The Room embraces a seemingly limitless sense of place, defying the cloistered implications of its title. Set for release January 26 on Real World Records, this vibrant instrumental collaboration between Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento and American saxophonist Sam Gendel conveys a vast intimacy. And if that seems like an oxymoron, so be it.
Billed as a “unique journey through lesser-known musical landscapes and traditions stretching from Argentina to the Amazon,” The Room’s 10 tracks are informed by indigenous melodies and choice bits of the traditional Brazilian songbook. Each derives its masterful mystique from the unique and accomplished interplay of do Nascimento’s atmospheric seven-string guitar and Gendel’s flute-like soprano sax.
Growing up surrounded by music in Rio de Janiero, do Nascimento attended the esteemed Conservatório de Música Brasileiro before finding his way to Los Angeles. Like do Nascimento, Gendel started playing in grade school, bolstering his evolution with deep dives into South American folk music and the work of jazz luminaries like John Coltrane and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He went on to work with American singer/songwriters Ry Cooder, Sam Amidon, Moses Sumney and others. As solo artists, Gendel and do Nascimento have been prolific over the past decade, releasing more than 20 albums between them.
Recorded over two days in a basement studio in Pacific Palisades, Calif., The Room is the latest culmination of an on-and-off partnership that began 13 years ago, when Gendel sat in on a gig by do Nascimento’s Latin jazz group Triorganico.
We’re proud to premiere The Room track “Poeira” today.
—Hobart Rowland
