Sundance

Sundance

A collective jam song about the positive things in life, optimistic, fun and soothing. Starts with brazilian influenced rhythms but suddenly changes into a New Orleans style groove,ending in a collective improvisation. This song features the wonderful trumpetist Bence Táborszky.

For Scott

A tribute to Matheus’ recently passed pandeiro teacher/influence. The song itself has a split personality, with one side being european and mellow, the other being bluesy, reminiscent of the classic cool jazz recordings of the 60’s.

Spring Samba

A tricky samba song that is built from many puzzle pieces. Bassist József Barcza-Horváth plays an integral role in this song, acting as a bridge between the piano and the pandeiro, also playing a wonderful solo himself.

Salamandra

This song is a portrait of the last few years of Matheus’ life. Some parts were composed in Brazil and others in Budapest. It took quite a long time to be finished, or actually, took as long as it needed to. The best gift I got while being this far from home has been how deep and strong my connection to Brazilian music has gotten. I needed that, Salamandra as well.

Minas Gerais

A song that is titled about the region in Brazil where Matheus was born and raised. The county of mines and savannas is a land that is not typically associated with Brazil. The musical influence here is also very different from the well-known sweet and sour Jobim- esque vibes. This is an earthy, sometimes dissonant and more conflicting sound that influenced Gábor to write this song. A song that blends odd rhythms, a swing section, a bluesy bridge and the ultimate samba resolution in also an unusual odd meter. Altogether the pinnacle composition of the album, that merges the European ideas of Gábor with the Brazilian heritage of Matheus.

Just a Riff

An improvisation recorded in one take without almost any preparation during the studio session. Influenced by the Hancock album “Inventions and Dimensions”, it is an open improvisation that counterpoints the strictly written compositions of the other songs.

White Keys

A ballad that is (almost) solely playable on the white keys of the piano. Gábor was searching for a pure tone on the piano, a ballad sound that would sound simple and sincere but also not cliché at the same time. The song uses a very simple looking chord progression with two octaves of C major scale: who would be able to write a modern jazz composition out of these ingredients? Gábor succeeds in doing so and creates an atmospheric ballad with a lot of drama and tension.