Sons of Revolution

Júlio Resende - Sons of RevolutionCD / digital Júlio Resende piano Bruno Chaveiro portuguese guitar André Rosinha double bass Alexandre Frazão drums Special Guest: Salvador Sobral vocals on 11 "Júlio Resende has the profound ability to reinvent Portugal's trademark deep, emotional music through the piano," says the respected world music magazine Songlines of the Portuguese pianist/composer. Resende's concept of Fado Jazz is a perfect example of how jazz has become a global language for free musical expression – a concept which has been fundamental to ACT ever since its foundation over 30 years ago.Júlio Resende has dedicated his new album "Sons of Revolution" to the Carnation Revolution of 1974 which brought freedom to Portuguese People and shaped their culture and society as it is today. The peaceful overthrow of dictator Salazar not only paved the way for democracy but also marked the end of colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola. "Without the revolution, I wouldn't even exist," says Júlio Resende. "My father is from Angola, he emigrated to Portugal after the revolution, and met my mother. The freedom to express myself is one of the dearest things to me, and jazz is the music that enables that the most – without any borders or restrictions." That is why the idea of blending Fado and jazz was so natural from the beginning. And Resende’s pioneering work is gaining more and more recognition. "Funnily, it was the Fado musicians who liked the approach from the beginning. For them, Fado is a living art form, with deep roots, but constantly evolving. The jazz musicians took a little longer, but I notice that more and more of them dare to let their own traditions flow more into their music." And yet Resende's music does not merely adapt traditional songs, it thrives on his enchanting, melody-driven original compositions which perfectly embody the spirit of both worlds.Nevertheless, there is one interpretation of a classic tune on the album – "Fado Ponciana for Ahmad Jamal", with which Resende for the first time does not bring jazz to fado, but vice versa. And the result sounds so light and natural, as if this connection had always existed. "Sons of Revolution" features Resende's perfectly synchronized quartet of bassist Alexandre Frazão, drummer André Rosinha, and Bruno Chaveiro on the lute-like guitarra portuguesa. The interplay between Resende and Chaveiro – who is the highly sought-after accompanist of Fado luminaries such as Carminho or Ana Moura, as well as Resende himself – reveal a musical colour very rarely heard in jazz. The same goes for the guest appearance of 2017 Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral on the ballad „A Casa Dela / Her House“, who has a strong jazz background and roots in the Portuguese song tradition. All these exceptional yet organic connections reveal the essence of Júlio Resende's music: freedom, depth, emotional truthfulness and maximum expression. Júlio Resende offers a vivid testimony to how deeply-rooted traditions have remained alive into the present day. Credits: Recorded, mixed and mastered by André Tavares in June 2023, Timbuktu Studios, Lisbon Produced by Júlio Resende

Various Artists - Magic Moments 15: In the Spirit of JazzCD / digitalBest jazz infotainment for the 30th anniversary of ACT: 16 tracks, 65 minutes of music in the spirit of jazz, featuring artists like Nils Landgren, Emile Parisien & Theo Croker, Iiro Rantala, Vincent Peirani Trio, Michael Wollny Trio, Joel Lyssarides, Jakob Manz & Johanna Summer, and more.Credits: Compilation by Siggi Loch Mastered by Klaus Scheuermann

Júlio Resende - Fado JazzCD / digital Júlio Resende piano Bruno Chaveiro portuguese guitar André Rosinha double bass Alexandre Frazão drums Lina vocals (on Profecia) “Since 1992, ACT has been building its own European union of musicians,” wrote The Times (UK) in 2020, “fostering a freedom of movement between nationalities and genres, and has given us an authentic impression of what the continent is about.” This statement becomes particularly resonant and relevant again with the signing of an artist new to ACT, Portuguese pianist Júlio Resende. "Fado Jazz" marks his debut on the label, revealing another fascinating dimension to European jazz, and one which has been relatively little heard: Resende’s art is not just to translate the bittersweet melancholy of fado into the language of jazz, but its lighter side as well. Resende is a genuine pioneer whose profile within Portugal is already substantial. He fills classical concert halls, he has been high up in the Portuguese pop charts, the tribute he made in 2013 to the “Queen of Fado”, Amália Rodrigues, was particularly well received, and he has also performed in a duo with classical piano legend Maria João Pires. His music has also been heard accompanying series on both HBO and Netflix. The leading Spanish broadsheet newspaper "El Pais" says of him: "Júlio Resende's approach to fado is reminiscent of what Keith Jarrett does with jazz standards"; and Alex Dutilh, one of the most renowned and influential jazz journalists in France, says: "Júlio Resende, the latest discovery on the Portuguese scene, is also the most promising. His playing is on a par with pianists such as Stefano Bollani or Yaron Herman."  For the Portuguese, fado is anything but a museum-piece, it is music which represents an attitude to life. On the one hand it is history which is being lived through, while on the other it is constantly in a state of flux. It carries with it a whole sweep of history, from stories about the anguish of girls and women as their sailors and menfolk leave them for the high seas, it takes in the oppression of the Salazar regime, then the hopes of the Carnation Revolution in the 1970s, right through to the lively, cosmopolitan Portugal of today. And just as society has metamorphosed, so the varieties of fado and the ways it is perceived have changed too. The icons of this music are national heroes, while the younger performers connect with an audience of their generation as a matter of course, and this in its turn inevitably opens fado up to other influences, such as pop music and the musical traditions of other cultures. Júlio Resende's view of fado from the perspective of jazz is something new, but it has developed organically and naturally from what had gone before. His intentions have nothing to do with crossover. As he says: "I really don't know if what I do is fado or jazz. Maybe it is both. I don't want to commit myself, because if you commit yourself, you stop developing. I prefer to move freely, like the sounds themselves." Almost all the tracks on "Fado Jazz" are original compositions by Júlio Resende, which gives another clear signal that he is not concerned with either adapting and reconfiguring the past, but rather with developing the music further. The opener "Vira Mais Cinco" is an example of this. Here we find an irresistible melody, the unique sound of the Guitarra Portuguesa, the lute-like instrument that is part of the traditional fado line-up and that creates a unique timbre from the influences of North Africa and Southern Europe that are so characteristic of this music. But there are also piano, percussion and double bass, by no means classic fado characters, but which nonetheless sound as if they had always and naturally belonged to it. And finally, the piece dances in 5/4, which gives it a twist that is as unusual as it is organic. It is these connections that make Resende's music sound so new and interesting, and yet at the same time accessible and natural. Fado, in both its traditional and modern forms, has become popular way beyond the borders of Portugal, and that is at least in part because of the wonderful voices associated with its main exponents, and their ability to convey feelings so immediately and vividly. But there is more to Fado’s appeal, namely the melodies which speak so directly to the heart and bring audiences to the brink of tears. And there are plenty of those on the album "Fado Jazz": ballads like "Lira", "Este Piano Não Te Esquece", "All The Things - Alfama - Are" or the gyrating "Fado Blues" and the simply stunningly beautiful "Tiro No Escuro" play with the feeling of "Saudade" (longing and melancholy) so typical of fado. But there are also pieces with a much lighter step, such as like "Vira Mais Cinco", "Fado Das 7 Cotovias" (in 7/4), the lively "Fado Maior Improvisado" or the bolero-inspired "Tiro No Escuro". And at the very end, we hear a voice, that of the young yet massively popular “fadista” Lina, who, in Júlio Resende's composition "Profecia" finds a magical yet completely unsenti-mental way to express every luminous nuance. Credits: Recorded by André Tavares at Atlantico Blue Studios, July 2020 Mixed by André Tavares and Júlio Resende Mastering by André Tavares Produced by Júlio Resende