[…] Trilla fits agreeably into the Creative Sources aesthetic, which values collective mood-building over individual displays of prowess. Nepenthes Hibrida was recorded live a few days before Christmas 2016, and features Trilla, violist and label boss Ernesto Rodrigues, cellist Miguel Mira, Yedo Gibson on soprano saxophone, and a notably minimalist Luis Lopes on electric guitar.


“I” ventures carefully, the players difficult to distinguish within the hushed activity. Eventually, Gibson begins to goad the other players into raising the volume, and the music moves fluidly between periods of agitation and near silence. By the arrival of “II”, the group have worked themselves into a knot of activity, with Trilla taking an open, aggressive approach and Lopes at one point sounding like he’s tearing the wiring out of his own amplifier. The track reaches the levels of terrible beauty that Völga have so perfected: a stationary, towering monolith of sound, conveying not narrative or moment, but only sheer presence. “IV” highlights the interesting interaction Gibson and Trilla have developed through their duo work, sounding like the groaning of swaying skyscrapers. In all, Nepenthes Hibrida captures a wide-ranging performance, one that nicely bridges some of the contrasting approaches and sensibilities the five musicians bring to the collaboration. Dan Sorrells (The Free Jazz Collective)

Przed nami niezwyk?a hybryda! Pi?ciog?owy stwór swobodnej improwizacji, na który sk?adaj? si?: Ernesto Rodrigues – altówka, Yedo Gibson – saksofon sopranowy i frula (flet ba?ka?ski), Miguel Mira - wiolonczela, Luis Lopes – gitara elektryczna, Vasco Trilla ‎– perkusjonalia. Spotkanie muzyczne zrealizowane u progu ubieg?orocznych ?wi?t grudniowych, w Lizbonie (O'culto da Ajuda), na koncercie. Cztery utwory potrwaj? 46 minut, p?yta z dokumentacj? fonograficzn? zwie si? Nepenthes Hibrida, a ukaza?a si? dzi?ki Creative Sources. Podmiotem muzycznym s? personalia ca?ej pi?tki, wymienione w kolejno?ci, w jakiej prezentowa?em muzyków kilka wierszy wy?ej.

I. T?usty ?cieg perkusyjny jako t?o, kontrastuj?ce pasa?e trzech strunowców (w tym jednego pod pr?dem), jako danie zasadnicze. Saksofon sopranowy zapl?tany w wewn?trzn? improwizacj?, niczym Trevor Watts u boku Johna Stevensa, jakie? 45 lat temu. Ze strony ka?dego z muzyków a? iskrzy pomys?ami. Ciekawe mikrodysonanse elektroakustyczne ze strony Lopesa. W 5 minucie zwinna ekspozycja Miry, na tle pl?sów altówki, wiedzie orszak improwizacji samym ?rodkiem galaktyki. Strings Rules! Zej?cie w cisz? ambientu i sonorystyki mistrzowskie! Powrót z b?yskotliw? repetycj? sopranu (rodzaj p?tli). Kolektywna, konwulsyjna droga na szczyt, który muzycy osi?gaj? w 10 minucie.

II. Oddech ciszy. Pojedyncze d?wi?ki, szepty, chroboty, tarcia i mikroiskrzenia. Step by step muzycy wchodz? w interakcje i serwuj? wi?ksze partie d?wi?ków. Ale nadal posuwaj? si? do przodu… stoj?c na palcach (8 min). By nie sp?oszy? ciszy, by na powrót si? w niej zanurzy?. Epizody po 11 minucie znów przypominaj? recenzentowi niezwyk?e czasy Spontaneous Music Ensemble, tym razem tego strunowego, po roku 1975. Eskalacja, która nast?puje tu? potem, smakuje perfekcj? i niebywa?? wra?liwo?ci?. Spora aktywno?? Trilli i Gibsona stale dynamizuje poczynania kwintetu i nie pozwala strunowcom (zw?aszcza akustycznym) na kameralistyczne grepsy.

III. Rezonans na gryfie Lopesa! Trzaski na tomach Trilli! Suchy oddech Gibsona! Zwinne palcówki Miry i Rodriguesa! Spokojna, ale g?sta narracja, definitywnie nieha?a?liwa. Akustyczne strunowce przejmuj? dowodzenie! Odrobina poj?kiwania w estetyce call & response. Pi?kny fina?!

IV. Vasco popada z rezonans. Miguel i Ernesto wchodz? mu w pó? zdania i pyskuj?. Yedo snuje separatywn? opowie?? w molowej nietonacji. Altówka ci?gnie w raz z nim ten nostalgiczny pasa?. Niespodziewana zmiana narracji – strunowce id? w galop (ale bez Lopesa), prawdziwy taniec na gryfach! Struny a? iskrz?! Troch? molekularnych interakcji, du?o d?wi?ków w jednostce czasu. Strings rules again! W tle frula Yedo (a mo?e to sopran?). Eskalacja zdaje si? tu by? najlepszym rozwi?zaniem – pnie si? ku górze, krwawi?c obficie nieoczywist? doskona?o?ci?. Muzycy spleceni w jedno cia?o, stawiaj? stempel za stemplem. Znów szczypta molekularno?ci w estetyce SME. Trilla pod??cza jazzowy drumming! Jak?e ?wietny komentarz! Mira idzie z nim w to wulgarne tango! Gibson dorzuca do ognia niebanalne trzy grosze. Konkretnie free jazzowy galop! Whaw! Konwulsyjny fina? doskona?ej p?yty! Puenta ze strony Vasco i Yedo (okaryna?) wy?mienita!

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W uzupe?nieniu tegorocznej dyskografii perkusisty z Barcelony, warto podkre?li?, i? wy?ej omówiona p?yta nie jest jedyn?, jak? nagra? on dla Creative Sources, w towarzystwie Ernesto Rodriguesa. T? drug? jest kr??ek Blattwerk, a muzykami j? wspó?tworz?cymi: Harald Kimmig (skrzypce), Guilherme Rodrigues i Miguel Mira – wiolonczele. Prawdziwy String Quartet w perkusjonaliami w roli czwartego strunowca. (Trybuna Muzyki Spontannicznej)

Blattwerk was followed closely by a couple of other quintets, both featuring Ernesto Rodrigues & Miguel Mira (the latter consistently on cello here), and both with not only electric guitar, but a horn as well. Nepenthes hibrida was actually recorded a couple of months prior to Blattwerk (in Lisbon this past December), and once again features Vasco Trilla, with Luis Lopes on guitar & Yedo Gibson on soprano sax & frula (a Serbian vertical shepherds' flute). I had not heard of Gibson previously, but he's from Brazil & has performed extensively in duo (& otherwise) with Trilla. I've referred to Lopes a couple of times here, most recently via his duo with Fred Lonberg-Holm: Whereas his playing sometimes involves extensive rock distortion, even a massive wall of sound, here it's much more subtle — with no "rock guitar" in evidence. The title of Nepenthes hibrida refers to carnivorous pitcher plants — not so unlike Natura venomous, perhaps, albeit with no performers in common — & further suggests human-nature interaction via hybridity. There are four tracks, and I find the first to be quite potent: The five musicians are all active, forging a dense & differentiated outpouring of polyphonic interaction right from the start. The result almost comes to seem like film music at times with its potent string "sawing" — & indeed the strings set much of the tone throughout — & bold presence via an unusual (for Rodrigues anyway) degree of rhythmic structure. (And Trilla is outstanding here.) Even the requisite fade leaves a sense of potency hanging in the air, a certain tautness, upon building from the quiet center of the track. (Gibson's particular contributions start to become more distinct, showing a tendency to come from background to foreground & back, almost mimicking the "sawing" of the strings, such that the horn can fade into the texture.) The second track opens in a rather subdued mood, however, as more than half of its length revels in calm, featuring some resonances & plucking, before emerging into more active counterpoint, to the point of almost starting to sputter (to fit awkwardly into its rhythmic jacket) at the end. The third opens in quiet again, before different (whistling, scraping — jungle?) sounds start to array themselves in space, gathering momentum into a fascinating collective texture. (I particularly find myself listening to the viola for much of this track.) After a warping percussive opening, the final track slowly becomes more string-oriented again, particularly via glissandi, and even features something of a (cello) melody amid resonant lines of flight. As the other performers become quiet or silent, it might be said to present something of the same (trio) ensemble as on Traintracks Roadsides Wastelands Debris, albeit in a different context, and before speeding up for a driving conclusion with the return of drums & horn. So where's the sense of hybrid music among such chirping & growling — among other sounds, including traffic already in the latter part of the first track? Beyond juxtaposing jungle sounds & traffic, there's also a sense of process, i.e. of where a track starts & ends up. There's also a sense of hybridizing two duos who regularly play together, e.g. Rodrigues-Mira & Trilla-Gibson, with Lopes (and his cross-genre orientation) presumably part of the alchemy (or is that genetic modification?) between them. I very much enjoy the opening, and there are a wide variety of fascinating interactions throughout the album — it seems as though many of the combinations could be developed (or hybridized) further: It's an issue with a quintet, or a strength, that there are so many combinations to explore. The sense of the carnivorous, the sense of danger, does seem to fade as Nepenthes hibrida proceeds though. Perhaps that's the idea, for us to feel more at home in the world. [...] 15 June 2017. Todd McComb's Jazz Thoughts

 

A supergroup consisting of four stars of the Lisbon scene and one of the Barcelona scene, with some Portuguese blood, however. This album was recorded live at O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon.
Stylistically, the music is similar to other "strings" of Vasco with Portuguese viola and cello masters  the big difference is addition of the phenomenal Yedo Gibson and Luis Lopes. The opening "I" is a powerful track, with a great dialogue of the guitar and the soprano, followed by a nice duo of the viola and finger picked cello. Vasco add to all of it not only an obvious salt and pepper, but also his own innite creativity. "II" starts with some "fake" sounds of the percussion, and a beautiful guitar lines.
The viola and cello solos are very touching. "III" starts with electric guitar sounds, which are the replaced by another pizzicato cello and viola dialogue, with delicate, yet necessary drumming support. "IV" closes the set  the drumming is here more intense. Strings and guitar trio is unbelievably fast. The final soprano-drums duo, with small, but essential viola accents, is a pearl. Maciej Lewenstein