Label: Biophilia Records, 2020
Personnel - Sara Serpa: vocals, composition; Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Zeena Parkins: harp, tuning forks; David Virelles: piano.
The New York-based Portuguese singer and composer Sara Serpa has been a powerful creative stylist with a penchant for exploring beyond the ordinary beauties of jazz. The successor to her acclaimed trio album Close Up (Clean Feed, 2018) is Recognition, a multidisciplinary work centered on the Portuguese colonialism in Africa, which raises the bar and soars new heights, both sonically and conceptually. This record marks her debut on the Biophilia Records and features a splendid new quartet comprising saxophonist Mark Turner, harpist Zeena Parkins and pianist David Virelles. The music was specifically composed for a silent movie that resulted from an assemblage of Super-8 footage captured in Angola and found in Serpa’s family archives.
The opener, “Lei do Indigenato, 1914”, has the harpist and the pianist coupling crisp articulations before focusing on a taut rhythmic cadence. Serpa and Turner align their voices in parallel, preserving this melodic correlation when performing “Occupation”, a 5/4 spectacle immersed in contrapuntal balance and featuring intrepid harp offerings and a heartfelt solo from Turner. Serpa denotes total control and perspicuity whenever she steps in, and exquisite juxtapositions of notes further enrich the instrumentation.
“The Multi-Racialism Myth” and “Propaganda” are showcases for the bandleader’s first-class vocal work. Displaying a mood that feels relentlessly oneiric while also tightened up with tension, the former piece boasts an enchanting vocal solo whose spiky lyricism is kept under way by Virelles. The latter piece, on the other hand, is an exercise in perseverance, crafted with sweep and grandeur as the ensemble cycles through patterned phrases.
“Control and Oppression” expresses the chilliness, fear, and dejection that the title suggests. Long vibrato notes play a vital role in an abstract lamentation that cries for freedom. If this is all expressed through music, then “Beautiful Gardens” employs mirrored voices to narrate an excerpt from Jose Luandino Vieira’s novella The Real Life of Domingos Xavier. Jolts of energy emerge from the purposely unsettled foundation established by harp and piano.
In addition to nine Serpa compositions, the recording includes three spontaneous improvisations that thoroughly demonstrate the limberness of the ensemble. “Free Labour” is a work song in the guise of an offbeat waltz rendered with counterpoint and bracing rhythmic figures as its liberating forces. “Civilizing and Influence” relies on the refinement of a sax-piano communion, while “Queen N’Zinga” thrives on spoken word (an excerpt from the book Njinga of Angola by Linda M. Heywood) and Turner’s elaborate stunts, which are pushed to the forefront of a jittery polyrhythmic coalition.
Filled with pungent atmospheres and urgent messages, Recognition challenges the listeners by blurring any and all genres with authenticity and resolve. Serpa’s command of her voice is ravishing and her compositional prowess keeps evolving from record to record.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
02 - Occupation ► 03 - The Multi-Racialism Myth ► 04 - Free Labour