We are already used to the fact that each new group of André Fernandes, distinguished as "Jazz Musician of the Year" in 2007 by the Público newspaper, will arouse a good deal of interest and curiosity. In fact, the path of this prodigious guitarist and composer, who has   marked the Portuguese jazz scene in such a significant way over the last decade, has been guided by a sequence of projects that, regardless of the their inherent value, they would never let anyone guess what might follow.

And it was no different with this Wonder Wheel . It could even be said that this new surprise is even bigger than all the previous ones. Perhaps because it is closer to the pop universe, André Fernandes' new music is perhaps less complex, but no less far-fetched, than that of several of his previous musical adventures, at the same time that, precisely because of its closer to the pop sphere, it sounds richer and more detailed from a textural point of view.

One of the aspects responsible for this wealth undoubtedly comes from the contribution of Inês Sousa, a highly original singer, with a meticulously modulated voice and a precious musical ear, which is perfectly in line with Fernandes’ typically broad and open music. Even more interesting is that Inês Sousa refuses to accommodate herself to the aesthetic that is so in vogue today in the use of the female voice in jazz. When so many singers strive to sound like an instrument, Inês sounds, quite naturally, like that, like another musician in a band made up of superior instrumentalists, who, as a whole, constitute a kind of fine flower of our jazz.