and Messiaen to John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman.

In just the last few years of working and living in Lisbon, Brazilian saxophonist and composer Alípio Neto has flowered, if you will, as an important force in free jazz. “The Perfume Comes Before the Flower” is evidence that his influence now extends way beyond the borders of Portuguese jazz scene.