Reviews:<\/span><\/h2>\n“<\/span>One of the most sheerly joyful bands to emerge in recent memory, this combo – guitarist Lu\u00eds Lopes, tenor ace Rodrigo Amado, and Aaron and Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez on bass and drums respectively \u2013 delivers one helluva sophomore record on this aptly titled disc. As good as the band sounded on their Clean Feed debut, they are simply on fire here, with the brothers Gonzalez sounding as good as I\u2019ve ever heard them. It\u2019s terrific from start to finish, tight and well-paced, with invention, smarts, and heart in the right balence. The material ranges from textural free ballads to skronk fury to dirty, gnarly swing and outrageous funk raveups. And on tne opening \u201cDehumanization Blues\u201d they summon up that kind of range in the space of one piece, suggesting some weird amalgam of Blood Ulmer, 1970s Braxton, and the opening to \u201cMeeting of the Spirits.\u201d Throughout, Amado turns in several churning solos, both graceful and muscular. And Lopes ranges from soaring lines to flinty skronk to sheer noisy howls. They take in jaunty harmolodics via the Vandermark 5 on \u201cJungle Gymnastics\u201d and \u201cProcurei-te na Noite\u201d, and establish limber, confident funk counterpoint on \u201cTwo Girls\u201d. And they can move seam-lessly from these areas into mournful space (\u201cEffigy\u201d) or even all the way into the floating world, as with the droning, rich tonality of \u201cEavesdropper (for Dennis Gonz\u00e1lez)\u201d. Fittingly, the piece ends with a long pause that\u2019s picked up into the funky shuffle of \u201cRuas Sentimentais\u201d. An eager, exploratory band and just a superb record” \u00a0Jason Bivins \/ Signal to Noise<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Lo si era capito gi\u00e0 nel 2009, quando usc\u00ec su Clean Feed Humanization 4tet, che il chitarrista Lu\u00eds Lopes aveva trovato la proverbiale quadratura del cerchio arruolando il sax tenore del connazionale Rodrigo Amado e affidando la ritmica ai fratelli Aaron e Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez (di recente ascoltati a fianco del padre, il trombettista texano Dennis Gonz\u00e1lez, in Cape of Storms.<\/em> Due anni dopo, Electricity<\/em>, fatica numero due del quartetto pubblicata dalla Ayler Records, conferma la caratura della band e, per la propriet\u00e0 transitiva, l’eccellente stato di salute della new wave jazzistica portoghese.<\/p>\nI quattro mettono le carte in tavola fin da subito. L’iniziale “Dehumanization Blues” \u00e8 una revolverata sparata a bruciapelo, una torrida cavalcata free che si snoda lungo un percorso reso accidentato dalle imboscate noise della chitarra di Lopes, un po’ Otomo e un po’ James Blood Ulmer, splendidamente anti-virtuoso nel sostenere sferragliando e sfrigolando l’assolo ayleriano di Amado. La successiva “Jungle Gymnastics,” tutta spigoli e curve a gomito, ha un che di sinistramente monkiano. Lopes torna a fare il “chitarrista,” dalle parti di Joe Morris tanto per intenderci. Amado si conferma sassofonista intrepido snocciolando un altro assolo tutto fuoco e fiamme, giocato sui registri bassi e sul vibrato rabbioso del tenore. La terza meraviglia dell’impeccabile un-due-tre iniziale, il cuore del disco, \u00e8 “Two Girls,” funk-jazz alla Vandermark 5 uscito dalla penna di Amado. Tira aria di Chicago, con la sezione ritmica che macina e martella, e la line-up chitarra-sax che spezza le linee del tema, dando vita a un dialogo serrato fatto di incastri e dissonanze.<\/p>\n
Purtroppo quando la velocit\u00e0 diminuisce e le strutture si fanno labili, il quartetto mette in mostra qualche limite in fatto di lucidit\u00e0 e capacit\u00e0 di rapportarsi con il silenzio. Lo dimostra l’inconcludente “Effigy,” che gira a vuoto per poco meno di sette minuti, cercando non si sa bene cosa e non si sa bene dove. Per fortuna \u00e8 l’unico passaggio a vuoto. Con “Procurei-te Na Noite” si torna a far girare il motore della band, che nella seconda parte del disco conferma di trovarsi a proprio agio soprattutto alle alte temperature del neo-free.<\/p>\n
Attenzione a non scottarvi le orecchie” \u00a0Luca Canini \/ ALL ABOUT JAZZ ITALY<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/b>Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes has his name above the group name. Below the group name: Rodrigo Amado (tenor sax), Aaron Gonz\u00e1lez (bass), and Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez (drums) — both sons of Dennis. Same group had an album called Humanization 4tet<\/em> in 2008, which struck me as a solid HM. This one has even more juice. Lopes doesn’t do a lot of soloing, but he provides a firm metallic undercarriage for Amado to blast away from. Lots of short repetitive figures”\u00a0very solid. A \u00a0Tom Hull<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Austin, Texas, though considered by some to be the Live Music Capital of the World, it isn\u2019t exactly a hotbed for jazz and improvised music. So a May 2009 performance by this international quartet featuring members from Lisbon, Portugal and Dallas, Texas at the city\u2019s Salvage Vanguard Theatre came as quite a pleasant surprise. Representing the Iberian Peninsula are guitarist Lu\u00eds Lopes and tenorman Rodrigo Amado, while the sibling rhythm section of bassist Aaron and drummer Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez (the progeny of Dallas-based trumpeter-composer Dennis Gonz\u00e1lez and 2\/3 of Yells at Eels) make up the unit\u2019s other half. \u00a0When performing, Lopes stands or crouches, delicately smudging phrases and creating small, haranguing cells in a mixture of spattered flecks and feedback\/distortion. His tone is rather thin, and he draws from a vocabulary aware of Ray Russell, Stefan Jaworzyn and Rudolph Grey, except quite absent much of their pyrotechnics and rather skewed toward choppy condensation.<\/p>\nMuch of what made the group\u2019s music attractive on their Clean Feed debut is present on Electricity<\/em>, the follow-up on French label Ayler Records. Whereas the previous disc was made up solely of Lopes\u2019 compositions (and therefore it seemed like Humanization 4tet was predominantly his project), Electricity<\/em> also sports excellent tunes by Amado and Aaron Gonz\u00e1lez on a pretty equal numeric footing with the guitarist\u2019s. Amado is a consummate tenor saxophonist, albeit one who still isn\u2019t well-known on the international stage. One could easily make the comparison of Archie Shepp drawn through Ken Vandermark, but Amado\u2019s tone is softer and his phrasing far less blustery, his peals wrapped in care and delicacy. The Gonz\u00e1lez brothers are an extraordinarily tight, telepathic rhythm section and maintain pliant, chattering grooves around wiry, staccato tenor\/guitar improvisations and funereal lines. The bassist penned the opening \u201cDehumanization Blues,\u201d fierce downstrokes leading into a flinty update on crime-jazz and husky, spiky motifs from tenor and guitar. Collective improvisation ensues after the jaunty, darting head of \u201cJungle Gymnastics,\u201d but in this four-minute piece, the group\u2019s empathy and constantly-directed comment (not to mention rhythmic acuity) maintain vital interest. \u201cProcurei-te Na Noite\u201d has a boppish bounce, distantly-hanging notes from Lopes\u2019 guitar sliding the tune deliciously, obstinately out of tempo. The Humanization 4tet present unruly but accessible inside-outside jazz, very much\u00a0worth further investigation” \u00a0Clifford Allen \/ Ni Kantu blog<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>All four members of this fine cross-continental quartet have previous releases on the Clean Feed label. Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes has two CF discs, including the previous one by Humanization 4Tet. Portuguese saxist Rodrido Amado has upwards of six on Clean Feed as well as another half dozen on his own European Echoes label & Not Two. The great Dallas rhythm team of brothers Aaron & Stefan Gonzalez have recorded some half dozen swell discs with their father Dennis and more recently have been working with Curtis Clark and the Humanization 4Tet. This great quartet played here at DMG earlier this year and were superb!<\/p>\nAll four members of this great quartet contributed to the composing. “Dehumization Blues” is not really a blues but it does a powerful, pumping blues-rockin’ groove. This killin’ rhythm team is most impressive, tight and burning with Rodrigo blasting an incredible sax solo while Luis spews out fractured notes behind him. “Jungle Gymnastics” has an Ornette-ish theme and is super tight with intricate sax and guitar lines played together while the bass & drums provide a whirlwind underneath. Aaron & Stefan are pretty young yet they sound like older veterans of the free & modern jazz worlds, wise beyond they years. When they get a chance to stretch out, both are inspired & crafty soloists as well. Rodrigo’s piece “Two Girls” does have a great funky groove with some greasy sax on top. “Effigy” is an appropriate titled solemn piece, stark, sad and simmering like a soft prayer. Each song involves a different structure or strategy and each one is strong. I dig how on “Infidelities” the quartet plays the theme up front and them proceeds to get freer in the midsection before they move into a final somber, spare conclusion. The final piece, “Eavesdropper\/Ruas Sentimentais” begins freely and eventually evolves through different sections. Parts remind me of when King Crimson move into their own improv segments. The Humanization 4Tet is\/are a particularly impressive quartet that are no doubt be a force to be reckoned with” \u00a0Bruce Lee \/ Downtown Music Gallery<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Segundo volume a documentar a actividade do cons\u00f3rcio transatl\u00e2ntico constitu\u00eddo pelos portugueses Lu\u00eds Lopes e Rodrigo Amado e pelos norte-americanos Aaron e Stefan Gonzalez. Lopes surge como l\u00edder de uma forma\u00e7\u00e3o em que a no\u00e7\u00e3o de colectivo ressalta, desde logo, particularmente clara, at\u00e9 pela democraticidade evidenciada na autoria das pe\u00e7as. Se a estreia em 2008, na lisboeta Clean Feed, j\u00e1 havia convencido sobremaneira, este \u201cElectricity\u201d (com selo da francesa Ayler Records) n\u00e3o s\u00f3 confirma, mas, sobretudo, refor\u00e7a a evid\u00eancia de que estamos perante um quarteto que destila uma m\u00fasica org\u00e2nica e vibrante, feita da criteriosa aglutina\u00e7\u00e3o de m\u00faltiplos elementos e onde composi\u00e7\u00e3o e improvisa\u00e7\u00e3o se conjugam de forma particularmente eficaz.<\/p>\nSem prejudicar, antes potenciando, a unidade e coes\u00e3o gerais, a dicotomia luso-americana acaba por se revelar a principal for\u00e7a motriz do grupo, n\u00e3o s\u00f3, por um lado, pelos un\u00edssonos e constantes di\u00e1logos estabelecidos entre a dupla lusa (\u00e9 Amado quem assume, muitas vezes, o papel principal, com Lopes a posicionar-se na condi\u00e7\u00e3o de arquitecto textural), como, por outro, pelas teias r\u00edtmicas engendradas pela dupla de descendentes do trompetista Dennis Gonzalez. Percebendo-se a estrutura de cada tema, logo o quarteto muda de direc\u00e7\u00e3o por vezes de forma vertiginosa, surpreendendo positivamente o ouvinte.<\/p>\n
O disco abre com um sombrio \u201cDehumanization Blues\u201d, de Aaron Gonz\u00e1lez, dominado pela vigorosa sec\u00e7\u00e3o r\u00edtmica. \u201cJungle Gymnastics\u201d ancora-se nas mesmas premissas, com Lopes e Amado em estimulante interac\u00e7\u00e3o . \u201cTwo Girls\u201d (da autoria do saxofonista) denota que o grupo tamb\u00e9m sabe pisar territ\u00f3rios mais \u201cgroove\u201d, de s\u00f3lida sustenta\u00e7\u00e3o r\u00edtmica. A eleg\u00e2ncia e a sobriedade de \u201cEffigy\u201d (assinada por Lopes) vem deitar \u00e1gua na fervura. O contraste de abordagens em \u201cProcurei-te na Noite\u201d, a remeter para paisagens suburbanas, resulta muito bem. \u201cInfidelities\u201d, com o seu intenso travo bop, \u00e9 outro momento alto. Em suma, um disco que, infelizmente, n\u00e3o escutei em tempo \u00fatil para entrar de caras na lista dos melhores de 2011″\u00a0 \u2217\u2217\u2217\u2217 (4 em 5)<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Ant\u00f3nio Branco \/ Jazz.pt<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Toujours t\u00eate chercheuse dans les diff\u00e9rents univers de la musique improvis\u00e9e et soutien insatiable de projets musicaux ambitieux, le label Ayler Records est devenu au fil du temps l’un de ces labels o\u00f9 chacune des sorties donne envie de jeter une oreille. Chez Ayler Records, la radicalit\u00e9 c\u00f4toie une ligne \u00e9ditoriale extr\u00eamement claire qui consiste \u00e0 offrir au musicien la qualit\u00e9 et la passion, deux vertus qui tendent \u00e0 dispara\u00eetre de la distribution classique. Voire qui l’a d\u00e9j\u00e0 absolument abandonn\u00e9.<\/p>\nLa derni\u00e8re sortie du label fait partie de ces petites p\u00e9pites qui en ont fait la renomm\u00e9e ; illustr\u00e9e par un cordon \u00e9lectrique pos\u00e9 nonchalamment sur un divan hors-d’\u00e2ge comme une psychoth\u00e9rapie confi\u00e9e \u00e0 la f\u00e9e \u00e9lectricit\u00e9, Electricity, le nouvel album de la formation lusitano-texane Humanization 4tet est une preuve de plus de la vigueur des musiques improvis\u00e9es en Europe, et de la richesse des \u00e9changes transatlantiques, \u00e0 l’instar d’un label comme BMC.<\/p>\n
Dirig\u00e9 par le guitariste \u00e9lectrique Luis Lopes, accompagn\u00e9 par l’\u00e9l\u00e9gant t\u00e9nor Rodrigo Amado et la doublette rythmique \u00e0 toute \u00e9preuve des frangins Gonzales, Electricity est un concentr\u00e9 de musique urgente. Le propos est tendu et galvanis\u00e9, et planque des affolements groove dans un free-jazz au phras\u00e9 Colemanien tendance Ornette -notamment la belle ouverture de “Jungle Gymnastics”-. A ce titre, le morceau “Two Girls” est un mod\u00e8le du genre ; sur une rythmique de batterie solidement rock, la contrebasse saignante de Aaron Gonzales \u00e9chauffe l’atmosph\u00e8re avant que l’acidit\u00e9 de la guitare de Lopes ne viennent soutenir les tirades \u00e9nerv\u00e9es d’Amado.<\/p>\n
Le quartet est ramass\u00e9 et uni, tire dans le m\u00eame sens et prend un manifeste plaisir \u00e0 porter un propos puissant. La coh\u00e9sion fraternelle des Gonzales fait certainement beaucoup ; j’avoue avoir \u00e9t\u00e9 un peu interrogatif sur leur r\u00e9cent album chez Ayler Records avec leur p\u00e8re, contrairement \u00e0 mon camarade Julien. Sans doute parce qu’avec la pr\u00e9sence du batteur sud-Africain Louis Moholo-Moholo, la relation privil\u00e9gi\u00e9e basse\/batterie des deux frangins \u00e9tait dilu\u00e9e, alors qu’elle est simple, \u00e9clatante et d’une stabilit\u00e9 \u00e0 toute \u00e9preuve en temps normal… Elle est ici absolument splendide et diablement coh\u00e9rente.<\/p>\n
Anciennement sign\u00e9 chez Clean Feed, le prestigieux label portugais, Electricity est l’\u0153uvre d’une formation musculeuse o\u00f9 la virulence de la batterie de Stefan Gonzales, proche parfois des fulgurances du metal sait parfois laisser place \u00e0 la langueur sablonneuse du son parfait de t\u00e9nor de Rodrigo Amado. Le jeu de Lopes, sans fioritures solistes interminables et autre quincaille tape-\u00e0-l’\u0153il est un vrai travail de fond qui donne \u00e9norm\u00e9ment de libert\u00e9 \u00e0 ses comparses. Sur l’excellent “Procurei-te na note”, il trouve un vrai terrain d’entente avec son fantastique contrebassiste…. Ce qui l’emp\u00eache pas (\u00d4 combien !) de diss\u00e9miner quelques mines dans le tr\u00e8s virulent “infidelities” ou dans le “ghost” (\u00e7a devrait \u00eatre interdit ! Grumbl …) “Ruas Sentimentais”, v\u00e9ritable manifeste d’un blues-rock \u00e9chauff\u00e9 \u00e0 l’improvisation. On peut voir d’ailleurs sur une s\u00e9rie de vid\u00e9os que cette formule est un plaisir de sc\u00e8ne.<\/p>\n
Humanization 4tet est l’\u0153uvre d’une formation moderne qui a su faire le lien entre diverses influences disparates et vigoureuses pour les mettre dans le pot commun d’une improvisation sans limite autre que le plaisir. L’auditeur aura le m\u00eame sentiment de plaisir et de coh\u00e9sion…” \u00a0Frampi \/ Sun Ship<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>There are some CDs that are so charged with life, so immediate, so vibrant, that the music literally jumps out of your speakers from the first note. That’s what I am feeling with the album Electricity<\/em> (Ayler 113) by the Humanization 4tet. This band has potency stockpiled in reserve. It’s Luis Lopes on a very electric guitar, a player who knows how to create cosmic envelopes of sound and bring depth and space into a quartet such as this.<\/p>\nThen there’s Rodrigo Amado on tenor, who I’ve enthused about at length in the course of several reviews on the sister site, gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com. He has a terrific sound and abundant musical brains to realize some beautiful, fiery lines. The Gonzalez brothers, Aaron on bass and Stefan on drums, are long-time members of father Dennis’s Yells at Eels (see the other site for a review or two of that band) and their lengthy tenure together has given them the kind of simpatico interaction that is rare these days. And they are great players to boot” \u00a0Grego Applegate Edwards \/ gapplegate guitar and bass blog\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>A alta voltagem s\u00f3 representa perigo para quem espera que o jazz se limite a massajar-lhe suavemente as orelhas ap\u00f3s um dia estafante. \u201cDehumanization Blues\u201d, o assertivo e \u00e1spero tema de abertura, deixa claro, logo nos primeiros instantes, que n\u00e3o \u00e9 repouso que o Humanization 4tet de Lu\u00eds Lopes tem para oferecer. T\u00e3o pouco se encontrar\u00e1 consolo no turbilh\u00e3o furioso de \u201cJungle Gymnastics\u201d ou no Groove funk, no riff sinuoso de sax e no contraponto \u00e1cido de guitarra de \u201cTwo Girls\u201d, ou na viagem vertiginosa por sub\u00farbios inquietantes de \u201cProcurei-te na Noite\u201d.<\/p>\nAp\u00f3s fulgurante estreia (hom\u00f3nima) na Clean Feed, o Humanization 4tet surge agora na editora sueca Ayler Records, confirmando que o jass luso se encontra em pleno processo de internacionaliza\u00e7\u00e3o acelerada (e merecida). Lopes passou a repartir as tarefas de composi\u00e7\u00e3o com os seus parceiros, a paleta de ambientes alargou-se e as pe\u00e7as tornaram-se mais estruturadas e diferenciadas entre si. As qualidades j\u00e1 apontadas aos m\u00fasicos confirmam-se: os irm\u00e3os Gonzalez \u2013 Aaron no contrabaixo e Stefan na bateria \u2013 asseguram propuls\u00e3o potente e el\u00e1stica, Rodrigo Amado tem um discurso de uma solidez e incandesc\u00eancia que explicam porque raz\u00e3o \u00e9 hoje o m\u00fasico de jazz portugu\u00eas com mais prestigiante e prol\u00edfico curr\u00edculo internacional e Lu\u00eds Lopes, embora continue a deixar o primeiro plano a Amado, afirma-se como guitarrista original e de m\u00faltiplos recursos. A escuta de Electricity ocupar-lhe-\u00e1 cerca de uma hora, mas depois fica com carga para uma semana de actividade”\u00a0\u2217\u2217\u2217\u2217\u2217<\/span> (5 estrelas em 5) \u00a0Jos\u00e9 Carlos Fernandes \/ time out Lisboa<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Le free balbutiant, comme un Samuel Beckett impr\u00e9cateur, trois ou quatre notes dont on ne sort pas, parce qu’elle suffisent \u00e0 dire ce qu’il y a \u00e0 dire et qui d’ailleurs ne se d\u00e9finit que d’\u00eatre dit, justement. De ces quatre mots sortent de torrents, des avalanches. C’est pierreux, gras, lumineux et noir. Le temps en sort tout ragaillardi, c’est un art propre aux musiciens free \u2500 fondamental \u2500 mais chacun sent que l’essentiel est dans le d\u00e9part balbutiant, loin des m\u00e9lodies du jazz classique ou des \u00e9nonc\u00e9s pleins de questions du bop. Le free c’est la but\u00e9e \u00e0 l’incompr\u00e9hensible et \u00e0 l’ind\u00e9passable, lorsqu’il nous donne \u00e7a il a bien fait son travail. Le free se prend et se reprend \u00e0 l’encha\u00eenement des notes et des mots, ne fait pas semblant, il ne conserve du pass\u00e9 qu’un art ; mais gare \u00e0 l’\u00e9quilibre dans les tuyaux, entre ignorance et savoir-faire… Ce qui frappe dans ce quartet c’est l’unit\u00e9 d’inspiration dans la diversit\u00e9 des th\u00e9matiques et des mani\u00e8res, la but\u00e9e unanime \u00e0 l’essentiel” \u00a0No\u00ebl Tachet \/ Improjazz<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Two Portuguese musicians, guitarist Lu\u00eds Lopes<\/strong> and saxophonist Rodrigo Amado<\/strong>, are joined on this disc by bassist Aaron Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong> and his drummer brother Stefan<\/strong>, both Americans and sons of trumpeter Dennis Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong>. It\u2019s the second release by the group; the first, self-titled CD was released on Clean Feed in 2008.<\/p>\nThis music was recorded almost exactly one year ago, on December 3 and 4, 2009. It has a lot in common with lots of other present-day free jazz, particularly as practiced by East Coast players. \u201cJungle Gymnastics,\u201d written by Lopes, has a repetitive, cellular melody reminiscent of David S. Ware<\/strong>\u2018s compositions, and Amado\u2019s playing on the track has a buzzy force that recalls Ware somewhat, while also looking backward to Archie Shepp<\/strong> and Pharoah Sanders<\/strong>. The bandleader, meanwhile, plays in a hard style that suggests time spent listening to Joe Morris<\/strong>, but also more distortion-dependent players. In fact, a lot of tracks on Electricity<\/em> remind me of stuff I\u2019ve heard on Morris albums\u2014\u201dTwo Girls\u201d makes me think of Sweat Shop<\/em>, \u201cEffigy\u201d sounds like the quieter moments of Wildlife<\/em>.<\/p>\nNot everything here is directly traceable to the influence of musicians on AUM Fidelity (or Clean Feed), though. The Gonz\u00e1lez brothers have an interesting rhythmic relationship\u2014while bassist Aaron has a forceful, accurate style that relies on pinpoint strikes as though the strings were a sniper\u2019s bullets, drummer Stefan is much busier, taking off around the kit like he\u2019s trying to introduce swing to a thrash metal band. They don\u2019t really lock in; they play simultaneously rather than together, but it works. In a way, it\u2019s not unlike the dynamic John Paul Jones<\/strong> and John Bonham<\/strong> set up in Led Zeppelin<\/strong>, where a commonality of purpose was implied but rarely explicitly stated. And though this is definitely a jazz album through and through, there\u2019s some pretty serious skronk to be found on \u201cInfidelities\u201d; Amado plays his most quacking, squawking solo on the disc, and beside him, Lopes cuts loose with waves of Sonny Sharrock<\/strong>-style distortion as Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez sets up an almost martial rhythm behind him. It\u2019s surprisingly close to the 1980s work of Last Exit<\/strong>, frankly.<\/p>\nLooking at the artwork\u2014Electricity<\/em>\u2018s front cover depicts a knotted cable; the inside flap has a shot of a battered amplifier; the back cover shows a Gibson guitar and a leather jacket; and the photo of the band portrays Lopes as a shadowy, long-haired figure, barefoot in a sleeveless T-shirt\u2014I was expecting something a lot noisier and skronkier than this disc, which combines free jazz, some bluesy hard bop, and a dash of funk here and there. But what I did hear wasn\u2019t at all disappointing. Fans of 21st Century out playing will find a lot to like on this record” \u00a0Phil Freeman \/ Burning Ambulance<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>The Humanization 4tet is based out of Lisbon. And on Electricity<\/em> the guitar of Lopes and the tenor sax of Amado are so big that I swore this was a bigger ensemble. This is really a strong 4tet, with these two huge voices out front. Amado is becoming well known, as he should be. His is a rich voice on tenor, willing to go way way out and scream, but with a deep melodic sense. Lopes often enough uses chords on the amped guitar to create second horn sound, behind the tenor. Electricity<\/em> is an unusual recording for the Swedish label Ayler, which usually issues Free improvisations filled with fire & brimstone, showing the inspiration of the label\u2019s namesake. Perhaps it is the big brash invention of Amado that led to their interest in Electricity<\/em>, but fans of Ayler Records will find this one surprisingly \u201cinside\u201d for their catalogue. This is no complaint, just a warning. Electricity<\/em> is a fine recording, with some wild moments, but showing off the adventurous lyricism I\u2019ve come to expect from the Portuguese scene. I would say that those Northern European darlings who\u2019ve dominated the world of Jazz criticism for the better part of a decade now had better watch out. There is a new wind blowing out of the south, and Lisbon clearly has a lot to share” \u00a0Cadence Magazine\u00a0\/\u00a0Phillip McNally<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>Two years ago, Portuguese guitarist Lu\u00eds Lopes released his first CD, called “Humanization 4tet<\/a>“, which I liked a lot. Now the band is back, again with fellow Portuguese Rodrigo Amado on tenor sax, and the brothers Aaron and Stefan Gonz\u00e1lez on respectively bass and drums, with no changes in the line-up, ready to further explore the genre-melting approach of their music : jazz, rock, fusion and free elements intermingle.<\/p>\nAll pieces are composed, with strong unison themes, often uptempo, full of unexpected turns and sudden changes. Even if it is Lopes project, this is now really a band, with all four members contribution to compositions and to the overall sound. As said before, Lopes is a kind of “anti-guitarist”, being of the fully functional kind rather than the guy in the forefront: his tone is low-toned and harsh, raw and direct but jazzy in its chords and solos. Amado’s tone in contrast is warm and full-toned, yet rhythmic and powerful. Both Gonz\u00e1lez brothers form a fantastic rhythm section for this music, both combining the supple and versatile jazz approach with the directness of rock.<\/p>\n
The album starts with the dark and menacing “Dehumanization Blues”, an almost cinematic composition with lots of strong soloing. “Jungle Gymnastics” has indeed an acrobatic unison theme and uptempo drive, evolving into wild chaos in the middle part. “Two Girls” is more funky, starting with a solid sustained rhythm by bass and drums, over which sax and guitar play a nice strutting theme, evoking the title of the composition, with a light-footedness in strong contrast to the opening track. “Efficy” is slow and more open-ended, with equally slow and sensitive soloing. Aaron Gonz\u00e1lez’ other composition “Infidelities” sounds like the opener at the beginning, with slow but heavy beat, yet quickly changes into a more mid-tempo boppish mode, evolving into absolutely raw interplay between the electric guitar and the sax, again showing their infidelity to the proposed musical approach, and ending with another betrayal of a single feedback tone. The last track is a long group improvisation, slowly progressing with close and intimate sax phrases evolving over raw but distant guitar sounds, and when you think the album has ended, there is a kind of bonus track, for those who have the patience to listen to silence for a minute and a half, again upbeat and boppish with funky touches, all rhythmic delight and fun playing.<\/p>\n
The merging of styles is not a new thing, but the quality and the fun the musicians have with it transpires with every note and beat. But unlike many other endeavours, this one is very likeable for its straightforward approach and lack of pretence. It is art made human. Like a rock album, it should be listened to as a collection of songs rather than as a single unity. Nice stuff” \u00a0Steff \/ Freejazz blog<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
Le Humanization 4tet r\u00e9uni par le guitariste lisbo\u00e8te Luis Lopes\u00a0publie son second CD, sur le label Ayler Records. Quelle \u00e9tait la teneur\u00a0de leur premier enregistrement – paru sur Clean Feed – aucun \u00e9cho (mais de lourds soup\u00e7ons tout de m\u00eame). “Electricity”\u00a0figurera\u00a0donc ici comme le CD de la r\u00e9v\u00e9lation qu’il existe un axe Lisbone-Dallas (Texas) apte \u00e0 produire une musique intense, tonitruante, s\u00e8che, radicale, un blues free ne conc\u00e9dant rien aux beaut\u00e9s de ses cousins free-style de Chicago ou de New York dont la proximit\u00e9 dans la longueur d’onde jaillit imm\u00e9diatement aux oreilles.<\/p>\n
Dans l’exaltant “Dehumanization Blues” introductif, pass\u00e9 l’expos\u00e9 d’un double th\u00e8me \u00e9voquant le joug puis un air de libert\u00e9, les fr\u00e8res Gonzales, agiles et soud\u00e9s, impriment fortement la marque de leur d\u00e9luge rythmique, d\u00e9versant sans rel\u00e2che des tombereaux d’\u00e9nergie sur laquelle le t\u00e9nor rugueux, gigantesque, de Rodrigo Amado s’en vient \u00e9ructer et se contorsionner. Luis Lopes, leader attentif, place sa guitare \u00e0 la marge de ce vigoureux trio \u00e0 l’approche r\u00e9solument punk (lanc\u00e9 dans une sorte de “tout tout de suite”), il \u00e9tire de longs traits de bruit blanc ou projette des \u00e9clairs \u00e9lectriques dans lesquels une fabuleuse \u00e9nergie s’exprime \u00e9galement mais cette fois en dehors de toute notion de vitesse, bien au contraire dans une tension flirtant avec son point de rupture.<\/p>\n
L’union de la glace et du feu<\/strong><\/p>\nAu fil des morceaux, dans des chorus parall\u00e8les et quelques th\u00e8mes pris \u00e0 l’unisson, la guitare et le t\u00e9nor enlacent leurs timbres si dissemblables : le sax chaud bouillant, bondit en tout sens, sans cesse en mouvement du rauque \u00e0 l’aigu, il s’appuie sur ses qualit\u00e9s de puissance en un saisissant contraste avec une guitare serpentine qui \u00e9volue hors des contingences du temps en des phrases atones et qui joue sur l’opalescence de ses notes \u00e9parses, br\u00e8ves ou longues.<\/p>\n
Et toujours derri\u00e8re nos deux Texans furieux alimentent la chaudi\u00e8re de leur tempo multidirectionnel. On ne sera pas surpris de d\u00e9couvrir qu’ils aiguisent leur technique et leur langage au sein de groupes free punk, \u00e0 commencer par le duo hardcore qu’ils forment sous le nom de Akkolyte (voir le tr\u00e8s instructif MySpace d’Aaron Gonzales<\/a> et sa flopp\u00e9e de vid\u00e9os – \u00e2mes sensibles, gare \u00e0 vous tout de m\u00eame, il y a du grindcore, etc. mais on y trouve aussi quelques douceurs, comme un sensible trio avec le pianiste chicagoan Curtis Clark.)<\/p>\nDus \u00e0 la plume d’un peu tout le monde, les th\u00e8mes de Humanization 4tet appariassent r\u00e9solument simples, carr\u00e9s, plut\u00f4t semblables \u00e0 des riffs de rock. Mais toujours une fois le tempo et la couleur donn\u00e9s, l’improvisation collective tr\u00e8s vite prend le dessus. “Two Girls”, sign\u00e9 par Rodrigo Amado, s’en va sautillant sur un groove typiquement funk new orleans alors que le sublime “Procurei-te Na Noite (en gros, “je t’ai cherch\u00e9 toute la nuit”) de Luis Lopes pourrait passer pour un standard hardbop et sa ballade “Effigy” \u00eatre compos\u00e9e par Wayne Shorter.<\/p>\n
Artistes \u00e0 suivre<\/strong><\/p>\nLa\u00a0robustesse et l’ampleur du son de Rodrigo Amado classe le saxophoniste du Lisbon Improvisation Players dans la cat\u00e9gorie des Ken Vandemark ou Ellery Eskelin. Du reste, sa cote grimpe en fl\u00e8che outre-Atlantique. Luis Lopes, guitariste autodiacte, vient du blues. Sa mani\u00e8re toute personnelle de d\u00e9passer sa fascination pour Jimi Hendrix en fait un incontestable artiste \u00e0 suivre.<\/p>\n
Un mot sur la nouvelle direction artistique de l’\u00e9diteur, Ayler Records, qui accompagne l’\u00e9largissement de son spectre vers de jeunes formations m\u00e9connues d’une rafra\u00eechissante refonte de l’habillage de ses CD. Adieu le sempiternel bando vanille tout mou au-dessus d’une oeuvre abstraite plus ou moins inspir\u00e9e. Le digipack d'”Electricity” con\u00e7u \u00e0 partir des photos d’Antonio Julio Duarte est en ce sens une belle r\u00e9ussite qui colle parfaitement \u00e0 la musique propos\u00e9e” \u00a0Sudouest blog\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u2014<\/p>\n
“<\/span>En jazz, je l’avoue sans honte, je suis d’une nullit\u00e9 crasse. Incapable d’expliquer pourquoi j’aime telle ou telle galette. Le love supreme de Coltrane, je le trouve magnifique mais de l\u00e0 \u00e0 y trouver une spiritualit\u00e9, un accomplissement cr\u00e9atif, j’en reste dubitatif (j’aimerais assez qu’on m’explique). Je per\u00e7ois certaines choses mais n’arrive pas \u00e0 me les expliquer. Et de toutes fa\u00e7ons je lui pr\u00e9f\u00e8re d’un poil de cul d’avance my favorite things, porte d’entr\u00e9e in\u00e9gal\u00e9e (et in\u00e9galable) au jazz, qu’il soit free ou classique. Ce pr\u00e9ambule pass\u00e9, j’avoue aussi appr\u00e9cier voir m\u00eame plus que \u00e7a encore, le free-jazz. Enfin j’aime le free quand il reste dans des normes audibles ou pas. J’aime le fait qu’il soit d\u00e9viant, se barre n’importe o\u00f9 sans pr\u00e9venir, nous laisse sur le carreau d\u00e8s les premi\u00e8res secondes pour nous rattraper, nous happer dans les derni\u00e8res .Une illustration peut-\u00eatre ? l’album electricity d’Humanization 4tet, parfait \u00e9quilibre entre traditions et modernit\u00e9, free et classique. Tu appr\u00e9cies le jazz ? mais aussi les B.O des ann\u00e9es 70, la soul, le blues, l’exp\u00e9rimental ? Humanization 4tet te propose tout cela et bien plus encore. Une relecture et un digest de quelques six d\u00e9cennies de jazz : du cool jazz au free en passant par l’avant-garde ou le jazz-rock,\u00a0 auquel se raccrochent pas mal d’autres styles parce que les gars d’Humanization 4tet n’ont pas \u00e9cout\u00e9\u00a0 que \u00e7a et que \u00e7a transpire au travers de leurs compositions. Leur guitariste Luis lopes par exemple n’a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 biberonn\u00e9 qu’au jazz, son jeu para\u00eet plus sortir du manuel du rock voir de l’exp\u00e9rimental que du jazz. Pas de solo de merde, pas de d\u00e9monstration prise de t\u00eate du genre je descends mes gammes comme un malade et je vous emmerde, pas du tout. Plut\u00f4t un jeu privil\u00e9giant l’intinct, sans fioritures, d\u00e9barrass\u00e9 de toute technique. Les fr\u00e8res Gonzales \u00e0 la rythmique (contrebasse et batterie), s’ils ont \u00e9t\u00e9 forc\u00e9ment influenc\u00e9s par leur p\u00e8re (le grand Dennis), semblent s’affranchir de son influence via le rock (two girls par exemple, osmose parfaite entre jazz et rock, l’impression que Miles Davis s’est invit\u00e9 sur un morceau de Morphine). Seul Rodrigo Amado, tenor sax (ce qui para\u00eet \u00eatre d’une \u00e9vidente lapalissade pour quelqu’un pratiquant\u00a0 le sax), \u00e9chappe (et encore) \u00e0 ces influences. La rencontre de ces fortes t\u00eates donne un r\u00e9sultat que je qualifierai tout simplement de brillant. Equilibre quasi parfait entre m\u00e9lodies et exp\u00e9rimental, free et classique tout en \u00e9tant tr\u00e8s abordable,d’une dynamique peu commune, ce genre de galette devrait limite \u00eatre rembours\u00e9 par la s\u00e9cu. Porte d’entr\u00e9e id\u00e9ale pour le monde parfois herm\u00e9tique du free-jazz au m\u00eame titre que le zero degree music d’Adam lane Trio, electricity sait s’adapter au n\u00e9ophyte\u00a0 tout en \u00e9tant d’une int\u00e9grit\u00e9 remarquable. Autant le dire, chez moi, l’\u00e9coute d’electricity me procure un panard assez monumental. Le dernier disque estampill\u00e9 jazz \u00e0 m’avoir fait cet effet \u00e9tait celui de Dennis Gonzales justement, qui avait termin\u00e9 album de l’ann\u00e9e en 2009. Excellent quoi” \u00a0The beauty of sadness blog<\/span><\/p>\n![\"linha\"](\"http:\/\/www.luislopes.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/linha.jpg\")
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