Salles, Felipe
Tapestry, 2020, CD
Instrument: Saxophone
Issue: 26.3
Jazz Ruler Type: BigBand
Performance: 4
Sound: 4
Score: 90
O’s Notes: In the backdrop of the pandemic and The Black Lives Matter movement, there is The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. (DACA) came about after the Dream Act was stymied by the 9/11 attacks and a series of untimely stumbles and political transitions. Trump vs. NAACP blocked the rescission of DACA. The battle will continue but there is light. The New Immigrant Experience is a masterful performance composed, arranged and orchestrated by Felipe Salles, a Brazilian immigrant and professor who was inspired by the speech cadences and melodic motives collected from speeches by Dreamers. Felipe’s well-orchestrated Interconnections Ensemble incorporates lots of air and space between the musicians that allows the instruments to bloom fully! The musical conversations are well articulated and easily embraced. Nine movements are spread across two discs along with an “Introduction” and “Coda”. Additionally there is a DVD that shows video footage that was projected behind the band during the live performance. We suggest viewing the DVD first. It includes interviews with the Dreamers in preceding the music. This work is very powerful, rich and rewarding. If we could only get this harmonious communication between the left and the right…
Publicist: Braithwaite & Katz
