2025 Jazz in August begins

The Heart Trio, which brings together musicians William Parker, Cooper-More, and Hamid Drake, opens the 41st Jazz in August this Friday at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon. They present "music for sunrises and sunsets, music for everyday life, tuned to a healing of any ailment (more spiritual than physical) through sound," according to the group, quoted on the Gulbenkian website.

In Heart Trio, the three musicians, "longtime accomplices and reunited since 2012 in the quartet In Order to Survive," explore "a connection to ancestral African and Eastern music, adopting instruments such as the ngoni, the shakuhachi, the duduk, or instruments created by themselves, generating mesmerizing music with an intense connection to the land."

Pianist Kris Davis will perform at the festival on Saturday in a trio format, for which she has enlisted bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Jonathan Blake.

Also performing on the same day is Portuguese musician Rafael Toral, who will present the album “Spectral Evolution”, released last year.

Saxophonist Darius Jones returns to Jazz in August on Sunday, this time to present “Legend of e'Boi (The Hyperviligant Eye)”, “seventh chapter of his epic 'Man'ish Boy' series”, in trio format, accompanied by bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Gerald Cleaver.

Also on Sunday, composer and DJ Mariam Rezaei will perform, with guests including guitarist Julien Desprez and drummer Lucas König.

On Monday, the Luís Vicente Trio takes the stage, in which the Portuguese trumpeter is accompanied by bassist Gonçalo Almeida and drummer Pedro Melo Alves.

The following day, Portuguese bassist João Próspero presents his debut album, “Sopros”, released last year, accompanied by guitarist Joaquim Festas, pianist Miguel Meirinhos and drummer Gonçalo Ribeiro.

The trio MOPCUT, composed of improviser Audrey Chan, guitarist Julien Desprez and drummer Lucas König, takes the stage on August 6th.

The trio will perform at Jazz em Agosto with the experimentalist rap group Dälek and the activist and vocalist Moor Mother, both guests on the album “RYOK”, released this year.

Pianist Pat Thomas returns to the festival on August 7th “aboard a group that brings together an exquisite selection of musicians from London’s most daring contemporary scene”.

X-Ray Hex Tet includes, in addition to Pat Thomas, violinist Bill Steiger, drummer Crystabel Riley, artist and filmmaker Edward George, drummer Paul Abbott and saxophonist Seymour Wright.

Guitarist Shane Parish takes the stage twice at this edition of Jazz em Agosto. On August 8th, he performs with the avant-rock trio Ahleuchatistas, which also includes bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Danny Piechocki, and the following day, he performs solo, swapping his electric guitar for an acoustic one.

Also performing on August 9th will be Thumbscrew, a trio formed by guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.

The 41st Jazz in August ends on August 10th with the Patricia Brennan Septet and the duo Elias Stemeseder and Christian Lillinger.

The Patricia Brennan Septet also includes saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Mark Shim, trumpeter Adam O'Farrill, double bassist Kim Cass, drummer Dan Weiss and percussionist Keisel Jimenez.