“Beto Paciello plays piano on The Stoic Suite; mysteriously, he’s all but uncredited for it anywhere on the album package. Perhaps the relatively unknown Brazilian wants to play up the caliber of his collaborators: John Patitucci, John Ellis, Rogerio and Anne Boccato and Eric Harland? Don’t you want to hear that already?

Or maybe Paciello’s more interested in presenting himself as a composer, which he is, on all seven of The Stoic Suite’s tracks. The compositions certainly merit the attention. If it’s Brazilian jazz per se, it’s not overtly so — more like straightahead post-bop with some Brazilian flair.“…

DownBeat Magazine (USA)

• “All [tracks] are distinguished by the composer’s intoxicating melody and rich, gorgeous harmony.”

• “Paciello also deserves more credit as a pianist… His harmonically adventurous solo on ‘Amor Fati’ is one of the album’s highlights.”

• “The Stoic Suite deserves to be celebrated.”

• “A sensitive passage that deftly sets up the melody… he’s not completely without self-esteem.”

“The backstory matters here. During the pandemic, Paciello found himself stranded alone in São Paulo. His wife, a neuro-psychologist, was stuck in the United States. His father and his mother both died of COVID. He spent a year at home with his piano and the Stoic philosophers — Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius — and recognised something of himself in what he read. The seven compositions that make up this suite grew directly from that period of isolation and grief. “Amor Fati” — love your fate — was written about his daughter’s first heartbreak. “Memento Mori” memorialises his parents. This is not background colour; it is the entire frame through which the music makes sense.”…

Jazz in Europe (UK)

• “Paciello is a formidable pianist and the central anchor… his touch is unerring, his sense of space admirable.”

• “The Stoic Suite is a persuasive and deeply personal introduction… a unified emotional statement.”

• “This is not background colour; it is the entire frame through which the music makes sense.”

• “São Paulo’s jazz scene deserves far more international attention… and albums like this one make the case compellingly.”

“Nous ne connaissions pas Beto Paciello, pianiste et arrangeur brésilien officiant depuis une quarantaine d’années dans de nombreux genres musicaux, mais comme il n’est jamais trop tard pour les curieux, on ne se prive cependant pas de vous parler de ce disque très intéressant exécuté de main de maître par un sextet ou brille une rythmique haut de gamme (voir le line up). Tout est en place dans ces compositions fouillées où la nuance est un impératif de tous les instants.”…

Culture Jazz (France)

• “Executed with a master’s hand by a sextet where a high-end rhythm section shines.”

• “Everything is in place in these detailed compositions where nuance is a constant imperative.”

• “This extremely melodic suite in seven tableaux does not weary the listener… it is so finely crafted.”

• “A very interesting record… A must-discover.”