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New Tone
Tapestry
or download SERRIES AMADO LISLE @ Bandcamp

SERRIES AMADO LISLE The Invisible

CD album | gg476
When one of the most productive free jazz saxophonists of Portugal, Rodrigo Amado, met Belgian experimental guitarist Dirk Serries for an ad-hoc duo performance (which led to a sold-out cassette release on Raw Tonk Records and a CD on Klanggalerie), it just clicked. After this duo they both immediately felt they could continue as a trio with a drummer. An obvious choice became English free drummer Andrew Lisle, who both share a friendship and creativity with. Dirk with Andrew and Colin Webster as Kodian Trio and Rodrigo met and played with Andrew in his younger years when Andrew resided for a while in Portugal. This trio meets the warm sax tone, grounded in proper free jazz traditions, with the relentless abstract guitar playing of Dirk Serries and versatile drumming of Andrew. After three concerts they recorded their debut studio album at the Sunny Side Inc. Studio (Anderlecht, Belgium) which is now being released on Klanggalerie. Full tracklist: 1. New Tone 2. Tapestry 3. The Invisible. Price: € 19,-/copy incl. worldwide shipping.

The Invisible offers three extended pieces that adopt free jazz dynamics and led by the warm tenor sax tone of Amado, with the abstract and more ethereal guitar lines of Serries and the intuitive, free pulse of Lisle. It is clear that the already-established bond between these master improvisers informs the trios dynamics and opens the music for more sonic adventures. The trio patiently and organically alternates with tension building and release, and swinging from the melodic and lyrical to the fiery and thorny.
(Salt Peanuts, August 2024)

At first blush, this seems like an odd meeting of minds. Belgian Dirk Serries is as well known for his ambient synth work as his free improv. Rodrigo Amado is a central figure in the Portuguese jazz scene and Andrew Lisle has played with a long list of musicians from his native British Isles as well as the European mainland. While every pairing of two out of these three has previously been recorded, this is their first joint effort. Amado leads the trio with both outside and lyrical playing, while Serries aggressively strums his undistorted electric. Lisle can be both subtle and overt, lurking in the background and then surfacing with unstructured lines that lead the others into new spaces. The Invisible is an enjoyable document that blends free jazz tropes with abstract guitar and versatile drumming in new and compelling ways.
(AMN Capsule, August 2024)

Sprankelende dialogen ontspinnen zich, meestal gesteund op gebroken en staccato ritmebewegingen. Toch lassen ze regelmatig introverte passages in waarvan de impact even sterk is net door het onverwachte contrast met de veelhoekige dynamiek. In de intro van het tweede stuk bijvoorbeeld is het de warme gloed van Amado zijn tenorsaxofoon die aanvankelijk de toon zet alvorens hun gezamenlijke subversieve kant terug naar boven komt.
(Jazz Halo, August 2024)

The Invisible é um álbum notabilíssimo, com Dirk Serries, Rodrigo Amado e Andrew Lisle a surgirem no pináculo das suas capacidades enquanto criadores em tempo real.
(Jazz.pt, August 2024)

La sessione di registrazione è stata editata in tre lunghe tracce di sedici, ventitre e diciassete minuti. Il calore del sassofono di Rodrigo Amado è l assoluto protagonista della scena. La chitarra astratta di Serries sembra seguirlo da lontano, mentre la batteria aiuta a definire gli spazi su New Tone.
(Ondarock, September 2024)

De goede luisteraar beseft snel dat het trio er een bijzondere interactie op nahoudt, die beweegt tussen densiteit en spaarzaamheid, finesse en rauwe kracht, abstractie en spanning, maar vooral getuigt van een eb- en vloedbeweging waarbij de drie samen die massa van geluid controleren. En als dat iets zegt over de coherentie van dit verhaal, dan kan je net zo goed richten op een van de drie en vervolgens horen hoe die muzikale driehoeksverhouding voortdurend blijft transformeren. Een uurtje vrije meeslependheid is het resultaat.
(Jazz & Mo, September 2024)

Amado keeps coming up with melodic lines, sometimes meandering, sometimes short, sometimes long. Series treats the guitar sometimes as a percussive instrument, strumming away with abstract progressions or short successive notes. Lisle comes up with rapidly changing rhythms in conjunction with what he hears or the other two let him do the talking, or instead playing. Its an advantageous release, which merits a closer look/listen at each piece rather than playing this from the beginning until the end.
(Vital Weekly, October 2024)

The Invisible is a free-jazz record that shifts between the expressive & moody, to manic and dense, through to the abstract and angular. (...) The Invisible finds this three-piece on top form, managing to shift tone and emotion easily. If you enjoy your free jazz that moves between manic and dense, to more moody & expressive this will most certainly be your thing.
(Musique Machine, October 2024)

Lisle’s drum ruffs, rumbles and rebounds plus cymbal clanks and scratches give the other two a shifting but solid foundation on which to express themselves. Even Lisles brief unaccompanied solo on the title track adds to the overall structure rather than focusing attention on itself. Often knitting together simple and repeated notes and patterns, the saxophonist and guitarist also create their own motifs, reflecting tempos and connections. Amado’s expressions range from the technical to the traditional. Throughout he stretches timbres with multiphonic slurs, doits and spiraling vibrations. while there are points where his output is more languid and linear. During those interludes half-swallowed tones. pauses and straight-ahead elaborations of songbook standards hover, but never long enough to be fully defined.
(Jazzword, October 2024)