Guitarist Flavio Silva brings a new electric charge to his beloved Brazilian jazz with “Eko,” set to arrive on June 7 via his own Break Free Records. The follow-up to 2018’s “Break Free,” Silva’s third album dives deeper into the fusion sound that has always been a bubbling ingredient in his intoxicating mix of various flavors of jazz and Brazilian music.
Brazilian rhythms, of course, have been an indispensable piece of the jazz fusion puzzle since percussionist Airto Moreira played on Miles Davis’s sessions for “Bitches Brew.”
With “Eko,” Silva reinforces the perfect relationship between these sound palettes. “This is an electric album,” says Silva. “Even with acoustic bass, the aesthetic is much more geared towards the electric side.”
This is an electric album. Even with acoustic bass, the aesthetic is much more geared towards the electric side.
This is evident. The opening track “Motaba” is a true whip-crack of power and attitude infused with rock. Additionally, the title track and the closing track “Sunflower” are nothing short of potent and electric material, radiated by both the Fender Rhodes and synthesizers of keyboardist Gabriel Gaiardo and the sinuous yet crystal-clear guitar tone of Silva.
That said, there is no doubt that Brazilian music and more traditional jazz also exert a powerful influence on these seven tracks. “Pare de Saranhar Meu Cabelo Menino” is notably light and delicate, driven by the brushwork on the cymbals of Cuca Teixeira and the solid acoustic bass of Sidiel Vieira; both “Dom Quixote” by Milton Nascimento and “To Blade and Cowherd” by Silva showcase a lighter, post-bop-oriented touch; and “Heroes and Friends,” despite its searing electric textures, ultimately swings hard.
This speaks as much about Silva’s collaborators on “Eko” as it does about the guitarist himself. Gaiardo, Teixeira, and Vieira are three of the most acclaimed and sought-after musicians in the musically rich city of São Paulo, where they have cultivated a repertoire as broad as it is deep, thus establishing themselves as equals to Silva by any standard. You can hear that in the music.
Flavio Silva was born February 11, 1985 in São Paulo, Brazil. His home was immersed in music, whether it was the northeastern folk music his father loved or the more contemporary MPB preferred by his mother. Silva himself preferred the sounds of American black pop music: funk and R&B, which inspired him to experiment with the guitar he grew up hearing his father’s friends play.
At 13, Silva’s guitar teacher introduced him to fusion jazz guitarists; a later teacher introduced him to acoustic jazz. The discovery literally changed his life. It set him on the path to obtaining a degree in jazz, which led him to the professional jazz circles of São Paulo — and then to Europe. He spent six years in Belgium and the Netherlands, honing his technique and recording his self-titled debut album with expatriate Brazilian compatriots (including drummer Cuca Teixeira).
The next stop was New York, where Silva enrolled at Queens College in 2015 to obtain a master’s degree in jazz studies. His teachers included guitarists Paul Bollenback and Mike Moreno, as well as alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, who launched Silva into the infinitely fertile scene of New York. He soon became a first-call guitarist among the jazz elite, several of whom joined him to record his second album, “Break Free” — a significant milestone for the young guitarist.
However, the release of “Break Free” in 2018 coincided with the global COVID-19 pandemic, and Silva chose to wait out the lockdowns in his hometown of São Paulo. His return and two-year stay in the Brazilian metropolis led him to reconnect with his local peers. The fruits of this reconnection are “Eko,” which reflects everything the guitarist has accomplished and learned in his established musical career.