U.S. audiences have the rare opportunity to witness Brazilian jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal thanks to Adrian Younge and Jazz is Dead. The revered composer/multi-instrumentalist brought his band to Mississippi Studios in Portland, OR as part of his first U.S. tour in years, playing two shows after a second was added due to overwhelming demand.
Also known as “O Bruxo” or “The Wizard” due to his appearance and otherworldly abilities, Hermeto Pascoal is one of the most influential musicians/composers in Brazilian music. He was born in a rural part of Brazil that lacked electricity but, being albino, was unable to participate in farm work with the rest of his family, so instead, he stayed indoors and practiced the accordion for hours a day, developing a mastery of music at a young age. He achieved international notoriety playing on Miles Davis‘s 1971 album Live-Evil, which featured three of his compositions, with Davis allegedly referring to him as “the most impressive musician in the world.”
Like Davis, Pascoal earned a reputation for experimenting in new and revolutionary ways. Cited as a major influence by avant groove trio Medeski, Martin & Wood, he often incorporates non-instruments into his performances, famously playing his beard, water vessels, and other objects as instruments. Recently, a video of his piece “Mistérios do Corpo“, in which he makes music with his own body, has been memeified, and it is not the first time one of his experimental, over-the-top performances has been shared out of context for humor.
me: this edible ain’t shit
me 20 minutes later after plugging in the casio: pic.twitter.com/N1TYU6n5NM— boss crood (@bosscrood) May 31, 2023
Now as advanced in age at 86 as he is in musical stature, Pascoal often sat down during the performance and rested as his agile band wowed the audience with impossibly quick yet irresistibly danceable latin jazz rhythms. Spectators gyrated in their seats upstairs in the completely full balcony while the rest stood packed in wall to wall on the floor downstairs.
The energy in the room was ecstatic, like a Brazilian samba parade, as each band member whipped the crowd into a frenzy one after another with astounding solos and driving percussion, but the atmosphere shifted whenever Hermeto stood and stepped up to his keyboard. All eyes were locked on him, and an eerie calm fell over the audience as he soloed, his right hand streaming up and down the keyboard with no apparent effort while his left stayed mostly stationary.
During one solo, he sang along as he played intricate melodies and then invited the crowd join in as if to say, “It’s easy. You can do it too!” The audience was particularly enthusiastic as they sang his melodies back to him. During another tune, he blew a shofar (ram’s horn) like John Coltrane if he was a Hasidic rabbi on Rosh Hashanah while using his spare hand to comp on his keyboard.
Hermeto Pascoal Plays The Shofar – 5/31/23
[Video: J4LM]
After nearly two hours of explosive modern jazz with a Brazilian twist, the show ended as it began, with a joyous a cappella plus percussion procession that blurred the lines between the concert and ordinary life, with the band continuing to play as they exited the stage.
Those near Los Angeles have one last chance to see Hermeto Pascoal as he concludes his U.S. tour tonight at The Mayan Theater. Tickets are available here.
Hermeto Pascoal – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR – 5/31/23
[Video: J4LM]
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