KIKO LOUREIRO: Universo Inverso (JAZZ): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With "Universo Inverso", Kiko Loureiro signs here his second opus in solo. As with the previous "No Gravity", it is in the instrumental that the guitarist of Angra likes to express himself on the occasion of his solitary escapades. But while "No Gravity" showed his technical aspect and exacerbated metal that we can hear in the last "Aurora Consurgens" of Angra where the instrumental passages are more frequent, "Universo Inverso" offers us another facet of his musical universe.

For this reason, Kiko Loureiro surrounded himself with musicians native from his lands: Yaniel Matos on piano, Cuca Teixeira on drums and Carlinhos Noronha on bass... A quartet formation, far from the heavy schemes! With this formation, strongly oriented jazz, the musical proposal is thus deeply modified, in a way that we did not know him and of which we would have hardly suspected it before.

In about ten titles, this album immerses us into various musical atmospheres, tinged with jazz, bossa, samba and other Latin colors... The whole album, in a rather purified form, lets express the beauty and the touch of each musician. Most of the tracks then put forward the compositions and the piano themes beautifully enhanced by a guitar used with a slight rise and a rhythmic section that grooves. But be careful, because even if you are a fan of jazz colors and improvisations, it will take several listenings to appreciate a content that seems to be disjointed at first... Once you have been through this stage, you will have the extreme pleasure to fully grasp and enjoy the beauty of the themes and arrangements composed and/or improvised.

In the end, this "Universo Inverso" is a real surprise! The whole is magnificently played and one will remember, once again, a true alchemy created between the four instruments, more particularly the guitar and the piano. Kiko Loureiro unveils himself a little more on this album and we discover an artist able to express himself totally on a register at the antipodes of what we know of him. Isn't this the hallmark of great musicians? - Official website

KIKO LOUREIRO

UNIVERSO INVERSO

FRONTIERS RECORDS

JAZZ