Reviews of AMADO / McPHEE / KESSLER / CORSANO – LET THE FREE BE MEN
“No matter how spontaneous the response is, no matter how rich and ingenious the language used is; it is above all the warm-blooded and almost sensual decisiveness that underlines here that this quartet constantly plays with a clenched fist that is timeless.” – Guy Peters / Enola

“A new release from the quartet consisting of Rodrigo Amado, Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler and Chris Corsano means buying blind. Not only does the quartet consist of musicians who each have a considerable track record, but above all this foursome has one of the most impressive (free) jazz albums of recent years to its name. This is This Is Our Language, released in 2015. Three years later they did it all over again with A History of Nothing. Let The Free Be Men is the third direct hit in a row for this quartet, which can be both solid and vulnerable. This music is not about technical skills but about feeling. The musical passion is audible and tangible. This is free music that you will never get tired of.” – Gert Derkx / Opduvel 

“Rodrigo Amado adds another stunning entry to his discography with the third album from his This Is Our Language Quartet. The resultant blend of spontaneous free jazz is, by turns, refined, beautiful, exhilarating, heart-rending and belligerent… one of the finest bands around.” – John Sharpe / All About Jazz 

“The new album of Portuguese sax hero Rodrigo Amado and his This Is Our Language Quartet is one of those rare albums that your life may feel poor without them. The title of the album, as well as the name of the four pieces, capture the essence and the spirit of the music of this great quartet – fiery and focused but also introspective and most humane, resisting conventional narratives but always coherent and remarkably poetic, and, naturally, demanding deep and attentive listening.” – Eyal Hareuveni / Salt Peanuts 

“What this new album does is to reset the political aspect that is at the origin of this current of jazz. So, here we have one of the most important editions of the current year, which can very well become an unavoidable reference for years to come…” – Rui Eduardo Paes / JazzPt 

“A masterpiece of the contemporary free jazz at the interface with free improvisation.” – Maciej Lewenstein / The Amateur’s Guide to Avantgarde 

“Congratulations to Rodrigo Amado, two masterpieces very close together, first Let the Free Be Men and now The Field.” – Stuart Broomer

“As excellent as their first and second albums were, this quartet is not one content to rest. Language, of course, evolves, rules change with usage, new vocabulary is added, and ever more complex ideas are conceptualized. Between these four seasoned players, their language is all of this, alive, evolving, building and changing. In some sense, this group takes most expressive elements of free jazz – which is indeed a lexical sponge – and wrings out the best words.” – Paul Acquaro / Free Jazz Blog 

“Every time I give one of this group’s albums a listen, I’m amazed by how much more there is to discover in it. Amado, McPhee, Kessler, and Corsano have shown themselves to be one of the all-time greatest quartets.” – Lee Rice Epstein / Free Jazz Blog

“If you are not hip to Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, where, as they say, have you been?” – Mark Corroto / All about Jazz 

“The American quartet of our favorite Portuguese saxophonist (in fact, in the last decade, probably the best working band in the world in the category of completely liberated free jazz) will play bloody free jazz for us, which is based on full improvisation and, as always, they will do it in a masterful way. Their next pearl in the crown lasts 44 minutes and several seconds.” – Andrzej Nowak / Spontaneous Music Tribune 

“For while each musician represents a different generation, and they have played in some pretty dissimilar settings away from this one, they’re united in their commitment to promoting intensity and invention on the bandstand. Amado may have his name at the front of the band, but one suspects that he’s selected these musicians for the ways they can push him. Gruff and agile, he rides their vectors of influence like an ocean bird wheeling from one updraft to the next.” – Bill Meyer / Dusted 

“On the furious opening track, “Resist!”, Amado’s immensely strong tenor dominates the ensemble, followed by McPhee’s querulous, distinctive tone on soprano; the track ends at a level of intensity rarely found even in free jazz.” – Andy Hamilton / The Wire

“The album carves out a stylistic drift for a kind of state-of-the-art freedom we come to expect from Rodrigo.” – Gregory Applegate Edwards / Gapplegate Music Review 

Filipe Freitas / Jazz Trail
Tim Niland / Music and More
Ken Waxman / Jazzword

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