RODRIGO AMADO — Searching For Adam (review)

RODRIGO AMADO — Searching For Adam album cover Album · 2010 · Avant-Garde Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
snobb
Portuguese sax player Rodrigo Amado last year's release "Wire Quartet"(on Cleanfeed) made him one among year's jazz heroes. Full-Portuguese quartet with unique Derek Bailey-influenced guitarist Manuel Mota (who is known in Portugal more like free-improvs musician,not an jazz artist) demonstrated excellent internal communication,original sound and in all perfect kind of modern European jazz.

Amado's as first class jazz reedist story started some years before though (in fact, Wire Quartet's material was recorded in 2011 and only released in 2014).At the end of the first new millennium decade (and after few domestically released albums as leader)Amado switched from free-form improvisational music towards avant-garde jazz with quite positive results from very first recordings. "Searching For Adam" is his first ever international release and he plays with world class jazz musicians on it.John Hebert is one of the most interesting American bassist of younger generation, Gerald Cleaver - busiest drummer around all US and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum is regular Anthony Braxton collaborator, among many others.

To be honest, "Searching For Adam" isn't such a great result as one could expect from musicians of that level. Recorded in 2008, it is still seriously influenced by Amado earlier free form improvisational techniques. Besides of some really well-played moments,it contains lot of extended free improvs,some of them doesn't sound useful or logical at all. Released two years after it was recorded, it obviously came on the wave of growing Amado's newest music popularity.Being a mixed bag in all senses,it contains 21+minutes long composition and five shorter (but still up to 13-minutes long)ones, and generally is too long and bulky. After serious editing recorded material could still give a birth to better-than-average "old-fashioned size"(up to 40 minutes) album. Three years later same Polish Not Two label will release Amado's next studio album with trombonist Jeb Bishop as guest ("The Flame Alphabet"). More or less of similar quality, it could be counted only as prelude to "Wire Quartet" success. From other hand, Rodrigo's most current to time "Live In Lisbon"(2014,NoBusiness) album ,recorded with trumpeter Peter Evans as guest,is his another highlight.
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