From the slums of Recife in northeastern Brazil to the international jazz icon: Amaro Freitas has tirelessly worked to become the artist he is today. With his debut album Sangue Negro (2016), he gained international attention for "such a unique approach to the keyboard that it astounds" (Downbeat) and was immediately celebrated by the press. After Rasif (2018), the impressive work Sankofa was released in 2021 – a spiritual journey in search of the forgotten stories, ancient philosophies, and inspiring personalities of black Brazil, which he seamlessly continues with Y’Y (2024) to carry on the saga.
With the support of Jean Elton (bass) and Hugo Medeiros (drums), who have formed his trio from the beginning, Amaro employs complex rhythms and tempo variations, as if he were reinterpreting the ancient designs of his ancestors, and each track is imbued with a message or story that Amaro is eager to tell. These people, places, and stories are Amaro's starting point. "I begin with these theories, these ideas, but then emotions flow into the notes; it's my interpretation of this knowledge translated into music." Amaro's influences include the evangelical church, his hometown Recife, funk music, samba, maracatu, and frevo. However, like the Sankofa bird, Amaro's music looks back, but at its core, it is contemporary music. "It is a continuation; it connects with the people of today and represents the current events."
Like all of Amaro's albums, Sankofa took about two years, with the trio spending eight hours a day, four days a week in the studio. "We value the creative process. We know that it takes time to reach a different place, and then it takes time to understand and translate that place. If we want to leave our comfort zone, the key factors are time, devotion, discipline, and wisdom. Months go by, and the ideas start to come together. Time is the most important thing. Without it, we won’t get to where we want to go. This is the message I want to pass on to future generations: Let’s slow down, let’s give ourselves more time, let’s do deeper things. Let’s stop swimming on the surface, let’s dive."
Entry: 7:30 PM