Back in the 1960s, a young Brazilian musician named Marcos Resende left home to study medicine in Lisbon. While in Europe, he expanded on his musical interests, and dove deep into the worlds of prog and jazz. He returned home to Brazil in 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, where he began collecting keyboards and recruiting players to fill out his ensemble. This group, known as Marcos Resende & Index, released one album in 1978, Festa Para Um Novo Rei, which went on to become a sought-after record for collectors and producers. After that time, Resende released a few solo albums here and there, but mostly worked as a session musician, contributing to albums by Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil, just to name a couple. What got lost in the mix for a lot of people was that Festa Para Um Novo Rei was actually Marcos Resende & Index’s second album – they actually recorded a self-titled album two years priors that sat on the shelf and eventually got lost to time. That is, until the good people at Far Out Recordings got a hold of it and have now put it out into the world for all to enjoy. Unfortunately, Resende passed away just a few months ago, but his memory live on with the release of Marcos Resende & Index.

It won’t take long to see why this album was such a holy grail for those that knew about its existence. Resende assembled a great lineup, with Rubão Sabino (bass), Claudio Caribé (drums) and the late great Oberdan Magalhães, of Banda Black Rio and Cry Babies fame, but it wasn’t just about individual talent here. This group is unbelievably tight, and they are really able to push the musical envelope as they bring Resende’s musical vision to life. As you work your way through the tracks, you can hear what a unique blend of music they were creating, bringing in these European and American influences of prog rock and hard bop, but then mixing that with Brazilian bossa nova and samba to make this sound that was all their own. Resende is leading the way through his mastery of keyboards such as the Mini Moog and the Prophet 5, pushing the limits of what these instruments could do while still remaining incredibly musical and still making sure he’s playing within the song and the ensemble. Sabino and Caribé form a tight backbone as the rhythm section, but then Magalhães comes in as the third heat to the whole album as he moves between soprano sax, tenor sax, and flute, always providing just the right counterbalance to the synthesized sounds that Resende was creating. There are all sorts of juicy moments spread throughout the album, but really this is an album that is best listened to from start to finish, where you can just sit back and enjoy the ride as this brilliant ensemble just blasts off and takes you on this unexpected journey.

Marcos Resende & Index was an album that was in danger of being lost to time, and now that it’s been rescued, I have to give major props to Far Out Recordings for finally letting it see the light of day. Resende did plenty of other great work in his career, but he was building something special with Index, and now we finally get to enjoy their first album as it was meant to be heard.