PRIMAVERA was featured in the Weekend Playlist from the New York Times!

By Nate Chinen

“The vocalist Sara Serpa and the guitarist André Matos hail originally from Portugal, but they met in Boston during their conservatory years, and have strengthened their bond in New York. “Primavera,” their first duo album, is gemlike in its beauty and precision, and manages to be purely about the depth of their rapport even when another musician enters the picture. (Only three ever do: the keyboardists Leo Genovese and Pete Rende and the saxophonist Greg Osby, who has released the album on his label, Inner Circle.) Most of the album’s pieces are originals and obvious keepers. Among other things, Ms. Serpa composed the title track, an intricate postbop concerto for her clear and limber voice. For his part, Mr. Matos contributed some quietly breathtaking songs: “Tempo,” a waltz in the clouds; “Gardening,” a dose of velvet dissonance; “Caminho,” which nods to Milton Nascimento; “Rios,” which nods to Paul McCartney. Occasionally Ms. Serpa and Mr. Matos multitrack their parts, thickening the texture and harmony. But even then the music retains its transparency and shimmering lightness.”