| World Jazz |
Summary: A refined blend of Brazilian rhythms, jazz improvisation and chamber textures, Northern Readings reveals a composer balancing structure, spontaneity and cultural identity.
Between Brazil and Beyond, Carlos Henrique Pereira’s “Northern Readings” Finds Its Voice
A piano line opens the record with quiet clarity, soon joined by strings that seem to breathe rather than simply accompany. It is the kind of restrained, patient beginning that asks for attention. By the time the rhythm settles in, Carlos Henrique Pereira has already drawn the listener into his world.
The Brazilian-born pianist, guitarist and composer works at the intersection of folk, jazz and classical traditions. On Northern Readings, melody is not just a feature of the music but its foundation. Each phrase feels carefully shaped, carrying the imprint of his upbringing in Minas Gerais and decades spent refining his voice across continents.
Pereira’s path traces a steady evolution. After a widely praised debut in Brazil, he moved to New York to deepen his studies and gradually built a career as a producer working with artists from varied musical backgrounds. He now lives in California, and that geographic shift subtly informs the album. The sound opens up, at times more spacious, without losing its Brazilian core.
The title track, Northern Readings, captures that balance. A cyclical piano motif anchors the piece while strings rise and recede in slow arcs, creating something close to a cinematic landscape. Elsewhere, rhythmic patterns rooted in Brazilian traditions are stretched and reframed through improvisation. The result is music that feels both grounded and exploratory.
The ensemble itself signals this intent. Built around a chamber music sensibility, with strings, double bass and drums, the group moves fluidly between written passages and freer sections. There is a constant sense of listening within the music, of musicians adjusting to one another in real time.
Pereira’s approach echoes a sentiment once expressed by Brazilian cultural figure Gilberto Gil, who described music as both language and a way of discovering the world. For Pereira, that discovery begins with collaboration. “I’ve always wanted to create an album with Brazilian-inspired themes that brings in string players,” he says. “They agreed to step outside traditional roles and fully immerse themselves in this language.”
That spirit extends to the recording process. Alongside the composed pieces, each musician contributes a fully improvised work, recorded in a single take without edits. These moments stand apart. A bowed bass passage that drifts into silence, a fragile piano improvisation that feels almost unfinished, in the best sense of the word. “That’s how you truly hear someone’s voice,” Pereira explains. “After they served my vision, it felt essential to make space for theirs.”
The album finds its strength in that balance between intention and openness. It moves between structure and spontaneity without forcing a resolution. More than a technical showcase, it reflects a deeper experience of place, what it means to live between origins and destinations, between memory and the present moment.
That sense of being between worlds will be familiar to many listeners. There is a particular kind of freedom in learning to feel at home in unfamiliar places, in embracing what is not yet fully known. Not everyone will immediately connect with an album like this. It resists easy categorization and asks for patience. Hearing it live may offer a more direct entry point for some.
For others, Northern Readings will unfold differently. It is an invitation to listen closely, to follow its shifts in texture and tone, and to sit with music that does not rush to explain itself.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 6th, 2026
Follow PARIS-MOVE on X
::::::::::::::::::::::::
Musicians :
Carlos Henrique Pereira: Piano and nylon string acoustic guitar
Rubin Kodheli: Cello
Mads Tolling: Violin and kalimba (5)
Itaiguara Brandão: Acoustic and electric bass
Mauricio Zottarelli: Drums
Track Listing
- First Flight
- Northern Readings
- After Sorrow
- All of Us
- First Moment
- Side by Side
- Second Moment
- Children’s Dream
- Third Moment (Green Pearl)
- Meridian
- Fourth Moment
- Say it like it is
- Fifth Moment
Background info/ Liner Notes:
All songs by Carlos Henrique Pereira except:
5 -Mads Tolling, 7 – Mauricio Zottarelli, 9 – Rubin Kodheli and 11 – Itaiguara Brandão.
Recorded at Miles Away Studios in Santa Rosa, CA
Produced by Carlos Henrique Pereira