Prepared Piano with a Brazilian Identity: Amaro Freitas Previews his 2024 Newport Jazz Performance

Biologist and naturalist E.O. Wilson once noted, “Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” Nature, particularly in a region as biodiverse as a rainforest, provides such enrapturing beauty that man could only hope to recreate. Nevertheless, the destruction of such natural habitats continues unabated. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, by 2022, about twenty percent of it had been deforested for human development. The Amazon has become very close to becoming degraded into a savannah, completely flipping its ecosystem. On his third release, Y’Y (Psychic Hotline, 2024), Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas brings attention to these perilous circumstances by musically sharing some of the magic of the Amazon. Or, in the words of the artist himself, the album is an “homage to the forest, especially the Amazon Forest, and the rivers of Northern Brazil: a call to live, feel, respect, and care for nature, recognizing it as our ancestor.” Freitas will bring these sonic environments to the Newport Jazz Festival on Sunday, August 4, 2024.

Taking its name from the word for “water” in the language of Brazil’s  indigenous people of the Sateré Mawé, Y’Y captures the sound of running rivers and trickling streams, particularly on “Uiara (Encantada da Água.” On “Mapinguari (Encantado da Mata,” one can sense the sound of rustling leaves while “Viva Naná” provides the calls of the forest’s avian inhabitants. Fascinatingly, these seemingly organic sounds were created primarily on Freitas’ eighty-eight keys. Prepared piano – placing objects into the instrument to alter its sound – plays a central role in bringing nature’s sounds to the recording. Although musicians have used prepared piano in contemporary classical contexts since at least John Cage’s works in the 1940s, Freitas adopts and applies these concepts in an inherently unique way. Instead of selecting specific preparations merely to sound different, there is an unquestionable intent behind each of his out-of-the-box choices. Using an electronic bow on the instrument’s strings evokes the call of a dolphin on “Uiara.” Placing clothespins and Amazonian seeds on strings captures the biome’s humidity on “Dança dos Martelos.”

Y’Y transports its listeners to a land that is somehow equally foreign and comfortable. It marries the paramount experimentalism of avant-garde and the gradual developments of minimalism. Space and silence also take on renewed importance to provide a fuller grasp of your surroundings. In emphasizing these aspects of his music, the album provides a more vibrant and vivid picture of the Amazon than photographs ever could. But the record is more than just an exercise in environmental appreciation. By paying homage to the indigenous people of Brazil, Freitas also shows that there is a way in which man can peacefully co-exist with nature, as those civilizations have done for generations. The album leaves much to consider.

We corresponded with Freitas via email to discuss the power of his music, the album – primarily a solo outing with visits from Hamid Drake, Shabaka Hutchings, Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, and Aniel Someillan -and his upcoming performance at Newport. Responses have been edited for clarity.

When did you first become aware of the Newport Jazz Festival? 

 I watched a YouTube video of the Joshua Redman Quartet. I was fascinated by the festival and this show. That was in 2015. I dreamed that I could play there one day.

What does it mean to you to be performing at Newport? 

The realization of a dream.

When many in the United States think of Brazilian jazz, they take a very narrow view and think primarily of music that is very bossa nova focused, things like Getz and Gilberto or Jobim. Why do you feel the music is pigeonholed in such a way and do you see it as your role to change those misconceptions? 

Bossa nova represents Brazil. But there are several other musical genres that it also represents. I think the most important thing for me is to understand Brazil in a broader way. We understand that African and indigenous rhythms formed a large part of Brazilian identity, and few saw Black and indigenous people recognized for the creation of Brazilian culture and identity. I want to be aware that we are here as a continuation of the history of music that takes place in Brazil. Recognition and reparation are essential, both for our ancestors and for the current generation.

You indicated in another interview that being in different places in the world changes your viewpoint. As you have traveled internationally, how do you feel that experience has changed how you approach music? 

My music is made from the life experiences I have. In this new moment, I met other people, who bring different music than I saw in Brazil, and I practically connected with new worlds, other perspectives. All of this went through me and I made the most of it and brought it into myself, into my process of absorption and creation.

https://amarofreitas.bandcamp.com/track/yy

How did you first get into using prepared piano? 

After I discovered John Cage’s work. I couldn’t believe it was possible. I started studying more or less five years ago. I realized that I could create a prepared piano with a face, with a Brazilian identity.

How do you determine the preparations you will use? Is it trial and error and seeing what matches the sound you are seeking? 

At first it was trial and error, then I understood where I wanted to get to. Today, evolution comes with each show, with the use of a prepared piano and also with the help of electronic equipment.

In terms of trying to replicate sounds from the Amazon on your piano, do you work from memory of how the rainforest sounds, or do you record it and then try to come back and find a musical approach that matches. 

I record and try to reach the sound universe of the forest and the Amazon River. Naná Vasconcelos’ album Amazonas [(Universal, 1973)] was a great reference for me, using Amazonian seeds and whistles helps to achieve this sound with these characteristics.

What was your process for composing the pieces for Y’Y? Do you start with identifying the Amazon sound you were seeking and seeing how to replicate in the piano then build the rest of the song around that?

 It started with several experiments on the piano, still not knowing where it would lead. I already knew that the sound brought a different warmth, it brought the dances of Brazil, the Brazilian rhythm, the tropics. But it was when I met the Sateré Mawé that everything fell into place. This experience in the Amazon was what I needed to complete the ideas of the prepared piano and a Brazil that brought me references from before colonization.

Given your use of prepared piano and that you are trying to replicate the sounds in the world, do you ascribe to the John Cage perspective that all sound is music? 

Yes, and also the universal music of Hermeto Pascoal.

You grew up in the church and there is something very peaceful about much of  Y’Y. Do you see your creation of music as a spiritual exercise? 

Both as a spiritual connection and a community connection, where people help each other, support each other and always want to be a better person in this world. 

You indicated in an interview that Ray Charles was one of the most influential musicians to you. How do you think, if at all, Ray’s music can be heard in yours? 

American gospel music came very strongly into my life, and it is very curious because what we like to hear is not always exactly what we like to play. 

Ray is a great reference in world music, I love listening to [him]. His music transports me to places I’ve never been to, but it’s as if I feel there. This sensation is very crazy, perhaps the great magic of a musical genius bringing extraordinary things into existence.

Silence and space seem to play a significant role on Y’Y. What are your thoughts on the relationship between silence and music? 

Silence is as important as sound to me. It is with sound and silence that rhythm exists. Whether short notes or long notes in the African clef, the various rhythms that come from Brazil are based on silence and sound and it is very important to remember that the variation of this is the origin of swing, of balance. I love silence.

https://amarofreitas.bandcamp.com/track/sonho-ancestral

What do you see as the role of music in enacting positive change, like stopping the deforestation of the Amazon? 

We need to have more serious and more active policies. Brazil first needs to know and feel proud of itself. I think that every Brazilian should go to the Amazon at least once to understand what this incredible place really represents for our nation. As an artist I always want to align my art with important issues on our planet. As a Brazilian, I want to understand the territory of Brazil through a new lens, a different lens from what I was taught at school. I want to be proud of my ancestors, I want to respect the indigenous people, understand that before the Portuguese arrived here there [were] already a people with an ancient cultural ancestor who knew and [knew] this place very well. Who lived in harmony and saw himself as nature. I think that understanding the importance of indigenous people also helps in combating deforestation and illegal mining.

Amaro Freitas will be performing at the Newport Jazz Festival on Sunday, August 4, 2024. More information on the Newport Jazz Festival can be found here. We will be providing live coverage of the event. You can read more about Amaro Freitas on his website.