Amaro Freitas – Y'Y

Amaro Freitas’s album Y'Y is a mesmerizing fusion of spiritual jazz, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, and ancestral homage that showcases his evolution as a composer and pianist. The record takes listeners deep into the Amazon rainforest and Freitas's cultural roots, blending rhythmic complexity with meditative reflection. Collaborating with global musicians and incorporating indigenous percussion, Y'Y is both a personal journey and a broader statement on environmental and spiritual interconnectedness.

This ambitious project expands Freitas’s musical vocabulary beyond the trio format that defined his earlier work. Tracks oscillate between propulsive improvisation and serene, reverent passages, offering a dynamic yet cohesive listening experience. It’s an album that honors tradition while carving out new territory in contemporary jazz, marked by both technical brilliance and emotional depth.

Reviews

"Y’Y finds Freitas at his most wide-ranging, embodying soft natural ambience as well as dramatic action on the piano. It is an album of mood music that refuses to settle, leaving the listener moved and invigorated." – The Guardian

"Y’Y is a pastoral, meditative departure from pianist Amaro Freitas’s hard-driving Brazilian jazz. The surface of this largely solo work is placid, but it’s boiling underneath." – DownBeat