BRAND! 2018 - Day 1

It is almost impossible to believe that Santos Silva made her debut as the leader of various ensembles only seven years ago. Since then, the trumpet player has emerged as one of the key players of her generation, whether in Portugal or much further afield. She caught our eye with LAMA, a trio that brought out two albums with the reed player Joachim Badenhorst. Not long afterwards, she brought out an award-winning live album with De Beren Gieren. She has appeared more and more often with international heavyweights including Mats Gustafsson (Fire! Orchestra, Nu Ensemble) and Kaja Draksler. The stunning solo album she brought out early this year was recorded in the National Pantheon in Lisbon. After hearing that, we just can’t wait for her solo concert at St. Rumbold's Cathedral.

A journalist once compared Chamber 4’s sound to the flight of starlings: together they make unpredictable movements in space. Sometimes slowly, sometimes incredibly fast. And there is a whole history behind it. Two old friends, Marcelo Dos Reis (guitar) and Luís Vicente (trumpet) found their ideal counterparts in the French brothers Théo and Valentin Ceccaldi (violin and cello). It is a combination that has surely shaped the quartet’s unique sound. The appearance of Carlos Zíngaro will be an extra-special event at BRAND! 2018. It is no exaggeration to call him the godfather of Portuguese improvisation: grab this exceptional opportunity to hear him play with the younger generation.

Is Carlos Zíngaro (Chamber 4) the godfather of Portuguese improvisation? If so, Sei Miguel is its mysterious sphinx. The trumpet player has been on the scene for a good 30 years now, spending most of that time in a universe entirely of his own creation. His first albums are collector’s items now, and his career has taken on somewhat mythic proportions. Miguel plays the way he talks: thoughtfully and shyly, with long pauses. But the remarkable poetry in his playing is unmistakable. Miguel’s style is clearly anchored in jazz. Consider his elegant lyricism that sometimes brings Chet Baker or Art Farmer to mind, without losing any of his unpredictability or wayward temperament. The trombonist Fala Mariam and guitarist Bruno Silva join him in Mechelen for what just might be the most unusual concert on the bill.

Susana Santos Silva has forged an impressive career with her partner Torbjörn Zetterberg (double bass). Both are members of the Jonas Kullhammar Quartet and, besides a duo album, they have also recorded albums with Hampus Lindwall and the quintet Life And Other Transient Storms. At BRAND! 2018 they will introduce the American alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos. The style of this young Brooklyn-based musician feels like a reservoir of decades of experimental music: Anthony Braxton, the fire of free jazz and incendiary dynamics of punk. So hopes are high for a spectacular chemical reaction between Santos Silva, Zetterberg and Pitsiokos. Our prediction? Expect fireworks.