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Luis Vicente 4tet: House In The Valley

By John Sharpe
August 12, 2023
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Portuguese trumpeter

Luis Vicente

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Luis Vicente wrote the four compositions which make up House In The Valley during lockdown. His intention was to evoke childhood memories of times at his grandparents' rural house. Judging from the outcomes there must have been a lot of '60s American New Thing on the turntable at the time. In particular the way the group realizes Vicente's melodies recalls

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry's outings from that period such as Complete Communion (Blue Note, 1966) and Symphony For Improvisers (Blue Note, 1967).

That is not just because the trumpeter runs his themes together in a way reminiscent of Cherry's mini-suites, on two lengthy cuts totaling some 67-minutes from a 2021 concert. There is also the contrast between Vicente and his regular collaborator Amsterdam-based American tenor saxophonist

John Dikeman

saxophone, tenor
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">John Dikeman. Between the trumpeter's blend of the lyric and the agitated, and the saxophonist's full-bodied extension of

Albert Ayler

saxophone, tenor
1936 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Albert Ayler into the 21st century which ups the ante dramatically on what fire-breathing reedman

Gato Barbieri

saxophone
1934 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Gato Barbieri brought to the Cherry sessions.

Along with the reedman's fellow countryman bassist

Luke Stewart

bass, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Luke Stewart—a mainstay of

Irreversible Entanglements

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Irreversible Entanglements—and Dutch drummer

Onno Govaert

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Onno Govaert—another frequent partner—all bring extensive improv credentials to the bandstand, which allow productive forays into the wilds before ultimately bushwhacking back to the written path. That is heard most tellingly during the floating textural exchange partway through the 40 plus minutes of "Luisa's Laugh + House In The Valley."

Vicente's charts, variously anthemic, celebratory and elegiac, have a familiar feel, but retain the ability to please if not surprise. They also offer launchpads, if needed, for the expansive freewheeling horn solos which illuminate the date. Dikeman and Vicente have developed a fine understanding over the years, which can also be heard on Live At Zaal 100 (Clean Feed, 2016) and Salão Brazil (NoBusiness, 2017) among other places, spawning some blistering interplay. Stewart and Govaert generate a superlative free pulsation, unpredictable, tonally varied but naggingly propulsive. Put all four together and the results are stellar.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Anahata + Little Dance; Lu��sa's Laugh + House In The Valley.

Personnel

Luis Vicente

trumpet

John Dikeman

saxophone, tenor

Luke Stewart

bass, electric

Onno Govaert

drums

Album information

Title: House In The Valley | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Clean Feed

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