Mário Laginha, Jangada, Edition ****

Few albums begin with such formidable tracks as 'Short Shore' and you could stop right there because this sweeping piano trio piece from the pianist Mário Laginha with double bassist Bernardo Moreira and drummer Alexandre Frazão has such a lot of …

Published: 25 Feb 2022. Updated: 24 months.

Few albums begin with such formidable tracks as 'Short Shore' and you could stop right there because this sweeping piano trio piece from the pianist Mário Laginha with double bassist Bernardo Moreira and drummer Alexandre Frazão has such a lot of authority to it and covers so much ground. The style throughout the album falls in the modern-mainstream domain meaning it's fairly melodic and there is a certain easy to navigate structure to the arc of each piece. I found myself more interested in Laginha's playing than in the trio and the album because of this certainly works as a pianistic statement as much as anything else. The Portuguese player isn't at all caught up in experimenting with form, it's more an album where heart on sleeve expressionism and a certain romantic character is more important and few can tease out a melody say on a track such as 'Ribeira da Barca' as well as Laginha can on what is a deeply persuasive record.

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Binker and Moses, Feeding the Machine, Gearbox ****

You need stamina to be a Binker and Moses listener as this incendiary sax and drum duo do not have ''hold back'' in their vocabulary. That comes with its own perils. And the solution to full-on extravagance here is to change all production …

Published: 25 Feb 2022. Updated: 24 months.

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You need stamina to be a Binker and Moses listener as this incendiary sax and drum duo do not have ''hold back'' in their vocabulary. That comes with its own perils. And the solution to full-on extravagance here is to change all production rationale by recording in the west country at top pop studio Real World and by adding a contribution from Partikel bassist Max Luthert with electronics and tape loops engineered by Hugh Padgham famed for his ''gated drum'' innovation heard on the Phil Collins classic 'In the Air Tonight' (1981). Opener 'Asynchronus Intervals' has a thoughtful almost remorseful feel to it so the mood is different. But the fireworks can still be found on this fine album amid the haze and woozy meditations when Binker Golding really opens up into a full-on Coltranian space. 'Feed Infinite' is easily the best track but there are plenty of other goodies here and once again the chemistry between Binker and Moses Boyd is remarkable. Binker and Moses 2.0? Perhaps. Certainly Luthert and the handsome sound have helped add new life to the basic spark of intent and what a thrill it is.