Celebrations

Viva Hermeto!

Jovino and Hermeto at the entrance of the São Paulo Blue Note Club, June 22, 2026. Photo by Jeff Weinmann.

June 22 marks a very important milestone in the world of music. My mentor Hermeto Pascoal would have turned 90 years old on that day. Born in 1936 in a tiny village in the agreste hinterland of Alagoas state in northeastern Brazil, Hermeto was destined to become one of the greatest musical minds of all time. If this assertion seems farfetched, it’s because Hermeto’s greatness will be known only a few generations from now. No problem; those of us who have known and absorbed his incredible work over the last 50 years know that public recognition is a slow-moving vessel, and we are in no hurry to convince people of his immense talent. Let his music legacy carry his name forward.

Hermeto and family members at the house where he was born in 1936. Photo taken in 1985 by Jovino Santos Neto.

Still, the world is abuzz with tributes and celebrations of his life and music. I am fortunate to be in São Paulo in June working on a recording project by the Bay Area collective known as Alma Matters. It is led by Oakland, CA multi-instrumentalist Jeff Weinmann, who invited me to bring several of my spontaneous compositions created at Jazz Camp West over the course of several years to a beautiful recording studio in São Paulo, plus my arrangement of a fantastic Hermeto composition. Jeff’s idea was to combine American and Brazilian musicians joining forces to create an album featuring their collective talents.

We spent five days in the studio playing and recording music while sharing delicious meals. Players included trombonists Jeff and Natalie Cressman, vocalist Sandy Cressman, drummer Thiago “Big” Rabello, bassist Sidiel Vieira, trumpetist Daniel Alcântara, guitarist/composer Ian Faquini, percussionist Douglas Alonso, pianist Debora Gurgel and vocalists Dani Gurgel and Madeleine Zayas, in addition to Jeff Weinmann on percussion, flute and vocals. I played acoustic and electric pianos.

Coincidentally or not, this past weekend the amazing EMESP Tom Jobim Symphony Orchestra featuring 65 performers under 25 years old performed Hermeto’s powerful and iconic Sinfonia Em Quadrinhos (Comic Strip Symphony), an orchestral suite of 31 movements spanning a wide spectrum of melodies, rhythms and textures. I had been working for years digitizing Hermeto’s 60-page manuscript and generating score and parts for the EMESP Orchestra. The performance followed a studio recording of the work, which was created in 1986 and performed only once then. You can listen to the recently released recording here and see the June 20 performance here.

Invited guests included André Marques, Jotapê Moraes and Fabio Pascoal (Hermeto’s son) playing interludes of the Symphony. I was a surprise guest, playing piano on a beautiful arrangement of Hermeto’s São Jorge. The Orchestra was led by two great conductors, Tiago Costa and Nelson Ayres, who also arranged several of Hermeto’s compositions for the ensemble. For me, it was an emotional and profound experience to join them onstage and to hear how my mentor’s music resonates so well with younger musicians. In fact, I don’t think that a “traditional” symphony would have done justice to the music Hermeto composed 40 years ago.

To continue the festivities, on June 23 I am played a concert at the Blue Note São Paulo with bassist Pedro Gadelha and drummer Rodrigo “Digão” Braz, playing several of Hermeto’s tunes as well as my own music. Here is a video clip from that show, with my composition Pontapé:

JSN Trio at the São Paulo Blue Note Club. Video by Miwa Kozuma.

Two days later, on June 25 I played at the Blue Note Rio featuring bassist João Rafael Souza and my former companion in Hermeto’s Group Marcio Bahia. It was another amazing musical encounter, and also an opportunity to see friends and family in Rio after some years away.

My musical heart is overflowing with emotion and gratitude for these opportunities to make music with great musicians and to visit my home country where I have so many memories.

I heard that Substack now offers automatic post translation, Can some of you comment on that? Is it true?

Thanks for your constant support!

More posts soon…

Cheers,

Jovino