DIOGO ALEXANDRE BOCK ENSEMBLE

Diogo Alexandre Bock Ensemble

Diogo Alexandre Bock Ensemble was born out of the collective exploration between seven of the most creative musicians in the Portuguese music scenes. Having as its starting point a balance between intellect and expression, plenty of room was allowed for the development of new collective approaches that blur the boundaries between written and improvised music. Pushed to their limits by Alexandre, group members are able to both play with the precision of chamber musicians, as well as to improvise in real time. This performative fluidity and lyricism, coupled with the group’s visceral and impetuous nature, are certain to grab the attention of even the most aloof of audiences.

The direct result of years’ worth of work, this project synthesizes the experiences of a musician who in recent years has received various prestigious awards, including: “Best Jazz Combo” at the 2019 Young Musician Awards, “Best New Artist” at the 2020 RTP/Festa do Jazz Awards, and more recently, “2021 Best New Artist”, according to the Portuguese online magazine JazzLogical.

To give form to the music that he wrote, the drummer and composer specifically sought artists with a clear ability to balance both abstractionism and rationalism, allowing the group to go beyond mere expression, and to incorporate cohesive narrative elements into their music. Diogo Alexandre Bock Ensemble is the perfect example of the current state of evolution of Portuguese jazz, today free from complexes, and perfectly connected to the European and global jazz spaces.