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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ JAZZ.PT

★★★★★

by Rui Eduardo Paes

EN

"Subatin achieves a remarkable balance of parameters, uniting brain and physicality, and this is not exactly common. Just as it is not common, among us, to propose something that very obviously enters the domains of exploratory music, but has strong roots in the post-bop tradition of jazz."

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"Mountains” goes directly to the list of the best national albums of 2021, and not just the jazz ones. From this year and undoubtedly from the last decade, with a relevance that goes beyond borders. It's one of those albums, rare, that inspire, that change everything, that go down in history. Absolutely remarkable and not to be missed."

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PULSAR REVIEW @ JAZZ.PT

★★★★

by João Morado

EN

"In “Pulsar”, the guitarist experiments and takes risks, but he does it with truly musical material. There is melody, there is harmony, there is rhythm. And there is experimentation, there is exploration, there is investigation. And much more. There is a world of possibilities of which the pioneering has only just begun. It's a fascinating album for its concept, method and execution."

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PT

"Em “Pulsar”, o guitarrista experimenta e arrisca, mas fá-lo com matéria verdadeiramente musical. Há melodia, há harmonia, há ritmo. E há experimentação, há exploração, há investigação. E muito mais. Há um mundo de possibilidades do qual o desbravamento apenas agora foi encetado. É um álbum fascinante pelo conceito, método e execução."

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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ JAZZ MAGAZINE N°746 - MARS 2022 (Fr)

★★★★

by Yazid Kouloughli

EN

"...extends his palette to reverse effects and granularity, and even concrete sounds (Mountain #5) and converses with impressive ease with Demian Cabaud (b) and Pedro Melo Alves (dm), between rigorous structures, electronic abstractions and free unravelling towards a quasi-chaos always mastered ."

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FR

"Le prolifique guitariste argentin Javier Subatin, remarqué dans nos colonnes en 2020 avec “Variaciones” et “Trance”, deux albums bien ficelés faisant la part belle à une solide technique et surtout à une créativité sans académisme, étend sa palette vers des effets de reverse et de granularité, et même des sons concrets (Mountain #5) et converse avec une impressionnante aisance avec Demian Cabaud (b) et Pedro Melo Alves (dm), entre structures rigoureuses, abstractions électroniques et détricotages free vers un quasi-chaos toujours maîtrisé. Leurs trois invités, Samuel Gapp (p), Joao Mortàgua (as) et Ricardo Jacinto (cello) complètent parfaitement ce tableau très réussi, qui profite d’un mixage du leader en personne."

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MOUNTAINS BEST OF 2021 @ JAZZ.PT

by João Morado

"MELHORES DISCOS NACIONAIS

João Lencastre's Communion: Unlimited Dreams (Clean Feed Records)

Pedro Melo Alves' Omniae Large Ensemble: Lumina (Clean Feed Records)

Coreto: A Tribo (Carimbo Porta-Jazz)

Diogo Alexandre Bock Ensemble: Pipe Tree (JACC Records)

Javier Subatin: Mountains (Habitable Records)

..."

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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ FREE JAZZ BLOG

by Jim Marks

"Mountains finds Javier Subatin building on a series of strong recordings in the past few years"

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MOUNTAINS BEST OF 2021 @ RIMAS E BATIDAS (PT)

by Rui Miguel Abreu

"

11 – Space Quartet – Directions (Clean Feed)

12 – José Lencastre NAU Quartet + Pedro Carneiro – Thoughts Are Things (Phonogram Unit)

13 – Coreto – A Tribo (Carimbo Porta-Jazz)

14 – Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio & Alexander von Schlippenbach – The Field (NoBusiness)

15 – Hernâni Faustino – Twelve Bass Tunes (Phonogram Unit)

16 – Garfo – Garfo (Clean Feed)

17 – João Mortágua Math Trio – Math Trio (Roda Music)

18 – Susana Santos Silva & Torbjorn Zetterberg – Tomorrow (Carimbo Porta-Jazz)

19 – Javier Subatin – Mountains (Habitable Records)

20 – Nelson Cascais – Remembrance: The Poetry of Emily Bronte (Robalo)

21 – Raquel Martins – The Way (Ed. de autor)

..."

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MOUNTAINS FEATURED @ ONE MAN'S JAZZ - ALL ABOUT JAZZ

by Maurice Hogue

"At first listen I thought he sounded like Jakob Bro with a similar style and approach but as I got deeper into the recording, I noticed that he is pushing the limits of the guitar quite forward" (at 1:35:27)

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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ ALL ABOUT JAZZ

by Troy Dostert

"Subatin's prodigious output, and the sheer diversity of personnel on his releases thus far, reveals a restless creative spirit that seems hard to contain within conventional jazz categories. His 2021 album, Mountains, exhibits the same peripatetic sensibility, with another new group of colleagues from Portugal's ever-fertile scene."

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PULSAR FEATURED @ WORD OF JAZZ - ALL ABOUT JAZZ

by Bob Osborne

"On this week's show we feature new music from Escribir, a first look at a massive new release from Ivo Perelman, experimental music from Javier Subatin, the cool sounds of the Montreal Jazz Trio, improvisation from John Edwards, N.O. Moore, Eddie Prevost, & Alan Wilkinson some prog jazz from Krokofant and fascinating duets from Jane Ira Bloom & Allison Miller."

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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ JAZZ TRAIL (US)

B+

by Filipe Freitas

"The contemporary aural descriptions of these ‘mountains’ make us want to climb them to the top. Moreover, the telepathic camaraderie between the musicians is noticeable and the ambitious musical experiment wins."

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INTERVIEW @ MUSICABILE (IT)

by Beppe Ceccato

"I was attracted to the way of composing him, an innovative jazz in his latest album, Mountains, released just over a month ago, which I called "a non-jazz" out of provocation (you will read his answer), and his lively activism in involving young and talented fellow musicians in projects, founding a community and, therefore, a record company, Habitable Records, composed only of artists. Javier and his colleagues are trying to make the profession of the musician sustainable, a job that allows the growth of every single component." 

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MOUNTAINS REVIEW @ RIMAS E BATIDAS (PT)

by Rui Miguel Abreu

EN

"This music sounds free, profoundly physical, spontaneous and vibrant because it is loaded with intention because it seeks to subvert norms and, even so, retain something of a praxis, namely that of jazz, from which it very naturally emanates." 

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PT

"Esta música soa livre, profundamente física, espontânea e vibrante por estar carregada de intenção, por procurar subverter normas e, ainda assim, reter algo de uma praxis, nomeadamente a do jazz, de onde muito naturalmente emana."

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TRANCE REVIEW @ JAZZ.PT (PT)

★★★★

by Rui Eduardo Paes

EN

"Here's a good example of how a lot can be done with a few notes. Even the way composition and improvisation relate to each other is a delight: the latter can be conditioned by the former, but it has primacy both in terms of presence and purpose, as the scores leave it (to the trio of improvisers) the task of building at the same time. back from the foundations." 

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PT

"Eis um bom exemplo de como, com poucas notas, se faz muito. Mesmo o modo como composição e improvisação se relacionam é uma delícia: esta pode ser condicionada pela primeira, mas tem primazia tanto em termos de presença quanto de propósito, pois as pautas deixam para ela (para o trio de improvisadores) a tarefa de construir à volta dos alicerces."

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TRANCE REVIEW @ DOWNBEAT (US)

★★★1/2

by Aaron Cohen

​"The title of guitarist Javier Subatin’s Trance is a slight misnomer. This collection of thematically interconnected “Trance” pieces all are based on short recurring phrases, while some also connect to his South American roots. For his trio, this means a wide array of improvisational possibilities. But far from conveying a trance-like or meditative vibe, the sharp movements feel energizing."

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TRANCE REVIEW @ RIMAS E BATIDAS​

by Rui Miguel Abreu

EN

"And there are strong marks in the art of the guitarist and composer: an attachment to traditional ways, carried by his private diaspora, a way of retaining cultural identity, but also of coloring his idea of jazz with different tonalities. The result, by the way, is highly enthusiastic precisely for sounding differently."

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PT

"E há marcas vincadas na arte do guitarrista e compositor: um apego a modos tradicionais, carregados consiguen na sua privada diáspora, uma forma de retenção de identidade cultural, mas também de coloração da sua ideia de jazz com tonalidades diferenciadas. O resultado, diga-se, é altamente entusiasmado precisamente por volar diferente."

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TRANCE REVIEW @ CULTURE JAZZ (FR)

by Yves Dorison

EN

"With contrasting motifs and an all-out opening, the guitarist and his colleagues develop spontaneous music in which the repetitive and the haunting combine, creating in the process elements of musical language that are quite captivating and seductive."

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FR

"Avec des motifs contrastés et une ouverture tous azimuts, le guitariste et ses collègues développent une musique spontanée dans laquelle le répétitif et le lancinant se conjuguent, créant au passage des éléments de langage musical tout à fait captivants et séduisants."

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