For Brazilian-born composer, bassist, and bandleader Gili Lopes, music is a portal to the world. On Algures, Lopes uses that portal to synthesize his lifetime of experiences into an eight-track travelogue for a modern jazz ensemble. “This album is a sonic portrait of my travels around the world and of the places I’ve visited and lived,” he explains. The result is a firsthand musical telling of his personal journey.
Guiding the way with Lopes is a cohort of masters who bridge Brazilian music and the contemporary jazz scene in New York, where the bassist now calls home. Guitarist Vinicius Gomes and pianist Helio Alves are two of Lopes’ longtime collaborators, both Brazilian players who Lopes says “get the music right away.” On Algures, they’re joined by drummer Ari Hoenig, whose fluid grooves propel Lopes’ compositions, and saxophonist John Ellis, who glides over the grooves with bouncy, lyrical melodic lines. Together, the two “provide that strong, rhythmic New York sound.”
Born in 1983 in Porto Alegre, Gili was introduced to music through the sounds of Brazilian folklore. At the age of 14 he started learning the bass as a self taught musician and soon after started playing with local bands around his state. In his early 20’s he moved to London where he started studying the upright bass. He attended the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he obtained a bachelor degree in jazz studies and worked extensively as a freelance musician in the United Kingdom for a decade after that.
In 2013 he was invited to expand his studies in music at the Jazz Institute in Berlin where he obtained a Masters degree in composition and arrangement by the University of Fine Arts of Berlin (UDK)
Gili Lopes has since performed in more than 35 countries around the world including Qatar, Canada, Bulgaria, Chile, Portugal, Jordan, South Korea and Turkey in venues such as Ronnie Scotts, Queen Elizabeth Hall, SummerStage in Central Park, Nice Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, Seoul Jazz Festival, Frederic Chopin Philharmonic, Jazz is Dead in Los Angeles among many others.
Out Now
Watch NowPersonnel
Gili Lopes - Double bass
John Ellis - Saxophone
Ari Hoenig - Drums
Vinicius Gomes - Guitar
Helio Alves - Piano
Rogerio Boccato - Percussion (Tracks 1, 5, 6 e 8)