MÁRIO COSTA — Mário Costa, Cuong Vu, Beno​î​t Delbecq, Bruno Chevillon : Chromosome (review)

MÁRIO COSTA — Mário Costa, Cuong Vu, Beno​î​t Delbecq, Bruno Chevillon : Chromosome album cover Album · 2023 · 21st Century Modern Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
Modern Portuguese jazz took the European scene by storm at the very beginning of the new Millennium, in big part with a support of the domestic label Clean Feed Records, established in 2001. For a decade or more, Portuguese jazz musicians were responsible for many of the most inventive, fresh and fearless recordings in Europe, now this wave descends though. Then, it's really great to see a country's young generation artists who sounds as if they could rebuild the high reputation of contemporary Portuguese jazz again.

Portuguese drummer Mário Costa just released his first studio albums as leader, and "Chromosome" is a really strong one. Mário is not a newbie on the European jazz scene, for some years he collaborated with leading continental artists such as Émile Parisien, Joachim Kuhn, Michel Portal, Vincent Peirani and others. In 2018 Mário released his first (live) album as leader with Frenchmen guitarist Marc Ducret and pianist Benoît Delbecq. This new work, "Chromosome", is recorded by a quartet with the same Delbecq, plus Vietnamese-American trumpeter Cuong Vu and French veteran acoustic bassist Bruno Chevillon.

Different from Mário's more free debut, "Chromosome" contains tightly composed modern sounding music, bright and elegant, played by highest class professionals. Some compositions are dreamy, as "Adamastor", with Vu's trumpet solos flying over Delbecq's acoustic piano, with slowly growing tension and drumming intensity. Other, as "Chromosome", are almost funky, with complex, but still elegant, rhythms and light electronic loops filling the space here and there. "Moonwalk" contains tender trumpet and double-bass dueling, framed by drummer's unorthodox rhythmic constructions.

The entire album is full of different tunes, different tempos, which sometimes change even in the same song, and very volatile interplay between quartet members. Throughout the album, the music changes unexpectedly, but never disappoints. At the end there is a feeling like one just watched a stylish and clever art movie.

Very promising release in many sences.
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