CD ECM Records Egberto Gismonti: Saudacoes

2006 - 2007

Egberto Gismonti - chitara
Alexandre Gismonti - chitara

Camerata Romeu, dirijor Zenaida Romeu

Egberto Gismonti’s first new ECM recording in 14 years is a double-album that indicates the range of his artistry. Disc one features Gismonti the composer on a 70-minute journey through Brazil: “Sertões Veredas – tribute to miscegenation”. It is a work that takes account of Brazil’s culture and history, landscapes and cityscapes, vividly evoked by Cuba’s all-women orchestra the Camerta Romeu, under the leadership of Zenaida Romeu.

Disc two features Gismonti the guitarist in an exciting duo recital with his similarly-gifted son Alexandre, romping through a programme that includes such well-known pieces as “Zig Zag”, “Lundú” and “Dança dos Escravos”.


* * *

The brilliant, kaleidoscopic Brazilian composer Egberto Gismonti has made his first album for ECM in 12 years, Saudações. It’s a double-exposure of where he is now. The first disc presents an orchestral piece… The second is totally different: an hour-plus of stunning guitar duets on original music with his son, Alexandre Gismonti. … This is Mr. Gismonti’s original style, rigorous, percussive, deep, harmony-rich, half of it tied to Brazilian popular music and the dance impulse, all of it singable.
Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

In European sonata or symphony form, Sertoes Veredas could also be construed in terms of a Brazilian waltz or choro, the images of common everyday things and experiences given a kind of magisterial, sometimes transformative treatment. … The 70-minute suite gives us another window into this genius of Brazil, who has been creating original, memorable music for more than 35 years. … Disc two, Duetos de Violoes, returns us to a more familiar format. … Gismonti duets with son Alexandre in a program of 10 originals. … The connections between Duetos de Violoes and Sertoes Veredas are there: some of Saudações’ fun comes from discovering them.
John Ephland, DownBeat