Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Rodrigo Amado / Chris Corsano: No Place to Fall

Rodrigo Amado / Chris Corsano: No Place to Fall

By John Sharpe
December 8, 2019
View read count

Rodrigo Amado / Chris Corsano: No Place to Fall

Portuguese saxophonist

Rodrigo Amado

saxophone, tenor
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Rodrigo Amado's early output has been notable for the freewheeling interplay between him and other talented horn players like trombonist

Jeb Bishop

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeb Bishop, trumpeter

Peter Evans

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Evans and multi-instrumentalist

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe McPhee. It's the quartet he fronts with McPhee which contains the seed for this Lisbon studio date from summer 2014, in that it includes the drummer on the session here,

Chris Corsano

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Corsano. At this juncture the musicians had recorded one album, the well-received This Is Our Language (Not Two, 2015) and were three years away from their next, the terrific A History Of Nothing (Trost, 2018). But here Amado shows himself more than capable of holding center stage throughout.

Alongside him, Corsano brings all his long experience in the saxophone/drums format to bear, having partnered with American force of nature

Paul Flaherty

saxophone, tenor
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Flaherty on numerous occasions. But of course his ambit stretches much wider, famously taking in stints with Bj?rk, as well as associations with reedman

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker and trumpeter

Nate Wooley

trumpet
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Nate Wooley, and he also incorporates some of that artifice into his roiling cavalcade. As a result he fashions a controlled eruption which alternates between rhythmic patterns almost constantly, but in a way responsive to the overall thrust.

Across five off-the-wall creations, the source of the success lies in the pacing, even if the final destination is often the sort of glorious full spate expression typified by "Announcement." After an explosive start the group combines to impart a furious momentum, although Corsano varies the intensity behind Amado's gruff, obsessive rant, keeping it aloft on a series of continually cresting waves of sound. Even in the midst of his outpouring Amado remains prudent, sticking in the middle register, worrying away at simple extemporized motifs like a dog at a bone, until breaking into hoarse, inchoate cries only at the very end. It's a winning gambit revisited throughout.

Cuts like "Don't Take It Too Bad" provide the contrasts with the rest of the program, exposing the pathos which offsets the punishment. Amado begins with gusty phrases set amid silence, eventually shadowed by distant percussion. While the reedman continues serene, Corsano develops an uneven backdrop. Yet when they take an assertive stance, it proves only temporary as they regroup behind unfussy figures, which emphasize the tension between Amado's restraint and the drummer's breathless delivery.

Even so it's not until the closing "We'll Be Here In The Morning," where the saxophonist's hushed melodicism is set against brushed patter, that you could describe proceedings as laid back. The track ends on a ruminative note, with Amado's murmuring tenor tailing Corsano's glacially slow martial cadence. But whatever the metaphysical weather, the album clears out the ears in a varied and engaging style, all the while signaling Amado as a major voice.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Announcement; Don't Take It Too Bad; No Place To Fall; Into The Valley; We��ll Be Here In The Morning.

Personnel

Rodrigo Amado / Chris Corsano

Rodrigo Amado: tenor saxophone; Chris Corsano: drums.

Album information

Title: No Place to Fall | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Astral Spirits

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Sync! Ned Rothenberg, Samir Chatterj...
< Previous

Let It Bleed: 50th Anniversary Limit...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.