Felipe Salles Quintet
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Felipe Salles was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and like jazz musicians who have gone before him have fused together the north and south American jazz elements into one pulsating debut album entitled 'Further South'.
As soon as I read the liner notes and learned he was from Brazil I expected to hear lots of bossa beats but the music is more mainstream like his fellow countryman Hector Costita ( who could forget the wonderful album '1981' featuring the killer cut 'Lou') Felipe had a sound pedigree in jazz whilst in Brazil playing with Octeto de Musica Brasileira, Zerro Santos Big Band, Banda Farinha Seca, Zydeco Band, Santa Gafieira, Sampa Crew, Savoy Quartet and the Axel Fisch Group He has performed with Brazilian artists such as Daniela Mercury, Paulo Moura and Wagner Tiso.
This foundation led him to Boston to earn a masters degree and then in 1995 to New York City where he grounded the Felipe Salles Quintet and plays in many mainstream venues in the Big Apple and other major USA cities.
His debut album is bursting with energy and fabulous playing, based on a tight combo featuring reknowned multi-instrumentalist Bob Moses, this time playing on drums and John Lockwood on bass, Felipe interplays with trumpetman Tony D'Aveni and pianist Alain Mallet.
The material is all written and produced by Felipe with the exception of Charles Mingus' 'Duke Ellington's Sound of Love' and there are few clues in the compositions to suggest from where he originated. The Branford Marsalis and Freddie Hubbard type sound of their respective instruments sound like true-blue American Chicago or New York jazz.
There were a few occasions when I could hear a Cuban influence in the music and the close harmony playing of the soprano sax and trombone on 'To whom it may concern' and almost salsa piano playing do provide some clues to the author's origins.
There are some wonderful moments for me on this album when musical expression blossoms and stuns the listener into a blissful sojourn, rather like an artist painting a brush stroke and standing back to see the addition in context to the overall image like the beautiful 'Duke Ellington's Sound of Love'.
Felipe and his fellow band members have a solid jazz album here which will appeal to mainstreamers and 'live jazz' goers. The set includes all that is great in jazz, masterful playing, good delivery and thoughtful and intelligent arrangements."
By Wes Gillespie for 'The Jazz Site', who also writes reviews for All That Jazz, The Brazilian Music Review, Sony Jazz and hosts the Sony Jazz Europe website.
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Felipe Salles Quintet
Featuring: Felipe Salles (ts, ss) with Tony D'Aveni (tp, flh), Joel Yennior (tb), Eric Erhardt (fl, afl, cl, bcl), Alain Mallet (p), John Lockwood (b), Bob Moses (d)
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