Folia the Music of Egberto Gismonti

SCC1677 2023-01-13

Track List

Folia - 7:06
Em Família - 6:59
7 Anéis - 7:02
Bianca - 5:25
Infância - 10:53
Lôro - 11:23
Karatê - 8:28
Maracatu - 9:34
Cego Aderaldo - 11:12
Baião Malandro - 7:12

Musicians

Gaia Wilmer - arranged and conducted
Maiara Moraes - reeds
Aline Goncalves - reeds
Fernando Trocado - reeds
Rui Alvim - reeds
Gustavo D'Amico - reeds
Joana Queiroz - reeds
Henrique Band - reeds
Bruno Soares - trumpet
Diego Garbin - trumpet
Gilson Santos - trumpet
Pedro Paulo Junior - trumpet
Rafael Rocha - trombone
Everson Moraes - trombone
Jonas Hocherman - trombone
Leandro Dantas - bass - trombone
Luciano Camara - guitar
Rafael Martini - piano
Mayo Pamplona - bass
Lourenco Vasconcellos - drums
Gabriel Grossi - harmonica
Jaques Morelenbaum - cello
Egberto Gismonti - piano

The magical music of Brazilian composer/guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti has enchanted generations of listeners. His celebrated blend of folkloric, jazz, and popular music has stationed Gismonti in the pantheon of Brazilian music. Composer/arranger Gaia Wilmer fell under Gismonti’s spell as a youngster and now honors him with her new large ensemble recording, Folia. // Wilmer began arranging Gismonti’s music for large ensembles while finishing her master’s degree at New England Conservatory, as a rehearsal big band was made available to composers each semester. With a number of arrangements in hand, Wilmer received a grant from the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil which would provide opportunities to perform her music in the Institute’s four concert venues. She anticipated four concerts but was approved for sixteen. // The grant allowed Wilmer to present music of Gismonti at a series of concerts in honor of his 70th birthday in 2018, in which he was part of the program. Gismonti accepted the invitation to play one concert in each of the four cities together with six other special guests, thus allowing Wilmer to enlist harmonica magician Gabriel Grossi and the former Gismonti collaborator, cellist/arranger Jaques Morelenbaum, for what would eventually be twelve performances in four different Brazilian cities and the recording of Folia, which was recorded soon thereafter in São Paulo. // Many musicians have performed the music of Egberto Gismonti. With that in mind, Wilmer wanted to find a way to present his music in a unique way and really make the compositions her own. Wilmer began by selecting pieces that she truly loved, both well-known and more obscure. A handful of the pieces were selected from her favorite Gismonti recording, Em Familia (1981). She approached each piece individually, trying to find intriguing ways to translate them appropriately for nineteen instruments. Even Gismonti pointed out that with her changes and reharmonizations the music had truly become her own re-compositions.