ANGRAJAZZ 2018 [DAY 4] - TERCEIRA ISLAND, AZORES, PORTUGAL, OCT 6
photography by © Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas
DARCY JAMES ARGUE’S SECRET SOCIETY
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, a two-time Grammy-nominated 18-piece big band that took us to exquisite and sublime orchestral places, provided us with the most exciting performance of the festival. The band opened with “Flux in the Box”, an older tune inspired by David Foster Wallace's novel Infinite Jest. Altoist Alexa Tarantino and pianist Adam Birnbaum were the selected soloists for this piece, which was followed by three fanciful movements taken from the Brooklyn Babylon album - "Builders" had its dark mood further encouraged by the outcries of trumpeter David Smith right before coalitions of flutes and clarinet, at first, and then acoustic guitar and piano, ease things up; the percussive intensity and variations of "Missing Parts" served as a vehicle for improvisers Dave Pietro on piccolo, Carl Maraghi on baritone sax, and Sebastian Noelle on electric guitar. The latter’s thrilling strokes also sparked with distortion on "Coney Island".
Because Argue’s music usually insides on pertinent stories related to social injustices and dirty political plots, the next magnetic piece, “Ferromagnetic”, is all about the Blackwater founder Erik Prince, who thrives with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Fancy dissonances flowing with a dreamlike sense of intrigue, penetrating ostinatos obeying a compound triple meter, and a distorted yet groovy rock punch, all symbolize the power and the evil of the character that inspired the composition.
The band proceeded with a selection of instrumentals drawn from the Society’s latest album Real Enemies, which aimed to denounce political conspiracy theories. The music encompassed mystery and suspense like if it was part of a dark detective movie soundtrack, but the band also deliberately built funky and Latin passages, and even a prog rock-like section in five. As standout protagonists, we had tenor saxophonist Maria Grand, a debut as a co-conspirator, trombonist Ryan Keberle, and Ms. Tarantino on alto, who finished with some delicious offbeat inflections under a gloomy atmosphere.
The band also presented a brand new piece, “Wingèd Beasts”, which was written for Bob Brookmeyer with a few borrowed movements from his “Nasty Dance”, and finished with “Transit”, a composition included in the 2009 album Infernal Machines. As a sort of encore, “Last Waltz for Levon”, which pays tribute to The Band’s drummer/vocalist Levon Helm, put an end to an unforgettable concert with a balladic country vibe. People were stunned!
CAMILA MEZA
After American jazz singer Jazzmeia Horn had canceled her performance due to family matter two days prior to the expected arrival, Chilean-born, New York-resident Camila Meza accepted the last-minute challenge and traveled to the Azores to gig with musicians she had never played before. The quartet included Jazzmeia’s bassist and drummer, Barry Stephenson and Henry Conerway III, respectively, and Darcy James Argue’s pianist Adam Birnbaum. With a single rehearsal, these adaptable musicians learned the eight tunes, originals included, selected by the versatile and very communicative Ms. Meza.
She included a trio of songs in Spanish: the opening track of her album Traces “Para Volar”, the Mexican classic “Cucurrucucu Paloma”, and “Luchín” by the Chilean folk singer Victor Jara, but the true emotional peaks arrived in Portuguese with Jobim’s “Caminhos Cruzados” and Djavan’s “Amazon Farewell” (although sung in English), both combining effortless, fluid guitar chords with vocal precision. There was still time for a not-so-impressive if swinging jazz standard, “No Moon at All”, before the joyous rhythmic mutations of “Traces” put an end to this edition of the festival.
Ms. Meza led this improvised quartet with a positive, professional attitude and didn’t disappoint the ones who trusted her.
It’s well worthy to travel to Angra do Heroísmo, UNESCO’s World Heritage site, to explore the island and vibrate with arresting jazz music. Happy 20th anniversary, AngraJazz!