Sara Serpa & André Matos - Night Birds

September 26, 2023

Label: Robalo Music, 2023

Personnel - Sara Serpa: voice; André Matos: electric and acoustic guitars, bass, percussion (#11); Dov Manski: piano, synth; Sofia Jernberg: voice (#5,7,9); Okkyung Lee: cello (#3,8,10); João Pereira: drums (#2,3,4,5,6,7,10); Lourenço: voice (#4,10).

The Portuguese duo of Sara Serpa and André Matos, a boundary-pushing singer and guitarist based in New York, respectively, renew and expand their terrific sound in Night Birds, a new body of work soaked in poetic lucidity and modern world observations. Serpa recently made a notable contribution to bassist Linda May Han Oh’s The Glass Hours with distinction, while Matos released an entrancing duo recording with saxophonist Jeremy Udden in addition to his regular solo work. This is their third outing, one that offers 12 sonic sculptures carved out with their ever-deepening compositional chops.

The opener, “From a Distance”, showcases Serpa’s soaring voice along with a granular, droning, nearly misty texture created by keyboardist Dov Manski and Matos’ spacious bass notes and guitar playing, before lurching into “Carlos”, a graceful waltzing dance with a catchy melody. Voice and guitar harmonize beautifully in this quiet musical setting imbued with a newfound looseness.

Special guest musicians are featured on specific tracks. The Swedish-Ethiopian singer Sofia Jernberg appears where experimental and avant-garde realities reign - “Underwater”, for example, brings a mix of mystery and enchantment, not only as a consequence of the emotional vocalization but also through chiming sounds, curiously eccentric murmurs, understated percussion, and measured electronic frequencies. “Degrowth”, which is also strengthen by South Korean cellist Okkyung Lee, led me to contemplate a slow procession toward some magical forest, cautioning us about the dangers of consumerism and general alienation through expertly crafted intervals. Yet, Serpa and Jernberg’s lines flow together in synchronicity.

But there are more delightful surprises. The short-lived “Melting Ice” - with piano, bass, cello and a weighted amount of toms and cymbals - evokes that cloistered mood reminiscent of certain abstract paintings; “Family” is a wonderfully melodious and richly rhythmic piece bordering on avant-folk, which includes electric and acoustic guitars and the sweet vocal timbre of Lourenço (Serpa and Matos’ son) amidst multiple vocal layers; the refined Cocteau Twins-esque “Counting” falls into the indie rock realm with the help of drummer João Pereira’s adaptable rhythm; “Bergman’s Island” has Matos playing the acoustic guitar with the poignancy of fado, creating art-glazed cinematic atmospherics; and Béla Bartók’s “Bagatelle, Op.6: Lento” concludes the album on a tranquil yet intriguing note.

The successful duo probes a variety of stylistic approaches, textures, and shapes with nuance, creativity, and freshness. The more time we spend with this album, the more we appreciate its forward-looking perspective.

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Family ► 06 - Counting ► 08 - Degrowth

Sara Serpa - Recognition

June 25, 2020

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.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Occupation ► 03 - The Multi-Racialism Myth ► 04 - Free Labour

Sara Serpa - Close Up

March 13, 2018

Label: Clean Feed, 2018

Personnel - Sara Serpa: vocals; Ingrid Laubrock: tenor and soprano saxophone; Erik Friedlander: cello.

The incomparable Portuguese vocalist/composer Sara Serpa remains faithful to her own musical signature, receiving universal acclaim with recent projects such as Sara Serpa’s Recognition (with harpist Zeena Parkins and saxophonist Mark Turner), Serpa/Matos duo, and now this fantastic new trio, whose first album, Close Up, is the subject of this review. Whether creating textural consonance or embarking on precise contrapuntal effects, the work of German-born saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and American cellist Erik Friedlander coexists beautifully and pacifically with Serpa’s flawless phrasing and multi-sensitive tone.

Like in some past works, this album includes many references to literature, a deep-rooted passion now extended to film, with Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 masterpiece Close-Up surfacing as an extra inspiration.

“Object” shows the threesome dancing in different ways, using distinct cadences yet perfectly integrated as a group. Brief cello slashes provide a thin tapestry for both Serpa’s lyrical buoyancy and Laubrock’s world music-inspired inflections on the soprano. The vocalist perambulates since the moment that sax and cello agree on standing side-by-side, anticipating a grand finale delivered in unison.

“Quiet Riot” is clearly hooked on Serpa’s style. Elegant parallel motions and counterpoints, phrase complementations, and Laubrock’s soprano knottiness over the groovy bends and swift drives imposed by Friedlander. These bright moments make you want to go back and re-listen to them again.

Exhibiting multiple ostinatos and the words of the Portuguese poet Ruy Bello, “Pássaros”, is a furtive chamber-jazz effort with a well-defined identity. Still, it couldn't match the irresistible enunciation of “The Future”, a poignant, unswerving song awaken by a continuously reiterated sax-vox pointillism and cello wails. Inspired by Virginia Woolf, the song merges light and darkness in genial moments of metrical defiance. This is naked music where the words mean highly focused sounds.

Friedlander’s seductive fingerstyle drives “Sol Enganador”, a meditative cinematic odyssey where Godard’s philosophical freedom gets in touch with a Fellini-esque flamboyance. Laubrock’s air blows, percussive and invasive at the same time, end up falling into short, feverish phrases that contrast with Serpa’s syllabic patterns, sparsely laid down with an infallible precision.

Floating like a breezy folk song, “Woman” was devised with a sort of angelic flair and erudite expressiveness, meaning that the spirit of Luce Irigaray, who inspired the composition, was properly captured and relocated into the music.

The album closes with “Cantar Ao Fim”, a spellbinding piece with a strong connection to nature, whose freedom erupts from all the pores of its smooth skin. The natural, impromptu vocal chant that inaugurates this piece is followed by a blossoming groove that pushes us into a rapturous sonic orb.

Composition-wise, Serpa is ahead of the curve, establishing her ideas with one foot on the avant-garde and the other on the new music. Categorization can be a difficult task, but what’s really relevant here is that Close Up guarantees an arresting affirmation of her artistic maturity.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Sol Enganador ► 04 - The Future ► 09 - Cantar Ao Fim