Timeline
Felipe Salles
Curare Records
Most contemporary jazz recordings fall into one of two categories – a thoroughly produced product with finely tuned compositions or a live recording that catches a moment in time. Long term productions result in a more polished recording and they provide many benefits to the aspiring jazz composer. Artists deal with overdubbed parts, complex arrangements, and a generally wider sonic palette in the studio, and in some cases, they generally have more time to refine their ideas. They can take multiple passes at an improvisation and then pick the best one – or better yet, they can cut and paste several different versions together into a perfect statement. The artist maintains a high degree of control over the product in this setting, and they often more clearly express their original intentions. Live recordings are completed in a shorter time period, they are usually cheaper to produce, and they sometimes contain questionable sound quality. These albums reproduce every improvisational nuance, interactive risk, and personal choice that a musician makes, and once they have played, it’s permanent. These albums capture the moment and give us a snapshot of the artist’s development at that point in time. The imperfections represent the live recording’s beauty as they give us unfiltered reality as opposed to the studio’s artificially constructed soundscapes. Both types of albums can produce high quality artistic products, leaving their mark upon the Latin Jazz world for an untold number of years. The live recording gives us a little more honest picture of a jazz composer and performer though; they must make spontaneous decisions and uphold the integrity of both their compositional structures and their performance aesthetic. Saxophonist and composer Felipe Salles and his quintet explore a number of his original pieces in a live setting on Timeline, delivering an outstanding performance full of personality, style, and a highly interactive improvisational style.

Brazilian Rhythms As A Launching Point
Salles and his group utilize Brazilian rhythms as a launching point on several compositions, eventually finding their way into a more interactive performance aesthetic. Bassist Jorge Roeder opens “Mind Motions” with a lyrical melody over a bossa nova rhythm, until Salles and alto saxophonist Jacam Manricks leap into a broad and beautiful theme that maintains its integrity over a series of time signature changes. Salles drives cutting soprano saxophone lines through the bossa nova foundation, adding some inertia to the style with a long line of rapid flurries of notes, sharp rhythmic attacks and screeching high notes. Pianist Nando Michelin creates contrast with an understated idea that grows into a strong statement, making way for an insightful improvisation from Manricks who builds a deep idea over coloristic textures from the rhythm section. Roeder and Michelin provide a unique vamp that creates underlying tension against a modern jazz melody on “Further South,” leading into a subdued unison line between Salles and Roeder. The rhythm section breaks the time feel behind Salles, who runs quick lines over moving piano chords, displaying a strong sense of thematic development that hits a high point when drummer Bertram Lehmann returns with a strong groove. While the rhythm section continues, Manricks slowly build his improvisation from a spacious idea into a passionate and screaming declaration, followed by Michelin’s finely crafted statement. Roeder, Michelin, and Lehmann provide a solid bossa nova that moves through a seven beat cycle on “Noite a Dentro,” while Salles and Manricks glide over the top with an engagingly simple melody. Michelin takes a smart idea and uses rhythmic tension to build into an assertive momentum, until Salles solos accompanied only by Roeder, cleverly using the texture change and interactive setting to focus his improvisation. The track comes to a dramatic change as the band disappears behind Roeder and he boldly constructs beautiful melodies through repetition, a wide exploration of his instrument’s range, and an entrancingly deep tone. Big dissonant band hits lead the rhythm section into a five beat structure that serves as the basis for an angular and attention grabbing melody on “The Cage.” The rhythm section reads Manricks perfectly as he begins his improvisation reflectively, indulging in space and taking his time working the band into a sweltering frenzy on squelching notes, rapid fire melodies, and aggressively interactive playing. Salles enters into his statement with only Michelin supporting him, working with a quiet intensity until Roeder and Lehmann rejoin and push Salles into a furious flight of notes. The group starts with Brazilian rhythms, but Salles’ crafty compositions and the quintet’s spontaneous nature sends them into highly original and daring directions.

Consistently Spontaneous And Exciting
Salles and his group venture into rhythmic territory outside the Brazilian world as well, but their performance aesthetic remains consistent with spontaneous and exciting improvisations. A series of steady rhythm section attacks explode into a strong Afro-Cuban 6/8 groove on “ORB,” with Salles and Manricks flying through an aggressively intensive melody. Salles expertly manipulates his tone and phrasing to build a captivatingly personal statement, followed with an assertive improvisation from Michelin, who pushes the tense setting into a flurry of montuno pieces, syncopated rhythms, and pounding chordal figures. After a skillfully constructed solo from Manricks, Roeder applies his inherent lyrical nature to the distinct rhythmic structure, completing a solid statement until Lehmann bursts into a dramatically colorful solo. An unaccompanied solo from Michelin opens “Libra” before Roeder and Lehmann outline a 6/8 swing rhythm behind Salles and Manricks’ intertwining melodic lines. Michelin gracefully journeys into the solo cycle, running long lines through a wide range while maintaining a narrowly focused sense of swing. Manricks cleverly plays around pieces of the melody before diving headfirst into a stream of bopish ideas that draw an avid response from the rhythm section. Roeder maintains a funky bass line over a cha cha cha groove on “Sphere” while Salles and Manricks travel through one of the album’s most memorable melodies. The rhythm section shrinks to a skeleton of the main rhythm while Manricks builds from sparse thoughtful lines into bold runs, followed by Michelin, who gets some extremely insightful support from Roeder and Lehmann, allowing him to create a strong solo shape. Salles charges into a thin texture as Michelin alters the harmonic and rhythmic structures behind him; Salles masterfully builds his idea into a climatic moment that transitions into a tasteful solo from Lehmann. Salles and his group display a high comfort level in these other rhythmic realms, but more importantly, they show confidence in their artistic aesthetic guiding their performance into a consistently bold direction.

An Inspiring Look At Salles The Composer And Performer
Salles’ quintet honors the depth of his pieces on Timeline, visiting each one with an exploratory enthusiasm, an unstoppable creative energy, and a high level of musical insight. Each piece offers a distinct challenge to the performers – from interesting harmonies to odd-meter time signatures and complex melodic ideas, the performers must navigate through a thick musical setting. The quintet handles this task without blinking an eye; instead, they focus their energy upon self-expression and spontaneous improvisational conversations. As a result, the engaging personal style of each individual performer and the group as a whole rises into the forefront, making the journey through Salles’ compositions about more than just the musical concepts. The performers freely take risks throughout the set, stepping in and outside of the changes, providing rhythmic contrast, and consistently pushing the envelope of their musicality. The group excels at the manipulation of texture, shifting instrumental combinations behind soloists and the using the power of the full band to drive the improvisation to another level. Both Salles and Manricks emerge as distinctive voices on the saxophone, combining the best of qualities of the modern jazz language with the intricate knowledge of Latin rhythms. Roeder shines as both a strong soloist and an insightful accompanist throughout the album; his bold tone, coupled with his infallible musical perspective ensures a steady foundation throughout the album. The live energy of the performance and the bold interplay of the musicians ensures an engaging musical experience on Timeline, providing an honest picture into the deep and inspiring world of Salles the composer and performer.

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