HIIT - For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror

2023

Simone Quatrana  piano | Andrea Grossi  doublebass | Pedro Melo Alves  drums and percussion

HIIT is a piano trio of contemporary improvised music, with compositional frames that feed focused real-time composition. You hear aesthetics reminiscent of the improvised and composed music of the 20th and 21st century. You hear hot blooded energy which is not afraid of lyric melody, abstract contemplation, and structured formal matrixes.
Connecting the new Portugal and Italy music scenes, it is composed by the pianist Simone Quatrana, double bassist Andrea Grossi and drummer Pedro Melo Alves.

“…three distinct characters developing layers and plateaus of an inspiring soundscape/energy field. The music is courageous in its commitment to colorful abstraction, and virtuosic in the expression of the content. (…) this is a wonderful record that will energize the listener.” Hank Roberts

Simone Quatrana is an Italian jazz improviser and pianist. With several bands he has performed in Italy and Europe, making himself known in the environment of radical improvisation, playing with Peter Brotzmann, Mikolaj Trzaska, Rudy Mahall and Ken Vandermark with whom he recorded two albums and played an European tour. He won the National Award of Arts for Best Soloist and he was listed twice on Top Jazz as the Best New Italian Talent of 2020 and 2021, in the magazine Musica Jazz.

Andrea Grossi is an Italian double bass player and composer. Critically acclaimed as one of the best new Italian talents on the rise, he has performed in important festivals and theaters in Italy and abroad and has released recordings for various labels, including three records as leader: Lubok, Four Winds, Songs and Poems (We Insist! Records). He has always been interested in all kinds of avant-garde and experimental music, with a special focus on improvised music. In 2017 he founded his trio, Blend 3. He has also worked in dance and performing arts. His international collaborations: Barre Phillips, Gyorgy Kurtag Jr., Tobias Delius, Eyvind Kang, Aruan Ortiz, Marcelo Nisinman, Steve Swell, Walter Thompson, Michel Doneda, Thomas de Pourquery, Cristina Zavalloni, Lynn Cassiers and Diana Torto.

Pedro Melo Alves is one of the most prominent drummers and composers in the recent avant-garde music scene in Portugal. Having been awarded with multiple awards and nominations he’s been increasingly present in the international music scene, presenting his projects worldwide and playing with musicians such as Mark Dresser, Ra Kalam Bob Moses, Peter Evans, Joe Morris, Sun Ra Arkestra, Eve Risser, Luke Stewart, Audrey Chen, John O’Gallagher or Chris Pitsiokos.Today he plays and composes for his Omniae Large Ensemble, The Rite of Trio, In Igma, his percussion duet with Pedro Carneiro, duo MOORIS, composes for Theatre, Dance, Cinema and erudite music and is a part of many projects, such as Luís Vicente Trio, Surma, Memória de Peixe and Rodrigo Brandão LX Livre.