The Room is a folkloric album by Fabiano de Nascimento and Sam Gendel. It is a mix of various folk songs from parts of South America and features a 7-string guitar and a soprano saxophone (played by Nascimento and Gendel respectively). Inexperienced music listeners (myself included) might mistake the saxophone for some type of flute as it is very high and plays many precise quick flute-like sequences. The Room is entirely instrumental which serves to showcase the immense talent of the two musicians on their instruments. The guitar work of Fabiano de Nascimento in particular blew me away in regards to the speed and dexterity of the notes. Even though it is just two instruments the range of sounds that is created is truly impressive. I will admit that there were times throughout the 35-minute runtime that the soprano saxophone started to feel tedious as it constantly went up and down the playing the melody, but for the most part, the album is able to maintain a fresh feeling despite the lack of instrumental variation. Needless to say, for those who bear a dislike of instrumental music, this album is probably not going to convince you otherwise. From the limited research I have done on Nascimento and Gendel, they both come from jazz backgrounds so it makes sense that there are parts of the album that sound somewhat jazzy. However, the folkloric sound is still the dominant force on the project. I enjoyed this album much more than I expected to because, even though the melodies are not as varied or dynamic as I would like, the skill that can be palpably heard on the record and the imperfections from the real life playing of the instruments keep the songs engaging.
The Room begins with “Foi Boto” a slow and melodious piece with a catchy melody played by the soprano saxophone which sucks the listener in. Next comes “Capricho”, a much faster song, this time with a jazzy feel to the saxophone and a moving rhythm. This is followed by “Astral Flowers”, which has a flowing quality similar to that of moving water. The melody reminds me of Celtic bagpipes and there are some seriously cool percussive elements to the guitar picking on the song. The next track is “Kewere”, a song which starts out slow and contemplative but gradually picks up pace. It tends to go on a little longer than is necessary as the melody gets worn out. “Cores” has a more traditional pop chord structure with a catchy melody to boot. The next song “Txera”, is my personal least favorite on the album with the melody being too repetitive and slow. “Até de Manha” is another slow song while “Poeira” is reminiscent of Astral Flowers with a smooth guitar harmony and a fluid harmony. “Tupi” seems to be a remix of sorts of “Txera” but the last song “Daiana” is an almost classical sounding piece with a very melody. The guitar solo at the beginning is probably my favorite moment on the whole album.