From Spain, we have our second quality áMARXE release of the week, this time Spanish trumpeter, Ricardo Formoso, a degree educated musician who has been a member of the Orquestra Jazz Matosinhos and collaborated on multiple projects and recordings.

As a background to this review, when I first listened to Electric Rebound, I was at my desk working. It had not been a particularly positive day, and I was, not to put too fine a point on it, fed up with my employer and working for them. From the very first notes of this album, the stress washed away, a perfect blend of quality musicianship and feel-good vibes designed to remind one why life is so wonderful and every moment should be cherished, even the less positive ones.

In addition to the brass master releasing his third album, we have Virxilio da Silva on guitar;
Iago Mourinho on electric piano; and Miguel Cabana banging the drums.

Orion kicks us off, discussed recently here in the UK as the potential progenitor of nuclear fusion energy. The musicians drafted in show their chops immediately, some gorgeous jazz vibes entering the senses in the manner I described before, the guitar moving up and down, before that cool flugelhorn starts. As regular listeners to my radio show will know, I was a relatively late convert to the genius of Miles Davis, but have more than made up for it since, and I believe it is perfectly acceptable to include Formoso in the same breath, in terms of songwriting and musicianship. One marvels at the complexity and intensity of the guitar work da Silva gives us, the notes of Formoso providing a stellar set of notes in which you can hear the diaphragm working overtime and some interesting effects on the keys. Exceptional jazzy goodness.

This delight is followed by Pulse Circuit, used to generate quick bursts of energy in many electronic systems, and the opening notes are, indeed, pulsing, some grand percussion before the flugelhorn delivers the stimulus, and there are some gorgeous guitar notes accompanying this, understated, yet vital, before it takes centre stage again with classic dexterity.

Voltage Dreams follows, electrical impulses firing your subconscious imagination, and there is, indeed, a deep night quality to the opening guitar notes, the percussion firing up the portent of the cerebral visual to follow, which is announced by Formoso’s notes. The piano, guitar, and percussion transport us then on our twilight journey, mostly benign, I believe, the dreams of the blessed, not the nightmare of the cursed, Formoso taking a well-travelled dream walk with the loveliest tune, the volume turned up prior to the waking event.

Overloaded follows, when demand exceeds the circuit’s capacity. This is a heavier state of affairs, the riffs and screaming notes perfectly describing that energetic breakdown, frenetic at the top, and booming below. This track is embedded below for you to enjoy, a nice blend of experimental jazz rock, the guitar solo particularly incessant, a glorious noise with heavy rock sensibilities.

This is followed by the title track, which has a fine riff on the drums to start us off, and when the electric piano joins, it is a head nodding, toe tapping delight. Formoso’s notes are bright and this is a layered song, each component interesting on its own, but combined providing for a structural delight. There is a post rock feel to the heavier passages, da Silva’s chops as vital as any you are likely to hear in 2026, and the lead duet between him and Formoso is a dissonant joy.

Whispers in the Wire is a fine title for a song and puts me in mind of the tendency these days for us all, especially at work, to put down our dissatisfaction, or simple gossip, in electronic form, where it can be read and played back at will, as opposed to the old days of simple verbal spite. The opening passage is whispered, laid back, and quite lovely, the percussion so good at creating this ambience. The flugelhorn simply carries you away in that conspiratorial state – have you heard? Have you seen? Did he really say that? The outcome of this, the sheer drama, is brought to us by some stunning fretwork. How to tell a story without words, perfectly accomplished here.

This fine album closes with Shift and Switch. Oozing with grooves from the outset, Mourinho outstanding, ridiculously catchy, and a joyous funk drenched manner with which to close an album.

Electric Rebound is an album I will return to for a burst of musical happiness many times in the future. Another winner from possibly the most consistent record label on this planet.