Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Yamandu Costa: Ida E Volta

351

Yamandu Costa: Ida E Volta

By

Sign in to view read count
Yamandu Costa: Ida E Volta
Brazilian music boasts a variety of genres that combine African rhythms with Brazilian and Portuguese instrumentation, harmony and melody. Choro is one such style, whose quick tempos, improvisation and complex structure demands virtuosity. The Brazilian nylon 7-string guitar, with its additional bass string, has become standard in Choro ensembles, enabling the intricately structured harmonics. Yamandu Costa is a young guitarist who astounds with his technique; with the multifaceted Ida e Volta (Coming and Going) he intertwines choro with jazz and world musics for an exhilarating session.

Joining Costa are bassist Guto Wirtti and violinist Nicola Krassik, to round out a string-based power trio that beautifully commingles the sonorities of each instrument. With selections divided among solo guitar, trio performance and a gorgeous guitar/bass ballad entitled "O Sapo E O Grilo (The Frog and the Cricket), Costa elegantly exposes commonalities among disparate genres. A hint of Appalachia, flamenco and guitarists Leo Kottke and Django Reinhardt are but a few influences that happily coexist in Costa's 7-string. "Bonitinha (Pretty Little Thing) has Costa stretching out his instrument's harmonics to a fullness one usually ascribes to a 12-string.

Amazingly, the Brazilian core of this music is never far from center and emotive subtlety is not sacrificed for technical flash. Touchingly emotive guitar soloing, as in the ballad "Se Ela Perguntar (If I Asked Her), fiery rhythmical precision present in the trio pieces and an exceptionally textural full sound are at the heart of these performances. These aspects combined with original compositions and cross-genre sensibility allow Costa to weave together a new Brazilian music that is modern in feel yet anchored in tradition. Ida e Volta showcases a young guitar virtuoso who is advancing Brazilian music for a contemporary world audience through technique, composition and stylistic innovation.

Track Listing

Temporal;O Sapo e o Grilo; Ida e Volta; Cebol

Personnel

Yamando Costa: 7-string guitar; Guto Wirty: double-bass; Nicolas Krassik: violin.

Album information

Title: Ida E Volta | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: GHA Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New York City
Jazz Near New York City
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.