Live at SMUP is the third album of the Portuguese Garuda Trio – Rotterdam-based alto sax player, double bass player Hernâni Faustino, and drummer João Valinho, augmented for the second time by pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro, following the studio albums Garuda (Subcontinental, 2022, as a trio) and Tongues of Flames (A New Wave of Jazz, 2024, with Pinheiro). The live album was recorded at the legendary Sociedade Musical União Paredense (SMUP) in Parede in March 2024.

This quartet rarely plays live due to geographical distance, and its performance at SMUP was troubled by the rehearsals of a big band in the basement due to a miscalculation in the schedule. The quartet decided to amp up the volume and dynamics to at least match or even overpower the sound of the rehearsal band.

Live at SMUP offers two extended improvisations, aptly titled «Climbing Mountains» and «The Eye Of The Storm». In these pieces, Garuda Trio + Pinheiro embodies the spirit of the mythical Garuda, a bird-like creature with the body of a human, in Hinduism and early Buddhism, symbolizing the awakening of the mind, soars higher and higher, and, fittingly, is informed by the legacy of spiritual free jazz. This egalitarian quartet enjoys its telepathic interplay and profound camaraderie, based on countless past collaborations of its musicians, that trigger its risk-taking dynamics.

The music is played with a powerful urgency and swings between explosive, dense attacks,  and more contemplative, sparse, and lyrical segments, both stress its rich aesthetic. These inspired, dramatic, collective improvisations sound as if this powerful quartet has grown into a massive big band.

Eyal Hareuveni

Hugo Costa (alto saxophone), Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano), Hernâni Faustino (double bass), João Valinho (drums)