The 2008 Brazilian Guitar Marathon brought some of the world's finest guitarists and other instrumentalists to Manhattan on Sunday January 27 at the 92nd Street Y. Sergio and Odair Assad and David Spelman were listed as the curators of the event, and the show was hosted by John Schaefer of WNYC radio. The festival presented a remarkable blend of many different styles of Brazilian guitar playing and featured some fifteen outstanding artists.

On Sunday afternoon I walked from my hotel through Central Park to New York's 92nd Street Y on the upper east side of Manhattan to attend the afternoon session of the Brazilian Guitar Marathon. Although the weather was cold, the music brought a rare treat of Brazilian warmth to Manhattan for the remainder of that day. Things warmed up quickly as the players performed throughout the afternoon and well into the evening. Featured performers included: Badi Assad, Sergio and Odair Assad, Fabio Zanon, Yamandu Cost, Celso Machado, Allison Carvalho, Yamandu Costa, Arthur Kampela, Romero Lubambo and Pamela Driggs among others.

Badi Assad began the Brazilian Guitar Festival with an emotional interpretation of Chico Buarque's beautiful "Joanna Francesca" from her first "Solo" CD released in the early 1990s. As she harmonized gorgeous melodies with the guitar, a silence filled the 92nd Street Y that added to her magical performance. At times Ms. Assad displayed a unique approach to the guitar that features the counterpoint of the voice, guitar, and percussion all at once.

The Assad Duo took the stage next with a set of two classic piano pieces from their Villa-Lobos repertoire. The selections included "A Lenda do Cobocla" and "Alma Brasiliera" (better known as "Choros No. 5") recorded by the duo on an early recording made for the Nonesuch label. Sergio and Odair Assad continued forward with an energetic and effective version of Jobim's "Stone Flower" which was followed by Gnattali's virtuosic "Corta Jaca" from "Suite Retratos".

Brazilian virtuoso, Fabio Zanon was next up with a slightly understated interpretation of Villa-Lobos' "Choros No. 1" and "Etude No. 11". He followed the Villa-Lobos with two rarely performed etudes by Francisco Mignone that contained some very intricate arpeggios and scales, which showcased the brilliant technical skills of Mr. Zanon's virtuosity. As he continued his afternoon set, Zanon also performed Radamés Gnattali's popular "Toccata em ritmo de samba" which the Assad duo brought to public attention with their duo version from their "Alma Brasiliera" record in the mid-1980s.

The afternoon concert continued as Yamandu Costa took the stage; the audience filled with anticipation of hearing this brilliant young Brazilian player who, according to the announcer of both sessions of the Guitar Marathon, no one else wanted to follow. Costa's performance style is hard to describe as he brings together a unique creative world that sounds like a mix of great jazz performers who have mastered the idioms of the improvisation, choros, samba, flamenco, and traditional Brazilian guitar.

Costa's playing reminded me of a young Baden Powell, Rafael Rabello, or Luiz Bonfa, but with much more power and technical ability! In fact, the amazing fingerstyle player Tommy Emmanuel (who didn't play at this festival) and Yamandu Costa share a similar approach to guitar in that they give the audience 150 percent; they are not afraid of taking chances and managing to land on their feet. A highlight of both sessions of the Brazilian Guitar Festival, Mr. Costa didn't leave any stone unturned during his electrifying performance. He managed to weave a quote from Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" into one segue that left the crowd astonished by his mastery of the instrument. Costa's spontaneous approach is refreshing; he performs inspired music that grabs the listener and won't let go. He received a well-deserved standing ovation following his performance.

Arthur Kampela is a Brazilian composer for the guitar who resides in New York City. Of all of the festival's performers Mr. Kampela's set was the most unusual. Even more unsettling was his brief discussion with the host before his set! He truly has a different approach with his compositional guitar style and the music he writes left me wondering if I could handle much more in one sitting.

Don't get me wrong, I heard some of Kampela's impressive music during a set performed in Nashville by Alieksey Vianna just a few years ago; I simply didn't connect with Mr. Kampela's peformance at the 92nd Street Y. One person compared his nylon-string music to the rock musician Frank Zappa with an element of John Cage thrown in as well.

The afternoon sessions concluded with a fine set of performances by Rumero Lubambo and Pamela Driggs followed with a refreshing set of Brazilian standards that showcased Ms. Driggs' convincing and lyrical vocal style. The duo obviously has formed an impressive ensemble which added a nice touch to the afternoon of music. The great Brazilian composer/guitarist, and percussionist Çelso Maçhado was a highlight of the set of music that flowed at the 92 Street Y. His spirit really filled the room through his playing and wonderful sense of humor. Mr. Machado knows how to entertain as well as being a fine performer on several instruments. The afternoon session concluded with a wonderful jam session/finale by The Assad Duo who were joined on stage by Machado, Badi Assad, and Mr. Lubambo. The afternoon performance concluded around 5:30 p.m. and the performers greeted the public which included some famous audience members such as Nato Lima from the legendary 1960's guitar duo of Los Indios Tabajares, Gene Bertoncini, Michael Newman/Laura Oltman, among others.

After a short break and some decent pizza, I was anxious to return for the evening session of the Brazilian Guitar Marathon which resumed at 7 p.m. Badi Assad began the evening session as well with her prepared-guitar piece which she referred to as a lullaby for her newborn child. Her set was well received and included some earlier works from her career making use of her brilliant combination of percussion, singing, and playing guitar all at once.

The Assad Duo took the stage and played a new work by the remarkable piano/guitar virtuoso, Egberto Gismonti. This work was debuted earlier this season at the 92nd Street Y. It was a bonus to get to hear it for the first time during the evening concert since I had missed the actual debut. Sergio and Odair continued on with a really special arrangement of the delicate piano piece entitled "Palhaço" by Egberto Gismonti which was arranged for two guitars by Sergio Assad.

The Assad Duo also performed a dramatic composition by Sergio Assad entitled "Tahhiyya li ossoulina". The work draws upon several different influences found from the Assad's rich cultural roots. This work is featured on The Assad Duo's most recent CD on the Nonesuch label. The evening marched forward with pleasant performances by Vinicius Cantuaria and Allison Carvalho. Yamandu Costa returned to the stage to perform works by Reis and other pieces, which reminded me of his energetic performance earlier in the day. Mr. Costa's name will hopefully become more familiar in the United States after his great performances in New York.

Stephan Crump's Rosetta Trio was commissioned to compose a jazz work for the festival, which included upright bass, electric guitar, and drums. The piece was effective and seemed to draw upon the influences of Brazilian music and American jazz combined.

The French virtuoso Roland Dyens began his solo performance with the famous "Aria" from Bachianas No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. He followed with a wonderful rendition of Jobim's "Felicidade" and a great new work of his own entitled "Djembe" which was apparently written to perform with his son. Dyens played his very effective arrangement of the legendary work entitled "Berimbau" which was influenced by Baden Powell's guitar style and imitated the percussion instrument perfectly. The evening concluded with a performance that featured the Assad Duo and several other performers who had played earlier as well. Both sessions provided a fine display of guitar virtuosity and different types of Brazilian guitar music that brought the Festival to a successful finale. I truly enjoyed the Marathon and also had the pleasure of having dinner with several of the performers after the event. It doesn't get much more enjoyable than this…!! One thing for sure, if the Assad's decide to arrange this type of an event again, DON'T MISS IT!

See you there,
Robert P. Thompson

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