Algures means ‘somewhere’ in Portuguese, although there’s no sign of the famous Bernstein/Sondheim tune on this album from globe-trotting Brazilian-born bass-player Lopes, now based in New York. His travels have also taken him to London, where he took time to study at the Guildhall School of Music.

It sounds very much like a young man’s album, slick and upbeat, with plenty of riffy doubled bass and left-hand piano. Among the self-penned numbers, Lopes also applies his own rhythmic spin to a couple of standards, giving Wayne Shorter’s ‘Infant Eyes’ the brisk 6/8 treatment, and on ‘Outubro’ (October), he renders Milton Nascimento’s mournful, hypnotic original with added urgency and a bass solo.

While consistently melodic, Algures feels more redolent of New York than Porto Alegre (Lopes’ birthplace in southern Brazil): the sweet melancholy that we so often find in the work of Nascimento or Edu Lobo or Ivan Lins is largely absent.

However, the restless pace eases up a little on a couple of tracks: ‘Famara’ features lyrical explorations from tenor man Ellis and guitarist Gomes, and in the closer ‘Barrinha’ there’s a pleasingly reflective mood, with rippling contributions from the whole band including Gomes and drummer Hoenig.