THE SUNDAY JAM BY ISAÍAS ALVES

The drums sound like voices from elsewhere, powerful, deep, ancestral. They call, they gather, they open a space of freedom where anything can happen. This is where Tambours Ancestraux - Jazz from Maranhão and Brazil begins, an explosive jam led by Isaías Alves. A child of São Luís, in north-east Brazil, Isaías is a percussionist and composer steeped in the popular traditions of Maranhão. He grew up to the rhythm of street drums, processions and festivals, before taking his sounds all the way to Europe. With him, tradition meets improvisation, jazz takes root in the land and rhythm becomes language. Inspired by the greats of Maranhão - Tânia Maria, João do Vale, Papete, Josias Sobrinho, César Teixeira - and the giants of Nordeste such as Letieres Leite, Sivuca, Hermeto Pascoal and Naná Vasconcelos, Isaías builds bridges between memory and invention. Here, every jam is unique. It's a living celebration, a collective playground, a moment when sounds circulate, ignite and meet. And it's here that Milanese jazz asserts itself as a genre in its own right - hybrid, inventive, deeply rooted. Come and listen, vibrate, improvise and be surprised. The drums have already started to speak.