Born and raised in a family of musicians in Bhutan in the Himalayas, Tashi Dorji’s guitar teachers were shortwave radio, which introduced him to rock and heavy metal, and cassettes from India. Thus, when he moved to the USA for college, his contact with free improvisation and, in particular, the music of Derek Bailey changed his life. All these different threads blossom in Dorji’s plucked or accosted strings, forcing our attention as quickly towards exquisitely lyrical moments as exploring more jagged and unharmonious sounds. But his guitar is never less than a permanent box of surprises.

A unique quartet arranged around the violinist Carlos “Zíngaro”, a major figure in Portuguese and European improvised music. Here, Zíngaro, alongside three other renowned improvisers – Marta Warelis (piano), Helena Espvall (cello) and Marcelo dos Reis (acoustic guitar) – performs in a style which, without paradox, is touchingly delicate yet captivatingly and boldly performative. This is a fascinating redefinition of chamber music, with no clash of egos, that emerges as a single astonishing collective voice. Stef Gijssels, in an enthusiastic review for the Free Jazz Blog, wrote that “the canvas they have created is intense, laden with fantasy, kaleidoscopic, unpredictable and astute”.