After four years, the long awaited CD by Brazilian Hermeto Pascoal has finally arrived. Eu e Eles (I and Them) produced by Hermeto’s son, Fabio, represents Hermeto at his finest and most personal. The diminutive albino musician with the long flowing hair also know as O Bruxo (The Sorcerer) plays all the instruments on this solo outing. Comparisons to such American iconoclasts as Harry Partch, Rahsahn Roland Kirk, Frank Zappa and John Cage are all accurate, but top that off with a vivid musical imagination which effectively combines the music forms of frevo, maxixe, xaxado and baiao and adds his own distinctive personality to it and you really have a unique and exciting music.
His fans won’t be disappointed as it is all pure Hermeto. Always one to surprise, Hermeto, on this CD, even uses a sewing machine! Also those little squeaky bathroom toys, a bicycle horn, along with the usual assortment of percussive instruments, bamboo flutes, piano, guitar, teakettle and vocals to make new and exotic music. Hermeto is known as the guy who uses live pigs to set up a rhythm vamp, plays flute duets with frogs and harmonium to accompany a beehive.
From a recent interview with Carlos Calado, Hermeto had this to say about his new CD: “It was the right moment” (Hermeto has not been in a studio to record his own music since January of 1992). The title Eu e Eles refers to the musicians he pays tribute to: singer/composer Jackson do Pandeiro, the gaucho sanfonist Renato Borghetti and Miles Davis. “When I composed ‘Capelinha e Lembrancas,’ I felt strongly the presence of Miles,” said Hermeto.
Miles Davis, the great talent scout and music visionary, was a huge fan of Hermeto. As the story goes, Miles wanted to collaborate with Hermeto and record everything he composed, but Hermeto said he wouldn’t have anything left for himself. Unfortunately, Miles passed away before this unique collaboration took place. But Hermeto does appear on Miles’ “Nem um Talvez” and “Little Church” which were attributed to Miles on the first edition of Live Evil.
There’s all this talk about “world” music today but you rarely see Hermeto’s name mentioned. Most of the so called “world” music sounds puny against Hermeto Pascoal’s fascinating music. If you really want to hear something exotic, exciting and new, check out Es e Eles.
