HUGO CARVALHAIS 

CD Club, 5 July 2014

It is also the quintet by the Portuguese double bass player Hugo Carvalhais that includes the piano though one that – unlike the rest of the line-ups appearing in Ljubljana this year – is assigned a supporting role. The compositions of the French-Portuguese combo were structurally loose yet characterised by a solid rhythmic structure and enhanced by shrill and swirling solo feats by the leading instrumentalists, violinist Dominique Pifarély and sax player Emile Parisien. Although the band occasionally indulged in an impenetrable, almost hermetic, sound, the vivacious rhythm section rendered the pieces diversified and nonlinear enough so as to prevent their turning into “exercises in style”. Apart from Gabriel Pinto’s rather ascetic, contemplating piano and Mario Costa’s explorative drums it was the bandleader, Hugo Carvalhais, who mostly contributed to the flexibility of sound with his supple and intricately woven bass lines.

Mario Batelić


{rss uri=http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/107185858964134109758/albumid/6033259394964712977?alt=rss&kind=photo&hl=sl}

Photo Nada Žgank