MÁRIO LAGINHA e JOÃO PAULO ESTEVES DA SILVA

Although Mário Laginha and João Paulo Esteves da Silva are two of the leading European jazz pianists of their generation, viewing them primarily as jazz pianists tends to obscure the breadth of their respective works. We must see them, above all, as composer-pianists of the great Western tradition, prior to the (quite recent) advent of the composition/interpretation dichotomy that today characterizes much of the so-called “classical” music, and major figures of what we could call “new Portuguese music”. As jazz is one of the richest and most relevant forms of creative expression of the 20th century, and both composer-pianists are open to the most varied influences, it is natural that this form of expression is central to the music they make, not only in terms of aesthetic and at the level of their creative process. This last aspect makes them, among other things, jazz pianists, but that does not imply that this is the most appropriate way to characterize them. (If Schumann or Chopin were alive today, they would most likely be “jazz pianists.”)

A look at their respective discographies reveals, despite significant differences (not least because they are sui generis artists), a series of interesting parallels: both debuted under their own name in the mid-90s, with albums that defined the type of sound they which some would call “Portuguese jazz”; both successfully explored the classic trio format of piano, double bass and drums, in addition to venturing solo; both developed fruitful collaborations with two notable saxophonists, the Englishman Julian Argüelles (Laginha) and the North American Peter Epstein (Esteves da Silva), who adapted to their music like few others, and also with two Portuguese guitar virtuosos invested in the emancipation of this instrument, Ricardo Rocha (Esteves da Silva) and Miguel Amaral (Laginha); and, more recently, both have collaborated with two of the main contemporary fado singers, Camané (Laginha) and Ricardo Ribeiro (Esteves da Silva).

Now, it was precisely alongside these last two, as part of a show entitled “DuasVozes, QuatroMãos”, that they recently shared the stage again, something that had not happened for more than two decades, since the time they co-led the (still unreleased) chamber group Almas e Danças. This reunion was not accidental and here they are now performing as a duo: two pianos that, although not certainly twins, we would say brothers, perhaps sons of Keith Jarrett, born in Portugal.