MOMO. - GIRA

Released: 18/10/24

London has A journeying collaboration which effortlessly swings, guided by Marcelo Frota’s soft yet reassuringly familiar vocal, with ruminative and explorative brass twists, Gira was recorded with friends and guests including Alabaster DePlume on tenor sax (in whose band Marcelo toured), Jessica Lauren on keys, Tamar Osborn on baritone sax, Nick ‘Emanative’ Woodmansey on drums, Carwyn Ellis of Rio 18 fame on piano, Magnus Mehta from Penya on percussion and Caetano Malta on bass. Gira is Momo.’s seventh album yet his first recorded in London. After a musical odyssey that took him from his home of Rio de Janeiro to Angola, Michigan, Chicago, Spain and Lisbon, Momo. now calls London his home, where he lives with his young family, and whose creative spirit has inspired him for the last three years. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the new album marks a real departure. a bright new Brazilian talent in town, who goes by the name of Momo. Not so new, actually. One of the recent generation of artists influenced by the Brazilian classics, from 1970s tropicália, Os Mutantes and Milton Nascimento. Momo. releases his 7th album Gira, on Batov Records bringing together some very special musicians and guests from London’s bustling and hustling jazz community, with fellow Brazilian artists, recorded and cut to tape at East London’s Total Refreshment Center.  The title Gira means to move. "It made sense to start with the grooves, the patterns, then start filling in the melodies,” Momo. explains. So drummer Nick Woodmansey, leader of the genre-melting jazz collective Emanative, along with co-founder of Penya, percussionist Magnus Mehta, and fellow Brazilian immigrant and bassist Caetano Malta, combine to anchor the resulting effortless grooves, while other contributors then spark the little touches of magic in its wake.