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Hermeto Pascoal: the Sound of Everything
by Ludovico Granvassu
From his early accordion days and forró roots to his global influence, Hermeto Pascoal lived in total communion with sound, inspiring generations worldwide. More than a multi-instrumentalist, he was a true “multi-thing-ist," turning pianos, flutes, and drums into magic--but also rubber ducks, teapots, rivers, and stalactites. Perhaps shaped by his vision impairment, he treated every style and every sound source with equal respect, creating what he called universal music--not jazz, not strictly Brazilian, but everything at once. This playlist honors ...
Continue ReadingRemembering Hermeto Pascoal: The Sorcerer's Spell
by Ian Patterson
Hermeto Pascoal, the one-of-a-kind Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer, has gone to the great gig in the sky. Known affectionately as Bruxo (Sorcerer), Pascoal passed away on September 13, 2025. He was 89. Few musicians have traversed as many styles of Brazilian music as Pascoal. His first commercial recording, in 1956, was with Clóvis Pereira--the renowned composer of folkloric, choral and orchestral works; Pascoal plays sanfona (button accordion) on two tracks. Over the next 65 years, Pascoal contributed to ...
Continue ReadingHermeto Pascoal: Gaio da Roseira
by Ian Patterson
Hermeto Pascoal (June 22, 1936--September 13, 2025), the internationally renowned Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer, spent sixty years seamlessly fusing Brazilian music with jazz. From the album A música livre de Hermeto Pascoal (Sinter, 1973) the 14-minute track “Gaio da Roseira" captures the vocal lyricism, percussive colors, dancing rhythms, melodic lilt and avant-garde eclecticism that were some of the hallmarks of his music. In the music's most outré passages it is hard to believe that loops and effects are entirely absent. ...
Continue ReadingCal Tjader: Amazonas
by Richard J Salvucci
Multi-instrumentalist Cal Tjader has been gone for over forty years. Had he lived, he would be in his nineties today. The West Coast scene he entered, first as a drummer, then as a vibraphonist, was a world of clubs, acoustic bands, and enthusiastic promoters who pushed their favorite artists' careers. For Tjader, it was San Francisco, the Blackhawk, and jazz writer Ralph Gleason. Tjader broke in playing with Dave Brubeck in 1948. He was continuously employed until his premature death ...
Continue ReadingJazz In Brazil: the legendary composers and musicians
by Larry Slater
Though Bossa Nova, and the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, are Brazil's most recognized musical export, Brazil hosts a vast number of musical styles with musicians garnering international followings. One of the most unique, and influential is the composer and multi-instrumentalist Hermeto Pascoal, who defies categorization. Moacir Santos is revered today as a giant of Brazilian music, but he struggled for recognition throughout his life. The singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento is a globally recognized icon, whose unique ...
Continue ReadingHermeto Pascoal & Grupo: Pra você, Ilza
by Katchie Cartwright
During her final year on the planet, Hermeto Pascoal filled a notebook with chorinhos and other musical offerings to Ilza da Silva Pascoal, his wife of 46 years (1954-2000). Twenty-four years after her death, the Brazilian sorcerer of universal music presents 13 songs from his Ilza notebook in the form of the recording Pra Você, Ilza. In the album notes, he writes of her in the present tense: “Our love, our spirit, our soul remains together. Everything keeps unfolding."
Continue ReadingHermeto Pascoal At UC Theatre
by Walter Atkins
Jazz is Dead (Jazz Está Morto) presented Brazilian multi instrumentalist and composer Hermeto Pascoal (Miles Davis, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Donald Byrd) at Berkeley's beautifully renovated UC Theatre on University Avenue. On this six city tour, his loyal followers were in full force for an evening of eclectic music. San Francisco-based Jazz Mafia enthusiastically warmed up the overflowing crowd. Considered a living legend in his home country, Pascoal treated the standing room only audience to his unique blend ...
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