Andrew Moreno - Axiom (2025)

Guitarist Andrew Moreno grew up in Caracas, where his love for jazz took root. His musical journey took him via Mallorca to Rotterdam, where he continued his path at Codarts and the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In 2024, he won the Erasmus Jazz Prize with his trio — an encouragement that led to Axiom: a personal, layered album that took a while to come, but is now seeing the light of day. Axiom is the soundscape of an inner journey: about letting go and starting over, about homesickness and hope, about how music gains new meaning every day. Moreno's sound carries the echo of worlds he left behind and of new ones he found — an inspired search for freedom, grounded in twenty years of musical experience.

The exciting opening track Oppa opens the album with a beautiful glimpse into Moreno's musical world. His flowery language becomes palpable in the layered sound structures and the subtle interweaving of voices. Above an impressionistic sound carpet, Tineke Postma on soprano sax and Bo Van der Werf on baritone sax are given plenty of room to breathe, search and excel. Moreno himself often chooses a serving role, but, as in the sultry Faust, he emphatically lets his versatile timbre be heard — sparkling, wrenching and lofty where necessary. The dark intro of Machine Girl, introduced by drummer Tristan Renfrow and bassist Jonathan Ho Chin Kiat, sets the tone for an exciting piece that balances between tension and freedom.

On the album Axium, improvised music is made into a fabric: thick carpets of sound carry the listener through transparent landscapes, like a journey without a fixed route but with a clear direction. After the penetrating Farewell and the sonorous, melancholic 2010, the light-hearted Thank You brings a breath of gratitude. This openness is continued in Vanilla Song, where complex drum rhythms by Renfrow mingle with Moreno’s free improvisations — playful, almost groping. In Umbrella, Postma is again central, this time on alto saxophone, with a sound that is both clear and surprisingly warm.

Bassist Ho Chin Kiat introduces Matrix with a thoughtful melodic line, over which Moreno drapes an expressive film of sounds — layered, with echoes of memory and hope. Finally, IFFA brings the album to a worthy conclusion: firmly anchored, but with an open mind. It leaves the listener with the impression of having experienced something essential — not just musically, but also humanly.