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Felipe Salles

Since founding the Interconnections Ensemble in 2016, saxophonist/bandleader Felipe Salles has used the group not just as a showcase for his powerful big band compositions but as a vehicle for illuminating diverse perspectives on the immigrant experience. The ensemble’s 2018 debut, The Lullaby Project, reflected his personal journey through the lullabies of his native Brazil, while its 2020 follow-up, The New Immigrant Experience, channeled anger and frustration over the tempestuous political climate into a tribute to “Dreamers” – the hundreds of thousands of people protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

With Home Is Here, his third album with the Interconnections Ensemble, Salles draws inspiration from his fellow immigrants in the jazz community. Out May 12, 2023 via Tapestry Records, the album features eight majestic new compositions, each written for and directly inspired by an individual soloist.

Salles chose a diverse and compelling cast of special guests for the recording, spanning an array of nationalities, cultures, traditions, generations, and most importantly, stories: legendary saxophonist/ clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera (Cuba); vocalist Sofia Rei (Argentina); saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart (Guadeloupe); flugelhornist Nadje Noordhuis (Australia); vocalist Magos Herrera (Mexico); saxophonist/percussionist Yosvany Terry (Cuba); guitarist Chico Pinheiro (Brazil); and saxophonist Melissa Aldana (Chile).

In order to tailor his new pieces for the featured artists, Salles began by selecting a cross-section of the jazz scene whose work he admires and connects with, and whose stories intrigued him for their parallels and differences from his own. He then arranged Zoom interview sessions (availability wasn’t much of an issue during the height of the pandemic) and spoke to each of his subjects at length. Finally he drew from those conversations to craft a composition that embodied each individual’s personal journey.

“There’s a bit of an anthropological curiosity underneath this whole project,” Salles says. “The conversations were fascinating and helped me find ways to write music that felt connected with people's personalities and stories.”

Opener “Re-Invention,” for instance, is a play on words drawn from a comment Rivera made about musicians constantly having to reinvent themselves. Salles ran with that idea while contemplating the breadth of the woodwind master’s storied career; he referenced Rivera’s classical technique by bookending the piece with segments hinting at a Bach invention, and steering through sections inspired by tango, Brazilian chorinho and Afro-Cuban traditions.

Rei penned the lyrics to “Meridian 63,” which Salles wrote with the singer’s experiences in jazz, classical, pop and folk musics in mind. The complex piece utilizes Argentinean influences and a hybrid groove leading into a stunning vocalese in dialogue with the deft band members. Schwarz-Bart used the word “Polymorphous” to describe his approach to fusing his roots and influences, sparking a polyrhythmic piece that diverges into multiple directions.

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Album Review

Felipe Salles: Home Is Here

Read "Home Is Here" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Home Is Here conclude la trilogia del compositore e bandleader brasiliano Felipe Salles (residente dal 1995 negli USA dove insegna all'Università del Massachusetts Amherst) dedicata al tema dell'immigrazione. Un'indagine musicale e multimediale iniziata nel 2018 con The Lullaby Project e proseguita due anni dopo con The New Immigrant Experience, di cui abbiamo già parlato in queste pagine. Qui Salles focalizza il tema dell'immigrazione nel jazz ed ha invitato otto protagonisti della scena di New York ad esibirsi col ...

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Radio & Podcasts

New Music From Felipe Salles, Robin Nitram, Rudy Royston And More

Read "New Music From Felipe Salles, Robin Nitram, Rudy Royston And More" reviewed by Bob Osborne


Featured on this week's show are new releases from Felipe Salles, Robin Nitram, Rudy Royston, Duncan Hopkins, Soft Machine, Mark Dresser, Xavier Charles & Eric Normand, Michael Formanek, Marc Ducret, and Pat Thomas with Chris Sharkey & Luke Reddin-Williams.Playlist Show Intro 00:00 Robin Nitram “African Birds" from Sugar Free (Ramble Records) 00:47 Rudy Royston “A.M. Hours" from Day (Greenleaf) 05:27 Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble “Re-Invention (feat. Paquito D'Rivera)" from Home Is Here (Tapestry Records) 10:04 Duncan Hopkins “St. ...

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Album Review

Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble: Home is Here

Read "Home is Here" reviewed by Troy Dostert


For the third recording from his Interconnections Ensemble, tenor saxophonist and composer Felipe Salles chose to put the artists first--literally. That is, he had extensive conversations with each of the guest musicians on the record before composing the pieces on which each would be featured, thus highlighting their own stylistic and personal characteristics. The result is a polychromatic, adventurous album that allows Salles' multidimensionality as a composer to flourish. And with top-shelf guests such as Melissa Aldana, Paquito D'Rivera, and ...

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Album Review

Felipe Salles: Tiyo's Songs Of Life

Read "Tiyo's Songs Of Life" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Talk about remarkable origins; the music on Tiyo's Songs of Life, performed by tenor saxophonist Felipe Salles' quartet, was written by Tiyo Attallah Salah-El while he was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in a Pennsylvania prison. In spite of his circumstances, Salah-El never lost his love for life, an upbeat frame of mind that is ever-present in these nine sparkling originals. While imprisoned, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees and founded the Coalition for the Abolition ...

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Album Review

Felipe Salles, Zaccao Curtis, Avery Sharpe, Jonathan Butler: Tiyo's Songs Of Life

Read "Tiyo's Songs Of Life" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Embarking on an errant path in his youth led saxophonist Tiyo Attallah Salah-El to life in prison, without the possibility of parole. That is about as grim as it gets, but Salah-El, rather than giving in to defeat, turned himself into a behind-the-bars composer, author and activist. He passed in 2018, but his music came to the attention of saxophonist Felipe Sallas via prison abolitionist Lois Ahrens, who had befriended the imprisoned saxophonist Salaah-El, and even provided him with fifty ...

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Album Review

The New World Jazz Composers Octet: The Next Stage

Read "The Next Stage" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


The jazz octet has long been somewhat of a “Swiss Army Knife" for composer-arrangers. Consider, for example, the great Dave Pell, Ornette Coleman, David Murray, and the J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding Octets. In the hands of great arrangers, the eight-piece format allows arrangers to leverage the flexibility and creativity of a “Messengers" frontline with the total sonic impact of a classic big band. The Next Stage from The New World Jazz Composers Octet is a superb ...

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Album Review

Felipe Salles: The New Immigrant Experience

Read "The New Immigrant Experience" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


The New Immigrant Experience è un lavoro multimediale, che combina musica orchestrale e proiezioni video, ispirato all'esperienza dei Dreamers, persone protette dal programma Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Accanto al compact disc musicale il progetto include quindi un DVD (curato dalla regista Fernanda Faya) in cui Felipe Salles intervista giovani immigrati, raccogliendo storie di vita spesso dolorose. Quelle testimonianze sono servite al bandleader da ispirazione per questo nuovo lavoro col Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble, una big band di 20 elementi ...

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"Felipe Salles has truly taken a step into the future with this CD. He has found a way to incorporate the rich musical heritage of his native country, Brazil (with more than a nod to the genius Hermeto Pascoal), while at the same time incorporating sounds and colors from the advanced harmonies of 20th century contemporary classical music. Possessing a gift for orchestration and arranging, Felipe's music is definitely pointing to the future." --David Liebman

"It’s always refreshing to witness the emergence of new and vibrant talent. Such is the case with saxophonist Felipe Salles new cd Further South. Salles contains an approach that is full of creativity and energy." --Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz.

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Home Is Here

Tapestry Records
2023

buy

Tiyo's Songs Of Life

Tapestry Records
2022

buy

The Next Stage

Big and Phat Jazz Productions
2021

buy

The New Immigrant...

Tapestry Records
2020

buy

Volume II: To Call...

Biophilia Records
2020

buy

The Lullaby Project

Self Produced
2018

buy

Meridian 63

From: Home Is Here
By Felipe Salles

Toe Tappin' Tasty

From: Tiyo's Songs Of Life
By Felipe Salles

Did You Eat?

From: The New Immigrant Experience
By Felipe Salles

Movement 3 - The Leopard

From: Ugandan Suite
By Felipe Salles

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