Personnel:
Jonny Wickham (b, g, perc), Ben Brown (d, perc), Greg Sanders (g), Lyle Barton (keyb), Jeremy Shaverin (perc), Irini Arabatzi (vcl), Tom Barford (woodwinds), James Copus (flh), Rosie Bergonzi (perc), Jonny Mansfield (vib), Tom Hutchison (perc)
Reference: FSNT-654
Bar code: 8427328436540
My influences for the music on this record were so sprawling, that there had to be some elements (apart from my brilliant band) to hold it all together as one cohesive sound. So fundamentally this is my love letter to the many beautiful Afro Brazilian rhythms that I have studied over the past few years.
‘Terra Boa’ is Portuguese for ‘Good Earth’. In respect to the vibrant and fertile musical landscape of Brazil. Good earth which nourished the growth of my own unique musical branches from strong and deep roots. The grooves are heavily influenced by Afro Brazilian rhythmic traditions, which along with contemporary jazz harmony and improvisation, form the backbone of the music.
The conceptual unification of the music on the album was derived from the Japanese aesthetic concept of Wabi-Sabi. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi is a world view centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection and the appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes. This is exemplified by Enso, a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes with ink to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. These seven dimensions of Wabi-Sabi, Fukinsei (asymmetry; irregularity), Kanso (simplicity), Koko (basic; weathered), Shizen (without pretence; natural), Yugen (subtly profound grace), Datsuzoku (freedom), and Seijaku (tranquility), gave me an idea of balance when composing the seven studio tracks [...]
—Jonny Wickham (Excerpt from the inside liner notes)
"This debut album from London bassist, composer and bandleader Jonny Wickham presents a heartfelt love letter to Afro-Brazilian rhythmic traditions. The scene-setting opener ‘Mono No Aware’ gently draws you into a beguiling soundworld, a free-time, multilayered collage. Motifs on handpan, guitar and piano, coupled with a constantly shifting bed of percussion, gradually coalesce into a beautiful melodic line presented first in soprano sax and guitar, before being taken up by the crystalline tones of vocalist Irini Arabatzi, who is a key presence throughout. ‘Neon Muse’ reveals a different facet of Wickham's artistry, a sumptuous ballad (with lyrics by Yasmin Nabavi) blessed with a big-hearted contribution from Tom Barford on tenor sax. Underpinned by the incredibly rich superimposition of maculelê, ijexá and maracatu rhythms, the sublime ‘Space and Time’ features one of this year's great earworms in the form of Arabatzi and guitarist Greg Sanders’ unison melodic line. With music by Wickham and lyrics (in Portuguese) by London-based singer-songwriter Inês Loubet Franco, the pulsating, samba-fuelled title track crackles with life and a compelling, danceable energy. An album which ranges from the most delicate, susurrating timbres to the most forceful improvisational freedom, Terra Boa is a fascinating, brilliantly realised collection."
—Peter Quinn (October, 2023)
https://www.songlines.co.uk
