A Sonic Journey

Can you spare 11 minutes?

I am sure that most of you might think that spending a “huge” span of time such as 11 minutes listening to one music performance might be too much. After all, we live in a world shaped by an ever shifting attention, usually triggered by visual stimuli.

Here is a challenge: follow the arc of musical energy of this 11-minute performance by Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo from 1991, recorded live at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Note how Hermeto uses his voice to follow and harmonize his keyboard improvisations (he’s playing an Yamaha DX-7 connected to a Ensoniq sampler), how he brings the band in (Carlos Malta on flute, Itiberê Zwarg on bass, Marcio Bahia on drums, Pernambuco and Fabio Pascoal on percussion, plus myself on piano). This is a combination of thoroughly written music with totally free improvisations, woven so tightly that it becomes almost impossible to tell which is which.

Here it is:

My friend, the musician Dillion Vado, said on Facebook when he posted this link: “Listen to this, you’ll feel better”. However you feel about this music, it is impossible to be indifferent to it.

I spent 15 years playing with Hermeto and the Grupo, and we never knew what was going to happen at any given show. I am grateful that there are some recordings surfacing that provide an aural window into the musical universe of Hermeto’s mind.

What do you think?