abacaxi @ downbeat (us)
Two of the festival’s stand-out sets artfully balanced control and blissful abandon. Late on Thursday night at the Nexus stage, the remarkable new power trio Abacaxi—“pineapple” in Portuguese—summoned an exhilarating fresh sound, geared around maverick guitarist Julien Desprez. Elements of abstraction, snarly noise and prog mixed with the guitarist’s gymnastic, dance-like maneuvers on an array of floor pedals, including stage lighting controls. Premiering at last year’s JazzFest Berlin and a highlight at May’s FIMAV festival in Quebec, Abacaxi is one of the more exciting, genre-blurring and multisensory new ensembles around.