Trio Ciclos

Trio Ciclos is comprised of three of Brazil’s brightest stars on its contemporary jazz scene: Pianist Edson Santanna, bassist Bruno Migotto and drummer Alex Buck. With influences drawn from both the 20th century artist Alexander Calder and North American composer Earle Brown, “Mobiles Vol 1” presents a unique improvisational system, called “Mobiles”,  that encourages each member to access a deeper level of jazz and improvisational language.

In the nascent stages of Trio Ciclos, the group began by constructing a repertoire of both their own compositions and sophisticated arrangements of Brazilian standards. Throughout the course of over nine years of work, arrangements of songs such as “Alvorada” (Cartola), “Chega de Saudade” (T. Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes), as well as their own compositions, were given the “Mobile” treatment.

Buck, Migotto, and Santanna have always been influenced by the “creative side of jazz.” These musicians thoroughly admire groups that, in their respective eras, break down barriers of musical rhetoric and extend the possibilities of their creative ideas. “In particular, the Miles Davis Quintet (1965-68), Hermeto Pascoal’s group  (1980 - 1995) and, more recently, the Wayne Shorter Quartet have been hugely influential,” said drummer Buck. The influences of avant-garde concert music (20th and 21st century), Brazilian folk and electroacoustic music are also elements that the listener can grasp in Ciclos' poethics.

In particular, the influences of artist, Alexander Calder and composer Earle Brown, have become significant to the evolution of Trio Ciclos’ trademark improvisation method. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Calder, who was one of the pioneers of kinetic art, created the first shifting sculptures; structures light enough and able to take different configurations with air currents. In later years, The North American composer Earle Brown applied Calder’s ingenious concept to the musical universe, by creating structures that could appear superimposed or juxtaposed in different orders accordingly to the conductor’s will, right at the moment of the performance.

Trio Ciclos then applied the visions of these inspirational creatives to their own scope of jazz and Brazilian instrumental music. This inventive edge not only gave Trio Ciclos a unique voice among the rich landscape of jazz trios worldwide, but allowed each musician to make collective decisions in real time.

Another aspect which reinforces their identity comes from their love of innovation and experimentation. This is the interaction with computer resources. Whether processing sounds coming out of their own instruments (live electronics), or acting as a sort of fourth player improvising along with them, the computer interaction helps to produce an expansion of the timber of this classic formation (piano, acoustic bass and drums).

The second volume of the “Mobiles” series was recorded at the same time (December 2015), and will be released in early 2018.