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Regular readers know were big fans of Tallinn's IDA radio station and here's something our mate Chris Long will be getting on his playlist!
In Tallinn, trio Rossano Snel (piano), Marcelo Chacur Politano (tenor sax and overtone flute) and Francesco Russo (bassoon) have come together to reform Brazilian roots and jazz with Rossano’s compositions within an improvisational flow to produce something new and familiar at the same time.
The stately and deeply moving 'And I Miss You' and energetic overtone-flute-laden 'Kena' are two highlights from Rossano Snel’s forthcoming instrumental album 'Sketches of Tallinn', out April 24th on Berlin's XJAZZ label.
Born in Brazil and based in Berlin, Rossano is a self-taught pianist and composer working with lush harmonies, minimalism, Brazilian influences, and cinematic soundscapes. He plays piano and synths, and arranges music for ensembles creating orchestrations that balance chaos and clarity, structure and improvisation. He was a twin. Gemini. At three months pregnant, Rossano's mother had an accident. His sister didn’t survive, he did. That early fracture shaped everything. Since then, he lives as two in one. This imprint left him with a heightened sensitivity - a magnetic pull toward the subtle, the subjective, the hauntingly beautiful. His music often drifts along the blurred edges of melancholy and ecstasy, of dream and disquiet.
In 2023, he released CARBON - an EP shaped by the quiet terror of climate collapse. A piano version of Lithium (Nirvana) appears alongside original works like Force of Nature (you and me) and NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME. His piano piece Sunday 23 was released under the prestigious care of Deutsche Grammophon. He approaches music like someone remembering a wild dream - vividly and sometimes a little haunted.
Marcelo Politano is a Brazilian-Italian composer and multi- instrumentalist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in saxophone from the Campinas State University (Brazil), a master’s degree in classical composition from the Conservatory of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and a master’s degree in audiovisual composition at EAMT (Estonia). He is currently a doctoral candidate at EAMT and at DocMus of the Sibelius Academy in the field of Music Composition. Marcelo has strong ties and a comprehensive knowledge of traditional music in Brazil and Latin America in general. Apart from the saxophone and different types of guitars, he performs various traditional flutes from South America. He is currently a lecturer in traditional music at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre as well as a part-time teacher of ensemble and transcultural composition at the Sibelius Academy in Finland. He is specially interested in the enriching dialogue between musical traditions and artistic practices.
Francesco Pio Russo is an Italian bassoonist, saxophonist, and improviser currently pursuing a Doctorate in Artistic Research at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where he explores the expansion of extended techniques on bassoon in contemporary and improvisational music, under the guidance of Professors Peeter Sarapuu and Theodore Parker. In addition to his classical training, he studied jazz saxophone with renowned artist Stefano Di Battista and remains active as a performer across genres. He has worked as principal bassoon in the Estonian National Opera and since 2023, he has been a member of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.
Album 'Sketches of Tallinn' will be out in April 2026.
Artist: Rossano Snel
Title: And I Miss You / Kena
Release date: 24th April, 2026
Label : XJAZZ! Music
Catalog Number : TBC
Format: 12" Vinyl / Digital
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