Samba Of Sorts
Sunnyside, 2025
8/10
The Unity Quartet, i.e. Helio Alves, Guilherme Monteiro, Gili Lopes and Alex Kautz, bring us the lively energy of Brazilian music via these 8 tracks that embrace samba, forro and bossa nova.
“Viola Violar” starts the listen with Alves’ warm piano and Monteiro’s spirited guitar lines that emit much grace and melody, and “Lucena” follows with Kautz’s fluid drumming that suits the gentle rhythm.
“Frenzy” and “Pau de Arara” land in the middle. The former is indeed rowdy, where quick keys and shifting tempos emit a controlled chaos delivery, while the latter benefits from Lopes’ frisky bass amid the radiant guitar.
The title track lands close to the end and is a chunkier moment of rock gestures and world music dynamics, and “Paloma Plage” exits with the cautious rhythm section and agile keys that illustrate a breezy waltz finish.
A highly collaborative effort, the quartet flesh out modern jazz with cultured ideas that are unpredictable, harmonic and universally enjoyable.
Travels well with: Mitch Towne- Refuge; Daniel Garbin- Rising