Alex Hamburger & José Luiz Martins

About

Alex Hamburger* grew up in D.C., playing with friends and bandleaders in the mid-2010s. After some time away, the flautist, vocalist and composer returned to the District in 2021. Her original music is always full of emotional weight, yet remains immediate and approachable. Her 2021 debut quartet album And She Spoke pays homage to forebears that pioneered space for other women in the arts while her 2023 album What If? channels her contemporary bop style through airy Flora Purim-esque melodic sensibility and the palette of modern electronic jazz. Brazilian-born pianist José Luiz Martins, often found accompanying Hamburger, can be found in clubs around the East Coast approaching straight-ahead with Oscar Peterson-style melodic sensibility and a touch of Monk-ish flair. On his latest project, Odyssey Mixtape , he electrifies his sound and lands it with a jolt between Afro-Brazilian traditions and buoyant West Coast funk. It’s a sound catching a lot of ears, from Alt.Latino to the clubs of D.C. The two celebrate the release of their first formal duo album, Catalog of Dreams . Disclosure: Alex Hamburger is CapitalBop’s managing director. She had no role in the writing or editing of this listing.