Hiroko’s Selection: Toninho Ferragutti Quintet

Toninho Ferragutti · Photo vía Facebook.

When it comes to Brazilian accordionists, José Domingos de Morais, better know as Dominguinhos, a 1960-70s icon, and Toninho Ferragutti, who is known as one of today’s top players, come to mind. Tonino Feragutti is an accordionist with a contemporary jazzy feel, and a veteran musician who also composes and arranges music.

Born in 1959, he started his professional career in 1983 and has released more than 10 albums as a leader. His first solo album "Sanfonemas" (2000) was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. Ferragutti has participated in bands such as Hermeto Pascoal, Gilberto Gil, and Edu Lobo’s, and has performed with numerous orchestras such as the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and the Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed extensively as a member of Grammy-winner Maria Schneider's jazz orchestra. Ferragutti is a master of Forró (a Brazilian dance music with roots in the northeastern part of the country), and at the same time, he is one of the top exponents of jazz and contemporary sounds fusion.

Early this month, Oh!Jazz started collaborating with JazzB, a ver iconic Sao Paulo live jazz club, and the first performance featured in the platform was Ferragutti’s led Quintet. The ensemble made up by accordion, guitar, soprano saxophone, bass, and drums performed for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Tonino's familiar accordion tone is both beautiful and powerful, blending easily with other instruments. I was able to fully observe and feel the accordion being played by Ferragutti, something that is not often seen in the Japanese music scene, my local scene.

The highlight of this memorable performace was the interplay between CÁssio Ferreira, the soprano saxophonist, and Toninho himself

The highlight of this memorable performace was the interplay between Cássio Ferreira, the soprano saxophonist, and Toninho himself. Cassio is a notable young lead player who participated in Lourenço Rebetez's "O Corpo De Dentro", a masterpiece of contemporary Brazilian jazz released in 2016 that soon became a hot topic in Japan.

The dialogue between the fresh soprano and the organically intertwined accordion that run with splendid fingering was a miraculous moment where you can fully enjoy the real pleasure of jazz. The other songs also incorporated plenty of soprano saxophone and guitar improvisations as well as accordion, and the variety of Toninho's backing that ignited each solo was also captivating.

Toninho Ferragutti Quintet's performance, with its vivid harmonies, represents the diverse musicality of Brazil

With waltz, samba jazz, and historical march-like rhythms called Marusya, this quintet's performance, with its vivid harmonies, represents the diverse musicality of Brazil. The friendly atmosphere of JazzB and the unpretentious conversations between people were soothing from beginning to end.

—Hiroko Otsuka is a music journalist, DJ and producer.