The Room

Back in 1964 American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto released Getz/Gilberto, one of the bestselling jazz albums of all time, which helped popularise bossa nova. 60 years later, Brazilian guitarist Fabiano Do Nascimento and American saxophonist Sam Gendel have released their own delightful collaboration, which owes a debt to Getz/Gilberto and to the music of another Getz collaborator, the Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell.

Recorded in two days, the ten tracks of The Room use Indigenous melodies and popular old Brazilian tunes as jumping-off points. The arrangements are even more minimalist than Getz and Gilberto. There’s nothing but seven-string guitar and soprano saxophone here – no vocals, no rhythm section. While Gilberto and Getz rejoiced in a delicious languor, Do Nascimento and Gendel are less laid-back. There’s an energy, even a sense of agitation, in tracks like the urgent ‘Capricho’ and in the fluttering harmonics – like a small sonic firework display – on ‘Astral Flowers’. Gendel remarkably manages to make his instrument sound as much like a flute as a saxophone, perfectly complimented by Do Nascimento’s mellifluous guitar playing.