As drummer Alex Kautz sees it, there are two parts to his musical brain: the Brazilian side, developed while growing up in São Paolo, and the jazz side, which came later, opening his ears to a wide world of musical possibilities. Those two approaches developed separately for Kautz and were initially fueled by different inspirations. Upon moving to New York City in 2007, though, he found a musical community that encouraged both, soon pushing him to new heights. “New York makes you find your uniqueness as a musician,” Kautz explains. “You really need to find a voice to fit. There are so many people playing so well and so many artists with their own ideas.”

Kautz’s approach to drumming now manifests his popular and traditional Brazilian influences and his jazz experience—steeped in foundational greats like Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams—as well as the intrepid melding of those worlds found in the music of Airto Moreira. His work as a side musician reflects his varied interests, and since embedding himself in the New York scene, Kautz has landed gigs drumming alongside artists including Tim Ries, Magos Herrera, Nilson Matta, Chico Pinheiro, Lenny Andrade, Fabio Gouvea, Steve Wilson and Michael Rodrigues among others.

As Kautz’s debut recording as a leader, the title of Where We Begin can be taken literally. But the album far exceeds that limitation. Across eight tracks, Kautz and company paint a colorful picture of a bridge between contemporary jazz and Brazilian pop and folk styles. On Where We Begin, Kautz presents a musical voice developed over his lifelong musical journey and promises there’s much more to come. —from the liner notes by Nick Millevoi