Hermeto Pascoal, 'the sorcerer' of world music
At 86 years of age, this unclassifiable author and performer is performing in Barcelona with his sextet.
Hermeto Pascoal is a Brazilian producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist known for his skills in orchestration and improvisation. On 2 November, he will be performing at the Sala Apolo as part of the Barcelona Jazz Festival.
Admired by musicians of the stature of Astor Piazzolla and Miles Davis, the crazy albino, as he is called, has the ability to make music out of anything - pots, toys or pipes - and has included animal bellows and squeals on his albums: pigs, parrots and a variety of fauna with which he claims to be able to communicate, a legacy of a rural childhood.
In his opinion, he has been a musician since he was born, as "music is not learned" but is a natural gift. His repertoire - which he defines as "universal" - encompasses styles such as bossa, forró nordestino, free jazz, bayón, classical music and even tango, thanks to the breadth of his musical knowledge and an extra-musical background based on the search for something mystical that he calls "the elemental unity".
Hermeto's career began in the mid-1950s with appearances on several Brazilian recordings with relatively unknown groups. These now-classic albums and the musicians involved - Edu Lobo, Elis Regina or Cesar Camargo Mariano - opened up new and highly influential avenues in post-bossa nova Brazilian jazz. In 1966 he formed Sambrasa Trio, which released only one album: Em som maior. He later joined Trio Novo, renamed Quarteto Novo, together with Airto Moreira, Heraldo do Monte and Théo de Barros. He made his solo debut in 1970 and has since led his own bands and played at numerous festivals.
Between 1996 and 1997, he worked on a book project called Calendário do Som, which contained a song for every day of the year, including 29 February, so that everyone would have one for their birthday. With thirty albums under his belt and more than eight thousand compositions in his bag, in 2019, he won the Latin Grammy award for best roots album in Portuguese for the work Hermeto Pascoal e su visão original do forró.
Tickets to enjoy the performance of Hermeto Pascoal's sextet cost 33 euros and can be purchased in advance at this link.