Amaro Freitas

When Amaro Freitas plays the piano, you can hear the water flowing. In his spiritual-sounding music, the jazz musician embarks on a fascinating search for the roots of Afro-Brazilian culture.

Jazz/Afrobrasil Y'Y (pronounced: eey-eh, eey-eh) is a word from the language of the Sateré-Mawé, an indigenous people from the Brazilian Amazon region, and means ‘water’ or ‘river’. Pianist Amaro Freitas chose it as the title of his latest album, which he sees as a tribute to the forest, especially the Amazon forest, and to the rivers of northern Brazil. His rhythmically concise compositions are inspired by Afro-Brazilian and indigenous music cultures, but are also in the tradition of great jazz pianists such as Thelonious Monk and Chick Corea.

Amaro Freitas comes from the coastal city of Recife in north-east Brazil, where he came into contact with a variety of musical traditions. Freitas, who for years did not own a piano and practised on imaginary keys, became one of the most sought-after pianists in his home city and ultimately in the whole of Brazil. Since then, he has performed at the world's most renowned jazz festivals, including North Sea Jazz, Montreux Jazz, Pori Jazz and Nancy Jazz Pulsations.