Released: 28/04/23
Recorded in March 1979, 'Saudades' was the culmination of Brazilian
percussionist Naná Vasconcelos's dream of hearing the berimbau in an
orchestral context.
It was made possible through the creative input of Egberto Gismonti, here the
arranger of the material for strings, as well as co- composer and supporting
soloist. The Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart was conducted by Mladen
Gutesha (who had worked with ECM previously on trans-idiomatic projects with
Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal). Saudades remains an extraordinary
journey, an ahead-of-its-time album, waiting for the world to catch up.
This vinyl reissue, in gatefold sleeve, adds new liner notes providing historical
context and background information.
Naná Vasconcelos: berimbau, percussion, gongs, voice
Egberto Gismonti: 8-string guitar
Members of Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, conducted by Mladen Gutesha.