Few saxophonists are capable of conjuring as many mutant sounds from their instrument as Sam Gendel. Since his 2017 debut, the LA-based instrumentalist has veered from downtempo melodics on 2018’s breakthrough Music for Saxofone and Bass Guitar to woozy, electronically processed versions of jazz standards on 2020’s Satin Doll and deconstructed R&B classics on 2023’s Cookup. Usually producing at least two albums a year, Gendel’s restless creativity challenges what breath can do through woodwind and Midi synthesis.
Taken in this context, Gendel’s latest project is a departure. Featuring only soprano saxophone and Brazilian collaborator Fabiano do Nascimento’s seven-string guitar, The Room is Gendel’s most straightforwardly acoustic album, and one of his most affecting.
Coaxing a breathy, whisper-soft sound out of his soprano, Gendel perfectly complements Nascimento’s muscular finger-picking harmonics across the album’s 10 tracks. Opener Foi Boto develops a tripping, bossa-influenced guitar groove while Gendel channels his flute-like sound from the saxophone, establishing liquid phrases over the strings. Following numbers Capricho and album highlight Astral Flowers pick up the pace and allow Gendel to soar powerfully within his gentle tone, producing long keening lines over Nascimento’s percussive playing.
Despite its tenderness, The Room isn’t a background listen. Tracks such as Kewere and Poeira are technically complex, with Nascimento playing busy cyclical rhythms while the warmth and breathy punctuation of Gendel’s tone creates an emotive counterpoint, proving that quietude can often produce the greatest impact.
Rather than deliver a pastiche of classic Latin jazz like Stan Getz and João Gilberto’s 1964 sax and guitar album Getz/Gilberto, Gendel and Nascimento’s minimalism establishes The Room as an intimate record of its own. Compact yet spacious-feeling, The Room is a celebration of acoustics; a modern classic from two musicians in full command of their instruments.
Also out this month
Uganda’s Hakuna Kulala label presents another release from the forefront of the country’s lively electronic music scene. MC Ratigan Era’s Era is a fiery blend of dancehall bass and sparkling synths, putting a gritty twist on the Jamaican genre and anchoring it in Era’s baritone flow. Pan-African supergroup Les Amazones d’Afrique return with their third album, Musow Danse (Real World). Setting shuddering 808 basslines and snapping electronic drums against their powerful voices, the group produce their most riotously confrontational record yet. Syncopated Latin rhythms and warped electronics combine on the debut album from singer and bassist Ëda Diaz, Suave Bruta (Airfono). Diaz’s wistful jazz vocal creates a refreshing contrast with her often raw-edged production style, producing highlights like the frenetic Tiemblas.
