Fresh and fiery sounds make for compelling Causa Efeito Festival in Lisbon

What better way to confirm a festival’s underground credentials than to have its opening set take place in a subterranean car park? That’s how Lisbon’s Causa Efeito kicked off, with a gripping display of free jazz by the kinetic Norwegian rhythm section of bassist Henrik Sandstad Dalen and drummer Jomar Jeppsson Søvik, with Danish alto saxophonist Amalie Dahl making full use of the space’s cavernous acoustics.

Above ground in the swish university auditorium, performances showcased a diverse bill of international artists – including a smattering of guest Italians – skilfully curated across three nights by Pedro Costa, former head of the excellent, now sadly defunct Clean Feed label. A trio of distinct personalities closed the first night with an ancient-to-future fusion: Italian saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo adding ambient sax and Iranian bagpipe textures to dense electronic constructions by Greek composer Yannis Kyriakides and consistently thrilling drum inventions by US drummer Frank Rosaly.

Day two began with a stunning solo improvisation by Inga Stenøien (pictured above) on acoustic classical guitar. Though yet to record an album, Stenøien has already developed a unique idiom of blunt, guttural attacks that sidestep conventional improv moves, and which literally left her fingers raw and bleeding. A quintet named Old Mountain (pictured below) – featuring the twin double-basses of Portugal’s Hernani Faustino and US veteran Drew Gress – played sumptuous compositions that embraced the abstract but weren’t afraid to swing, bookended by a gorgeous lullaby by pianist Pedro Branca that tapped into a feeling of eternal calm. Bringing down the house was the extraordinary first on-stage encounter of mercurial Portuguese pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro and Italian tenor saxophonist Pasquale Calo who blew with a fire and authority that summoned spirits.

The final night brought more contrasts. Clad in his customary striped shirt, Paolo Angeli played solo on self-built Sardinian guitar – a hybrid of guitar and cello with additional strings and accoutrements, augmented by effects pedals – and added plangent vocals, particularly moving in a lament for Palestine. The following duo of UK pianist Kit Downes and alto saxophonist José Soares didn’t quite seem to take off, with Soares somehow tentative and reluctant to make any bold statements, leaving the quick-witted Downes to take up the slack. No such lack of confidence was apparent in the final set by a new quartet called Sprotch, formed by Brazilian saxophonist Yedo Gibson, who roared mightily alongside up-coming trombonist Alfred Wammer while US bassist Michael Formanek and the always excellent Norwegian powerhouse drummer Paal Nilssen-Love laid down a satisfactorily old fashioned free jazz firestorm.