Search - Luiz Bonfa, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Isaias Savio :: Brazilian Portrait

He's pretty good!

marcel195 | Victoria Australia | 07/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice C.D. Fans of the Brasilian Classical guitar style will love it. Purists will probably have a lot of trouble with it. Gerald Garcia is from Canada originally (don't quote me on that though) - it seems there are still strong academic overtones in his playing. However, it's a great collection of Brasilian pieces which spans classical composers to Bossa nova and in between. What I like about this album is the fact that most pieces presented by Garcia are his own arrangements. It's truly a unique recording (which is rare in the classical guitar world). His greatest work is on the smaller, traditional Brasilian pieces. These are really charming rustic melodies which were first harmonized by Isaias Savio and very easy to play. But, Garcia takes them to a higher level - more technically demanding without ever losing the essence of the original works. In fact, with all due respect to Mestre Savio, they are great improvements on the originals. There is a generous number of tracks here, displaying the wealth of work by a great guitarist. More importantly, the repetoire on the album moves away from the standard Albeniz, Granados, Tarrega, Sor collections that so many classical guitarists feel compelled to release. The pieces are probably familiar to most classical guitarists who enjoy playing Brasilian music, but, for those who've never heard or played the works of Almeida, Baden-Powell, Savio or Machado it will be a pleasant surprise. And for people who just like nice music, it will be a fantastic investment."

Bonfa and Jobim: what a double header!

Geraldo Franco | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 06/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I met the two of them in the past. I saw their shows and I bought their recordings. They never disappointed me, on the contrary: I always was amazed by their style and classy quality of sound. Now they return, together, to make us enjoy life in this way and mode: pleasantness in sound. If this would not suffice, there is a bonus, the performance of Gerald Garcia. Splendiferous! GF"

Splendid relaxing CD

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 01/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not a guitarist, so I cannot really comment knowledgeably on Gerald Garcia's achievement here, but I feel I must add my voice to those who think this is a splendid CD: Naxos have always been good for a surprise, and I was surprised indeed to find them releasing music like this in 1988! The center of the disc, in more than one sense, is Heitor Villa-Lobos, with Garcia playing all five of his Preludes and his Choro No. 1 (which, due to a printing error on the cover, is accredited to Garcia himself as arranger, but that is not correct, he only arranged the following traditional melodies in the style of Savio). Around this center are arranged pieces by Bonfá, Jobim, Savio, Pernambuco, Almeida, Baden-Powell and Machado - all names that I had never heard of until I purchased this disc out of curiosity. The music is relaxing, only the Villa-Lobos is truly classical, and the sound (the recording was made at a studio in Heidelberg, Germany) is excellent, worthy of a full-price disc. To cap it all, there are Gerald Garcia's own notes giving plenty of background information. You can't go wrong here!"