Michael Formanek Thriving in his New Digs

The bassist and composer reflects on his new Intakt Records release and his recent move abroad.

Since COVID, there has been a steady trickle of jazz musicians emigrating from the United States to Portugal. Alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher was one of the first American musicians to make the move to Lisbon in 2021. Brooklyn-born, Grammy-winning keyboardist-composer-producer and ’80s Miles Davis collaborator Jason Miles followed in November 2022. Pianist Aaron Parks moved with his family to Lisbon at the beginning of 2024. Other musicians relocating to Portugal in recent years include British saxophonists Andy Sheppard (2016) and Julian Argüelles (2021) and American drummer Jeff Williams (2023).

Bassist, composer and bandleader Michael Formanek left for Portugal with his wife, photographer Sandy Eisner, in May of 2023, settling in the rustic village of Paú in Torres Vedras, about 45 minutes from Lisbon. He’s been thriving in his New Digs, the name of his fifth album for the Zurich-based Intakt Records and 25th overall as a leader or co-leader (including seven with Thumbscrew, the cooperative trio he formed in 2014 with guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara).

A native of Pacifica, California, Formanek began his professional career in the Bay Area as a teenage sideman to the likes of Joe Henderson, Eddie Henderson, Art Pepper and Tony Williams, before relocating to New York in 1978 at the age of 20. Through the ’80s and ’90s he played a pivotal role on the Big Apple jazz scene, leading his own bands, collaborating with such musical renegades as Tim Berne, Marty Ehrlich, Jim Black, James Emery and Jack Walrath, and working as a sideman to living legends like Chet Baker, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Konitz and Toshiko Akiyoshi.

In 2001 Formanek moved to Baltimore and accepted a part-time teaching position in the newly founded jazz department at the Peabody Conservatory. He later moved to Towson, Maryland when the job became full-time.

New Digs, recorded at a studio just seven minutes away from Formanek’s home, is a remarkable septet offering that deftly straddles exacting compositions and pure improvisation. Joined by his Thumbscrew colleagues Halvorson and Fujiwara, Lisbon residents O’Gallagher and trumpeter João Almeida, along with Montreal-born, Brooklyn-based tenor saxophonist Chet Doxas and Oxford, UK–based pianist Alexander Hawkins (playing Hammond B-3 exclusively on this session), Formanek radically pushes the envelope on what an organ group can sound like.

A lifetime ago, when we were both living in Manhattan, I wrote the liner notes for Formanek’s 1990 debut as a leader, Wide Open Spaces, on the Enja label (with Greg Osby, Wayne Krantz, Mark Feldman and Jeff Hirshfield). Now from an ocean away, the ever-evolving 68-year-old’s music sounds just as potent and penetrating and visionary.

Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.

You’ve amassed such an expansive discography and played in so many different settings, from small groups to your 19-piece Ensemble Kolossus. I remember seeing you perform material from The Distance with that big band at an ECM showcase during the 2016 Winter Jazz Festival. On the other end of the spectrum from that is the intimate duo album you recoded with your son Peter on saxophone (Dyads, Out of Your Head Records, 2021).
Yeah, we recorded that just before the pandemic, in 2019. Peter had been into music and improvising since he was a little kid. And when we were living in Baltimore, friends would come down to play gigs in town — Jim Black, Tim Berne, Marty Ehrlich. They’d come over and hang out at the house and we’d always end up playing and jamming.

Peter was a pretty good guitar player in his early teens and he could really shred some metal. He mostly had that kind of heavy groove going on, but he could solo too. But he would sit at any instrument and just play it. He eventually gravitated to saxophone. Then when he was a little older, for his 18th birthday, I did a gig at Cornelia Street Café with Jim Black, Jacob Sacks, Tim Berne, myself and Peter playing a bunch of my music. So music was always going on with him.

He later went to school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and when he graduated in 2017 we decided to do something together, so I set up a little Midwest tour for us in 2019. And then he came for a visit over the holidays that year where we were living in West Orange, New Jersey. And I said, “Let’s just go in the studio for a day and we’ll see what we get.” So we went into Sound on Sound Studios in Manhattan and recorded what ended up as Dyads. It’s mostly improvised, though we also played a few tunes — some of his tunes, a few mine.

He’s not playing that much now. His life’s kind of gone in some different directions. So I’m really glad I had such a strong feeling about wanting to document that part of our relationship.

Where did you record New Digs?
We recorded that one about seven minutes from where I...

Schon immer verstand es der US-amerikanische Bassist Michael Formanek, die ultimativen Musiker für seine außergewöhnlichen Kompositionen um sich zu scharen. Sein jüngster Septett-Geniestreich beginnend mit dem Thema "New Old World" überzeugt mit frischem, zwischen Hardbop und freien Assoziationen changierenden Aktionen der beiden Saxofonisten John O'Gallagher und Chet Doxas. Die völlig unbekümmert stilistische Barrieren durchquerende Gitarristin Mary Halvorson und Alexander Hawkins' mystische, fernab vom Soul Jazz agierende Hammond-B 3 Beiträge sind frappierend. Und Tomas Fujiwaras Beats komplettieren den famosen Ensemble-Sound.

Michael Formanek
New Digs
INTAKT
★★★½
New Digs is built around a seed of an idea: What happens when you center an ensemble on the organ? The answer, as it turns out, is a rich, multi-layered record, one that leverages Alexander Hawkins' majestic, jewel-toned pipes alongside a muscular horn section, with Michael Formanek and his partners in the trio Thumbscrew — guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara — holding the rhythm.
As a bassist, Formanek is versatile: locking the rhythmic line with Fujiwara, tracing melodic evolution alongside Halvorson and Hawkins, anchoring the capacious horns. As bandleader and composer, he explores themes and textures in a way that feels hypertextual: bouncing between abstract motifs and noir tones, continuously returning to concepts, turning them anew.
In the opening "New Old World," the horn section comes out in full swing, a round-robin of big ideas in organized chaos. In "For My Consideration," Hawkins' organ evokes Sun Ra, its astral-jazz tone riding a driving blues rhythm, the horns commanding rather than cluttering. Jump ahead to the seventh track, "Braxes," and we hear the same multilayered sheets of sound that the horns laid out on "New Old World" and "For My Consideration." The soul-jazz warmth of the organ comes to the fore on the blues "AKA The Stinger."
Taken together, the tracks on New Digs form a mesh: cross-referencing, layering, looping back. Horn trills echo forward; the organ's deep, resonant tone bleeds between tracks; and Formanek's compositional web expands. This is a record that rewards close listening.

Heiße Hammond-Orgel

Die Hammond B3 hat eine lange Tradition im Jazz, aber so wie in diesem, vom amerikanischen Bassisten Michael Formanek handverlesenen Septett hat man sie wohl noch nie gehört. Die Orgel von Alexander Hawkins dominiert den Bandsound nicht, steht auch kaum solistisch im Vordergrund, aber sie durchwirkt die vom Bandleader komponierten Texturen unabweisbar, klingt mysteriös, bisweilen fiebrig, wirkt wie eine glühende Herdplatte, auf der die drei Bläser ihre Soli aufkochen. Zwischen lässigem Swing, fulminanten Kollektivimprovisationen und düster-bedrohlichen Noir-Stimmungen ist alles dabei – und jede Idee fesselt, wirkt ebenso ausgeklügelt wie mit erfrischender Spontaneität umgesetzt. Wenn Formaneks Kontrabass das rhythmische und harmonische Rückgrat dieses so vitalen wie variantenreichen Gegenwartsjazz ist, dann ist Hawkins ihr Nervensystem, das sensibel auf alle Impulse reagiert.

https://www.ovb-heimatzeitungen.de/kultur/2026/05/10/heisse-hammond-orgel.ovb/amp

Michael Formanek has never been content to anchor a bandstand and call it a career. Over decades of work—from sideman stints with Stan Getz and Joe Henderson to the long-running Thumbscrew trio with Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara—he has operated as a composer and architect, building rooms rather than merely inhabiting them. New Digs recorded over two days in Torres Vedras, Portugal, stands as an ambitious project via this seven-piece trans-Atlantic ensemble shaped by a precise sonic design.

The personnel choices signal intent before a note sounds. Halvorson and Fujiwara return from Thumbscrew, supplying deep rapport and elasticity. A three-horn frontline—John O'Gallagher on alto saxophone, Chet Doxas on tenor, and João Almeida on trumpet —brings sharp contrast and collective force. Most decisive is Alexander Hawkins, a pianist within the Anthony Braxton orbit, here stationed at the Hammond B3 organ. Its presence reshapes the ensemble, functioning as a rhythm engine, harmonic bed, and unruly catalyst. Formanek does not simply add color; he alters the ensemble's internal logic, allowing the group to pivot between density and openness with remarkable control.

The opener, "New Old World," drops the listener into shifting terrain. Horn lines braid and fracture while Halvorson tilts the harmony off-axis. Hawkins treats the B3 as both anchor and disruptor, threading dense comping through linear passages and fractured solos. Formanek guides from within, redirecting momentum with quiet authority. "Prequal" leans harder into abstraction, propelled by Hawkins' gritty pulse and surging horn figures that crest and scatter with intent, the ensemble sounding both combustible and tightly organized.

"Aka the Stinger" offers a grounded counterweight. Formanek's early immersion in Bay Area soul-jazz surfaces in a groove that struts without settling into cliché. The band rides it with restraint, allowing small deviations to keep the tension alive while maintaining a sense of forward motion.

The album's most affecting moment arrives with "Gone Home / Interlude for Susan Alcorn," written in memory of the late pedal steel guitarist. Formanek's arco bass sets a solemn tone, answered by Almeida's poised trumpet line. The ensemble resists excess, favoring space, angled phrasing, and understated interplay that carries emotional weight without sentimentality. Subtle off-centered accents and carefully measured dynamics deepen the piece's quiet gravity.

"Quinze" gathers the threads into a forceful statement. The septet locks into a unified surge, Doxas delivering a searing tenor passage while Hawkins expands the B3's palette beyond expectation. Almeida's closing statement balances lyricism with a touch of steel, sealing the album's emotional arc.

Formanek has long trusted instinct, yet New Digs reflects something more measured: a fully realized vision of ensemble interplay. Each voice contributes with purpose, and the music rewards attentive listening, revealing new structural details and shifting perspectives with each return.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-digs-michael-formanek-intakt-records

Et le trio (Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tomas Fujiwara) devint septet (John O’Gallagher, Joao Almeida, Alexander Hawkins, Chet Doxas).

Et ils purent ainsi s’amuser à créer des joutes amicales tout en faisant fi de l’encombrement.

Et ils ne furent pas surpris par un étrange orgue Hammond de glace et de feu.

Et ils brisèrent quelques idées reçues sur les textures harmoniques, les structures convenues (le contrebassiste n’a pas fait partie du BloodCount de Tim Berne pour rien !)

Et les cuivres s’ouvrirent en unissons de velours.

Et ils impulsèrent même un blues aux angles rugueux.

Et quelques lignes répétitives nous rapprochèrent des œuvres de Philip Glass.

Et quelque soyeux solo de trompette firent s’ouvrirent aux paix célestes (Gone Home / Interlude for Susan Alcorn : magnifique et inoubliable ballade).

Et ils s’inspirèrent les uns aux autres et créèrent New Digs.

https://www.jazzin.fr/michael-formanek-new-digs//

In 2023, Michael Formanek and Sandra Eisner were like many couples in their early 60s. They were empty-nesters, their son Peter Formanek having left home several years before to attend the University of Michigan, then establishing himself as an educator and a multi-instrumentalist and composer in Michigan after graduation. They had only moved twice in the prior 20 years, first to Towson, Maryland, when Michael joined the faculty at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute, and then to West Orange, New Jersey, after the end of his 15-year tenure. Coming out of the pandemic, they were ready for a change; but instead of a quaint village off the beaten path or a Del Webb community and a social life revolving around backgammon and pickle ball and fondue and chardonnay, they chose Lisbon. Not Lisbon the town in Connecticut, Maine, or Maryland; but Lisbon, Portugal.

Moving, even across town, when you are close to being eligible for Medicare is a vastly different proposition then when you’re barely eligible to vote. Instead of getting a buddy with a van or a pickup truck to make a couple of runs, you really have to take stock and make hard, final choices between what you keep, what gets tagged for the yard sale, and what is given to friends or Goodwill. When moving to another country, it’s way more complicated. In the case of Portugal, Americans typically apply for a long-stay visa, entailing proof of funds and stable income, then a residence permit after arrival. Permanent residency can be applied for after five years, which requires proof or everything from health insurance to a clean criminal record. And there’s a test for basic language skills in Portuguese, one of the more tongue-twisting languages on the planet.

It's not something you do on a lark.

It was a lengthy process, Formanek recently recounted. “The short version is that it seemed like it was something we could do, that it was possible, that it was manageable, based on the way that getting residency here was working at the time. Musically, I had been here enough to feel good about it, but I didn’t know the country so well. I had just made trips here to play with Thumbscrew and over the years with people like Marty Ehrlich, Tim Berne, and a lot of other people. I never had extended time here; just coming in and out.

“There were a few people I knew here, expats like John O’Gallagher the alto saxophonist, Andy Sheppard, and Julian Argüelles, another British saxophone player. But it was also important to connect with as many Portuguese musicians to really get a sense of what was going on. I connected with Rodrigo Amado and through him met a lot of other musicians that cover a pretty broad range of jazz and improvised music. A big part of my life in music has been working in different areas and zones at different times. They’re all things I love but I tend to focus on one area at a time – what I’m into at that time.

“So, once we were here, I started thinking about what sorts of things I’d like to do and who I wanted to connect with to do them. There were then a few projects that were ongoing, like Thumbscrew, or in the works, like Myra Melford’s Splash Trio with Ches Smith. We had a gig in at the Boulez Saal in Berlin in June 2023, just weeks after we arrived, that had been planned for a year. Myra and I started talking about a possible project a couple of years prior to the gig. After that first gig, Myra asked us if we wanted to continue as a group and Ches and I said yes. That trio is now an ongoing entity with a record we got out. I really like playing Myra’s music with her and Ches.”

Word of Formanek’s move spread rather quickly. An offer from Jazz Club Ferrara prompted him to put together an occasional quartet with pianist Alexander Hawkns and two Americans who reside part-time in Europe – saxophonist Michaël Attias and Devin Gray, whose association with Formanek began when the drummer was an undergraduate at Peabody. There was also a steady flow of one-offs throughout Portugal, as well as Germany and Switzerland. “It’s still a range of things,” Formanek explained. “I needed to process what I wanted to do and with whom. I was less interested in doing some things that I had been doing. I’ve been very fortunate to work with really great musicians. But sometimes I like playing music that is more improvised than it is composed, and the other way around. I just like mixing it up in different ways. It keeps things fresh for me. And I’ve been able to do that here.”

“I think the jury’s still out on that,” Formanek replied when asked if Europe better facilitated mixing it up. “I think like anywhere else, people here want to know you, what you do, and locate you in a certain zone. I have no aversion to that – if someone wants to do that, fine. But I always go where my interests lie. If I feel like I’m doing a little too much of one thing, I’ll change it up for a while. I don’t concern myself too much with that. I’m sure it’s effected certain things for me, care...

Pubblicato da Intakt Records, New Digs è stato presentato al Guimarães Jazz Festival in Portogallo dove, Michael Formanek, compositore e bassista di eccelso livello nel panorama del jazz contemporaneo, (e che ben ricordo in Splash con una straordinaria Myra Melford al pianoforte) ha convocato, intorno a questo nuovo ambizioso progetto, Alexander Hawkins che, abbandonata momentaneamente la tastiera del pianoforte, si cimenta su un organo Hammond B3. A tal proposito è opportuno ricordare che Hawkins ha una solida preparazione musicale anche sull’organo tradizionale. Attorno a Formanek, anche Mary Halvorson alla chitarra e Tomas Fujiwara alle percussioni, già facenti parte in passato della formazione denominata Thumbscrew, ed infine John O’Gallagher al sax alto, Chet Doxas al sax tenore e clarinetto e João Almeida alla tromba. Inutile cercare nel disco quello che nel disco non c’è, ovvero una omogeneità di composizioni, volte a produrre una materia sonora unica. Qui sembra un po’ tutto il contrario, ovvero una matassa intrecciata di tanti materiali sonori e stilemi diversi che, come in un canestro di frutti prelibati sembrano provenire da latitudini diverse: questo naturalmente, non toglie che l’insieme sia perfettamente mirabile, proprio per questa estrema diversità e versatilità delle sonorità. Ad ascoltare l’attacco di New Old World, brano di apertura dell’album, sembra di andare incontro ad un groove dolce e sinuoso, tanto che l’ascoltatore è in attesa dell’ingresso di altri fiati e di un percorso musicale rilassato e in qualche modo prevedibile. Ma non è così, poiché dalle prime timide note della chitarra, ecco prospettarsi un percorso diverso, condotto dal sax e sostenuto dall’Hammond di Hawkins, e tutto fila liscio per un paio di minuti, ma poi il benigno e salutare demone dell’improvvisazione e della ricerca sembra prendere per mano i musicisti per portarli in un altrove fatto di sonorità più instabili. Ma i colpi di scena non finiscono qui, poiché, alla metà del pezzo, bruscamente tutto s’interrompe e si torna ad inseguire il fantasma di una melodia sfuggente condotta dal sax di John O’Gallagher che, per tutta la parte centrale dirige le danze, per poi di nuovo spegnersi, riaccendersi e confluire nello sbriciolamento finale dove tutti gli strumenti disintegrano qualsiasi suono intero in un pulviscolo di sonorità. In Prequel, dopo un insinuante intro d’organo, il cuore del brano è lasciato alle meditazioni su corde di Michael Formanek, “contrabbasso in purezza con disturbi d’organo” e al quasi contrappunto dei tre fiati, che si fanno eco a vicenda, costituendo un brano dei più interessanti dell’intero album. È dolce ascoltare l’inizio di It Was, un po’ malinconico e dal taglio decisamente più classico che, come un Yellow-cab, sembra procedere su una avenue newyorkese deserta. Stesso discorso per For My Consideration, benché a turbare l’idillio di fiati e batterie ci pensi il sussulto continuo dell’organo di Hawkins. Anche Aka the Stinger scorre via veloce con ritmo e senza troppe sorprese, subito incalzata da Gone Home_Interlude for Susan Alcorn, (dedicato alla grande musicista statunitense pioniera della pedal steel guitar), con la tromba di João Almeida e l’Hammond di Hawkins ad evocare i glissanti suoni di Susan: paradossi e poesia del jazz, pianeta dalle infinite atmosfere, brano che per raffinatezza, originalità e poesia, vale tutto l’album. Ma dimenticatevi subito queste atmosfere rilassate, perché con Braxes ecco una sferzata di vento fatta di tromba e sax che liberamente si inseguono e si rincorrono con vigore. Molto originale l’attacco d’organo Hammons in Quinze, così come il suo dialogare con la tromba nella parte centrale del lungo brano, con un ammiccamento più che esplicito all’elettronica nella parte conclusiva. Successivamente si viene immersi nel buio pesto di Night Total, in una di quelle notti dove però si intravedono piccoli bagliori intermittenti, luci di lontane città, aloni di neon che sembrano scorrere dal finestrino di un’auto in corsa e sembrano condurci su strade ignote. Tutto questo, elaborato però col suono, e non con le immagini, non è cosa da poco. E che durante l’ascolto mi torni alla mente qualche viaggio sulle corde dei Kronos Quartet, non mi sembra nemmeno poi un caso… Del resto musicisti così non potevano deludere!

https://offtopicmagazine.net/2026/04/28/michael-formanek-new-digs//

Contrebassiste très demandé dès les années ’80, Michael Formanek a joué dans des contextes aussi différents que celui du pianiste Fred Hersch, Freddie Hubbard et Dave Liebman. On le trouve comme contrebassiste régulier avec Tim Berne, aussi dans le quartet de Craig Taborn sur le label ECM, mais il sort aussi de nombreux albums en tant que leader. Sous le nom de « Thumbscew », il forme un trio régulier avec la guitariste Mary Halverson et Tomas Fujiwara aux drums qu’on retrouve tous deux sur ce nouveau projet, augmenté d’une solide équipe de souffleurs : John O’Gallagher au sax alto, Chet Doxas aux sax-ténor et clarinette et Joao Almeida à la trompette. Un septet créé lors d’un festival au Portugal en 2023. Avec l’orgue Hammond de Alexander Hawkins, le septet ouvre de nouvelles voies dans les sonorités d’une formation de type classique, mais dont l’énergie et l’intensité du jeu à la limite parfois du chaos sont passionnants à découvrir, dans des climats qui naviguent entre l’esprit coltranien de Chet Doxas et la subtile créativité de Mary Halvorson. Quant à Formanek, ses explorations sonores à la contrebasse, son engagement dans les voies de l’avant-garde, l’intégrité de sa musique font de lui un des musiciens les plus excitants à écouter.

https://jazzmania.be/michael-formanek-new-digs//

Michael Formanek volta a confirmar aquilo que os seus últimos discos já evidenciavam: no jazz, as partes organizadas e escritas, não têm que ser diferentes ou contrastar com as improvisadas; nem a improvisação é um gesto de rutura com a forma. Em New Digs, o seu mais recente disco editado pela Intakt, o contrabaixista e compositor norte-americano propõe uma música em que a escrita e a improvisação fazem parte de um todo coerente e orgânico; e em que a escrita abre espaço para a improvisação e esta, por sua vez, devolve à escrita mudança e ventilação. O resultado é um disco muito sólido e muito poroso.

Há, desde os primeiros segundos, um elemento encantador: o som deste septeto. O casting do contrabaixista para este disco criou um som muito próprio. O grupo não soa como uma extensão do Thumbscrew, embora convoque inevitavelmente essa memória de rigor estrutural e liberdade controlada. Aqui a paleta é outra, mais larga e mais estratificada, em grande medida graças à presença do órgão Hammond de Alexander Hawkins, à secção de metais (que apesar de ser só um trio é encorpada com o B3 e a guitarra deslizante como um trombone agudo). O resultado é um som quente, denso, mas com luminosidade.

Para além da escrita de Formanek e da instrumentação do septeto, Alexander Hawkins é um dos grandes responsáveis por esta identidade do disco. O seu instrumento não surge como citação de um idiomatismo hard-bop (Jimmy Smith, Lonnie Smith ou Larry Young): toca sem vestígios da soul music, mas a essência permaneceu, como se fosse uma versão contemporânea desta ideia. Toca de um modo abstracto, levando o Hammond para locais onde ainda não tinha ido. Elástico, por vezes textural, dá a todos os solos dos elementos do grupo uma base dinâmica. Mas também encorpa a secção de metais, aumentando a profundidade harmónica.

A guitarra de Mary Halvorson é o segundo elemento que dá originalidade ao som e à música do grupo. O seu fraseado, com aquela mobilidade escorregadia, tão característica, dialoga de forma notável com o Hammond. Juntos criam um som oblíquo, em que a solidez melódica nunca afasta uma sensação de desvio iminente.

A música é densa, mas não pesada; complexa, mas não afetada; organizada, mas liberta.

Do outro lado dessa textura mais ampla está a secção de metais, relativamente reduzida em número, mas de enorme poder (até porque, como já referimos, passa a quinteto facilmente sem perder a sonoridade dos metais). John O’Gallagher, Chet Doxas e João Almeida são articuladores e distribuem o jogo: chamam o grupo às formas organizadas. Dão as frases melódicas e disparam em solos. O’Gallagher, em particular, destaca-se pela intensidade. Doxas alterna entre saxofone tenor e clarinete, acrescentando diversidade tímbrica. João Almeida, por sua vez, afirma-se com uma forma de tocar simples e concisa, quase o oposto de O’Gallagher que traz o saxofone referencial americano. O trio de sopros, embora compacto, soa maior do que é, precisamente porque está sempre enquadrado por uma escrita que lhe multiplica funções.

Essa é, aliás, uma das dimensões centrais de New Digs: a relação entre escrita e improvisação que tem a virtude de se manter estruturalmente firme sem impor uma rigidez de engenharia. Estabelece zonas de densidade, propõe contrastes, cria pontos de mudança. O texto musical contém, em potência, caminhos possíveis de transformação; o grupo é guiado, mas ao mesmo tempo guia, porque quando chega a esses momentos conjuntos, pode ir para destinos que não estavam no mapa inicia. Quando a próximo momento escrito chega, encaixa nos novos planos, na zona para onde a música se deslocou.

Poder-se-ia dizer que há aqui uma espécie de arquitetura das casas palafíticas do Tejo: os pilares existem, são sólidos mas não parecem. O ouvinte não os ouve como elementos de suporte, mas escuta sobretudo a sua função de resposta a uma contexto natural, suficientemente permeável para a deixar passar água e vento, sons e silêncios. Nas casas das aldeias palafitas do tejo, o essencial está na relação entre elevação, estabilidade e adaptação ao terreno.

New Digs é um disco muito consistente e destacável na obra de compositor e bandleader de Michael Formanek. Música que parte de um pensamento sobre forma e som do grupo, intelectual, mas acessível a todos, que revela calor humano e muito saber musical.

Confirma-o como um dos compositores mais inteligentes, elegantes e exigentes do jazz contemporâneo. Música flutuante e com peso, com memória e imaginação.

...

E há ainda uma camada suplementar de significado que não resisto a referir: New Digs, novas explorações, novas descobertas, novos lugares, novas moradas. Este é o primeiro álbum de Formanek depois da sua mudança de armas e bagagens para Portugal. O grupo foi estreado em Guimarães. Foi gravado em Ponte do Rol, Torres Vedras, a terra que adotou para viver e se estabelecer. Tocar na minha aparelhagem, em Lisboa, em repeat.

Uma nota post scriptum sobre a qualidade gráfica da capa. Formanek, Tim ...