Jonny Wickham - Terra Boa (2023) [Hi-Res]

My influences for the music on this record were so sprawling, that there had to be some elements (apart from my brilliant band) to hold it all together as one cohesive sound. So fundamentally this is my love letter to the many beautiful Afro Brazilian rhythms that I have studied over the past few years.‘Terra Boa’ is Portuguese for ‘Good earth’. In respect to the vibrant and fertile musical landscape of Brazil. Good earth which nourished the growth of my own unique musical branches from strong and deep roots. The grooves are heavily influenced by Afro Brazilian rhythmic traditions, which along with contemporary jazz harmony and improvisation, form the backbone of the music. The conceptual unification of the music on the album was derived from the Japanese aesthetic concept of Wabi-Sabi. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi is a world view centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection and the appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes. This is exemplified by Enso ̄, a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes with ink to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. These seven dimensions of Wabi-Sabi, Fukinsei (asymmetry; irregularity), Kanso (simplicity), Koko (basic; weathered), Shizen (without pretence; natural), Yugen (subtly profound grace), Datsuzoku (freedom), and Seijaku (tranquility), gave me an idea of balance when composing the seven studio tracks.

JONNY WICKHAM - bass, guitar, percussion, mandolin
BEN BROWN - drums, percussion
GREG SANDERS - guitars, cavaco
LYLE BARTON - keyboards
JEREMY SHAVERIN - percussion, cavaco
IRINI ARABATZI - vocals
TOM BARFORD - woodwinds
JAMES COPUS - flugelhorn
ROSIE BERGONZI - handpan
JONNY MANSFIELD - vibraphone
TOM HUTCHISON - percussion