Eddie Daniels Heart of Brazil:
A Tribute
to Egberto Gismonti
Paying tribute
to the world-renowned Brazilian composer and
multi-instrumentalist, Egberto Gismonti. Heart of
Brazil features Daniels with the top-shelf trio of
pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer
Mauricio Zottarelli, plus the Grammy Award-winning
Harlem Quartet. With new arrangements by Ted Nash,
Kuno Schmid and Josh Nelson, Heart of Brazil
collects songs from Gismonti’s classic early 1970s
albums on Odeon/EMI Records, such as his
self-titled 1973 album, Água & Vinho (1972),
Corações Futuristas (1976), Carmo (1977) and
others. The album was produced by Resonance
president George Klabin, who has long felt
Gismonti’s work has been under-appreciated and
deserving of wider recognition. Gismonti says in
his interview with acclaimed author James Gavin,
“When I heard the record I felt immense joy…The
repertoire spans a rich period of my composing.
What a great present for my seventy years of
life.”
Eddie Daniels - Clarinet Josh Nelson -
Piano Mauricio Zottarelli - Drums Kevin Axt - Bass
The Harlem Quartet: Ilmar Gavilan - Violin
Melissa White - Violin Jaime Amador - Viola Felix
Umansky - Cello
Egberto Gismonti
A virtuoso on both guitar and piano,
Egberto Gismonti has created a body of work that stand at
the crossroads of his native Brazil’s folk tradition and
the world of classical music, in a way which echoes his
predecessor Heitor Villa-Lobos. He is also a masterful
improviser. Gismonti has been described as approaching the
fretboard as though it were a keyboard, often creating the
impression of more than one player. His blazing technique
is capable of summoning up an almost orchestral palette of
colours.
Gismonti was born into a musical family in
Carmo (Rio de Janeiro state) in 1947. After first studying
the piano, he took up the guitar in his teens. He went on
to study composition, orchestration and analysis in Paris
under Webern’s pupil, Jean Barraqué, and the legendary
Nadia Boulanger. On his last day as Boulanger’s student,
she told him to “be a little irresponsible in [his] music,
just trust and break the rules”. A critical stage in his
development was his encounter with the indigenous peoples
of the Amazon rain forest and their music: his researches,
and human encounters, changed his view of the expressive
possibilities of musical language and continue to
fertilise his work to this day.