Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas jazzes the Amazon and Cork Jazz Festival with solo record Y'Y

Brazilian pianist and composer Amaro Freitas is playing an upcoming show at the Triskel Arts Centre for the Cork Jazz Festival on the website. Musicians will be live on stage from Friday, October 27th to Sunday, October 29th.

Tickets are available here!

Amaro Freitas was born in the slums of Recife, a state in north-eastern Brazil. His techniques and eccentric methods have turned him into a recognizable worldwide jazz symbol. Amaro Freitas has worked tirelessly to become the artist he is today. For the solo artist's latest project, Y’Y, out Friday, he made the venture out of Pernambuco and into the Amazon.

Being part of a larger generation of jazz musicians wanting to pump new twang into the genre, Amaro set out to create an unparalleled experience that would envelop the listener in a cacophony of birds singing, water flowing, and rustling leaves reminiscent of the rainforest. His proclivity for polyrhythmic compositions is cemented in the idea that the rainforest doesn't follow a uniform pattern, and is ever-changing.

A polyrhythm is the simultaneous combination of contrasting rhythms in a musical composition. A single rhythm grounds the beat and is usually opposed by a counter rhythm which typically shares emphasis on the first beat, but has a different rhythmic subdivision. In other words, polyrhythms fit an unequal number of beats spaced out equally within the same amount of time - or for the same measure. This rhythmic tension makes for an enticing beat, with a basic pulse at the beginning of each measure.

The Amaro Freitas trio first stepped into the spotlight with various albums including Sangue Negro, Sankofa, and Rasif. Freitas has described his work on these projects as a spiritual journey into the forgotten narratives of Black Brazil.

The pianist utilizes another technique invented by music theorist John Cage in the 1940s. The practice requires that one places various objects in between the strings of a piano or has them returned to produce an unusual or even off-putting tonal effect. These objects can include bolts, screws, and rubber erasers. Doing this replicates a "microtonal" effect, one expressed by the Brazilian avant-garde movement in the 1960s that focused on serial and microtonal music.

Composers like Freitas experimented with disparate idiosyncrasies of intonation, bringing forth an exploratory expression that was unbounded by the traditional diatonic scale used most commonly in Western music. Intricate and infectious rhythms are staples of Brazilian music, often influenced by Afro-Brazilian traditions. Samba, Bossa Nova, and Forró are great examples of genres with their own unique rhythmic patterns.

Freitas was introduced to this jazz style in university where he met drummer Hugo Madeiros and bassist Jean Elton to form their trio. They later secured a record deal with Far Out Recordings, a label based in London. Amaro Freitas and his band performed at the Triskel Arts Centre Christchurch as part of the Cork Jazz Festival in 2022 after his third tour was canceled due to COVID-19. Freitas continues to perform and is currently doing so, visiting 5 countries, with 5 upcoming concerts.

In a recent post on Instagram, he says, "I'm very happy because our connection will be even more powerful... It will be a very exciting moment... I love this exchange of music, of the way I play piano... If you want to get to know my work more intimately, come with me to this exhibition."

 

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