Artist: George Haslam & Mário Rua
Title: Maresia
Cat Number: SLAMCD331
Year released: 2016
Format: CD & all digital platforms
Barcode: 5028386633020
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Free jazz duo recording between reed player George Haslam (on clarinet and tarogato) and Portuguese drummer Mário Rua.
George Haslam explains how the recording came about: “It was like that scene from The Benny Goodman Story where Goodman calls at a café and the proprietor happens to be Lionel Hampton – a bit far fetched but here I was in the Taberna do Vilarinho, Lisbon. I had no idea the chef was a brilliant drummer – Mario Rua. Manager Diogo Teixeira Lopes and mutual friend Miguel Martins introduced us and arranged the recording session before a live audience in the taberna. Maresia is a Portuguese sea breeze; the track titles are names of coastal locations in Portugal and (Fleetwood) in England.”
George Haslam: tarogato, clarinet
Mário Rua: drums
“The two musicians met more or less by chance in Portugal and the result is a very stimulating, free encounter, the schawm-like sounds which Haslam’s tárogató generates stimulating Rua to give free rein to his rhythms. All of this music is impulsive and unstructured and carries a certain bleakness, but is exquisitely inspiring and completely honest.” – Ken Cheetham, Jazz Views
“There are only four tunes, so you get a lot of improvisation and fiery free forms. The sharper tarogato is declaratory as he arm wrestles with the dramatic and extroverted drums on “Cabo Espichel” while on clarinet he pleads on the hard driving and flailing Rua on “Alfama.” Long tones form a folk melody over the muscular thrashing sticks on “Arrabida”.” – George Harris, Jazz Weekly
“There are four long pieces on this spirited duet disc, each one from 9 to 17 minutes long. “Cabo Espichel” is the first and longest track. While sounds as if he is playing some sombre soprano sax while Mr. Rua plays in spacious support with his lovely mallet-work. The is a long, dialogue or exchange between two men who sounds like friends. The music here is both contained yet expressive. The dialogue gets more heated as time goes on so be patient as things evolve through different scenes in the ongoing story.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
“The tarogato is an engaging reed instrument sounding a bit like a cross between a bagpipe and oboe. Haslam’s approach to these improvs reminds me a bit of Joe McPhee in that one senses the improvs are very immediate in its direction occasionally falling into familiar themes. The level of intensity stays high for most of this which can get tiring on ones senses but other than that endemic fact of some music, this is a fine adventure.” – R. D. Rusch, Papatamus
Recorded live Taberna do Vilarinho , Lisbon 12-13th March 2014
Recorded and mastered by Miguel Raposo Lima