João Paulo Esteves da Silva & O.J. Matosinhos - Bela Senão Sem

The album “Bela Senão Sem” brings together original compositions by pianist João Paulo Esteves da Silva and orchestrations written for the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos, creating a sound world where jazz language intertwines with the melodic intuition of Portuguese music.

The pieces function as “songs without words,” exploring the musicality of the Portuguese language and giving lyrical depth to instrumental voices. The album’s aesthetic alternates between precisely written sections and open improvisation — piano solos, large-ensemble interplay, and orchestral textures combine to form a soundscape of great breadth and subtlety. Recorded as part of a collaboration involving Casa da Música, Guimarães Jazz, and the Tone Of A Pitch label, the project reflects a desire to explore new ground between tradition and modernity, improvisation and arrangement. The result is an album that resists easy categorisation, highlighting Esteves da Silva’s compositional sensitivity and the collective strength of the Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos. For the listener, it is a refined immersion in contemporary Portuguese jazz, rich in textures, ideas, and an almost cinematic atmosphere.