Felipe Salles
South American Suite
Curare Records
By George W. Harris

Brazilian saxophonist and composer Felipe Salles has put out an ambitious of South American music, delivered in a most unusual way. While all of the songs contain elements of the alluring and seductive Brazilian groove, Salles has added rich textures, and sometimes moments of avante garde experimentation, to make the album either frustrating or endearing. There is no doubt about the celebratory joy and rich harmonies of tunes like “Seven Days” and “Unborn Choro”. The freshness and exhilaration by the nonet in the ensemble passages is breathtakingly beautiful. The subtle rhythmic changes in the 14 minute “Three Views” is embracing and enticing. Salles’ soprano and tenor work on these pieces is full of vigor. Some moments on other songs, like “Xote Monco” and “Family Ties” have a disjointed darkness that lack direction. This is to be forgiven when grasping the entire wholeness of a brave and visionary musical experiment such as this. Lots of ideas are flying around on this disc, and it is an important step in the right direction.