If you are in Montreal, come to the Place des Arts tomorrow, Thursday for a concert of the National Jazz Orchestra playing an all-Hermeto program of big band music conducted by yours truly.
Tune into a radiophonic tribute to the legendary multi-instrumentalist and prolific composer Hermeto Pascoal (1936-2025) on Sounds of Brazil on Monday, September 15, 2025, 10 PM - midnight PDT. Hear his own music from the 1960s to the 2020s, as well as numerous covers and homages. Acoustic and electric alike. On The Squid. KSQD 90.7 89.7 89.5 FM (Monterey Bay Area) and ksqd.org streaming worldwide. Post-broadcast the show will be in the Two-Week Archive (Listen tab on the website). All with DJ CP (Charles Perrone). Bem-vind@s tod@s! Welcome one and all! Help us celebrate the legacy of a sui generis talent. RIP H.P.
Very cool - got some of Hermeto's music in my queue. I nominate Allan MacDonald, Glenuig, Scotland as a magician of sound. His most popular work is leading/ producing the Highland Sessions with the BBC, available on both YouTube and Spotify. His importance to Gaelic music and linguistic revival is immense. He is a singer and piper, and is working to elevate Gaelic song, classical piping styles, and music in general. He has done phenomenal work reuniting Gaelic song and Gaelic piping, particularly with Margaret Stewart. He's a bit of a renegade, too - pushing back on received wisdom and what he would probably call 'fake tradition'. Worth a listen, especially if you love The Chieftains, Julie Fowlis, Lunasa, etc.
Can you imagine my surprise when I read the Obituary on Hermeto in the NY Times the other morning ? When ,after reading about a Giant I had Never heard of after over 50 years of Loving Jazz (along with lots of other stuff). I thought I had pretty much heard it all. As a Matter of fact -lately I was getting a bit bored again (Same old Same old ,regardless of Genre. Especially with the Hurricane flooding the World with Good ,Bad & Mediocrity) & Longed for something new. This had always occurred through out my Musical Life. An Epiphany ,a Discovery ! Not very often ,but usually right when needed.
I immediately searched him out. I ended up watching 3 different Videos of concerts & performances- for Hours. Transfixed by his & his fellow bandmates wonderful & inventive ,TIGHT playing .I kept being amazed & Several times He/They brought me to Tears ! went in back & sat in the sun in the most amazing weather here at end of a Long & (Unusual for us) Summer. It was the the BEST day I have had in years. As I have been slowly recovering from a very unpleasant surgery ,& I realized surprisingly I had NO pain when I watched him play & outside after His music "Awakened" me again.
I have played one instrument or another since probably 4th or 5th grade. Starting out playing at age 16/17 in clubs I wasn't supposed to be in. I loved Jazz ,even fairly young ,but I learned early on - if you wanted to make a living - you play what sells. In those days (60's/70's) - there were hundreds is not thousands of gigs in every city & Town across the USA. (Although it is all Dead now -destroyed). And while over several decades I played pretty much everything under the sun ,in Every kind of gig you could imagine ,including a bar in a Cowtown ,in a Wire Cage as a Young Hippie duo who knew maybe 3 C&W tunes including - Yes - Rawhide. It was a page right out of the Blues Bros.
But through it all - I was still committed to Jazz / Fusion & whatever you call it all. Over 50 years committed. And Yet - I was Flabbergasted. How on earth could I missed this GIANT ? 2 days after he left us ? He was Music Personified. Amazing. As my daughter said as I was Raving on yesterday about this person I found who gave me one of the Best days in years ... "Well ,at least you found him - now go out & Listen & Remember. And I will.
PS - apologies for the long Post - I could on but will spare you all
Can you imagine my surprise when I read the Obituary on Hermeto in the NY Times the other morning ? When ,after reading about a Giant I had Never heard of after over 50 years of Loving Jazz (along with lots of other stuff). I thought I had pretty much heard it all. As a Matter of fact -lately I was getting a bit bored again (Same old Same old ,regardless of Genre. Especially with the Hurricane flooding the World with Good ,Bad & Mediocrity) & Longed for something new. This had always occurred through out my Musical Life. An Epiphany ,a Discovery ! Not very often ,but usually right when needed.
I immediately searched him out. I ended up watching 3 different Videos of concerts & performances- for Hours. Transfixed by his & his fellow bandmates wonderful & inventive ,TIGHT playing .I kept being amazed & Several times He/They brought me to Tears ! went in back & sat in the sun in the most amazing weather here at end of a Long & (Unusual for us) Summer. It was the the BEST day I have had in years. As I have been slowly recovering from a very unpleasant surgery ,& I realized surprisingly I had NO pain when I watched him play & outside after His music "Awakened" me again.
I have played one instrument or another since probably 4th or 5th grade. Starting out playing at age 16/17 in clubs I wasn't supposed to be in. I loved Jazz ,even fairly young ,but I learned early on - if you wanted to make a living - you play what sells. In those days (60's/70's) - there were hundreds is not thousands of gigs in every city & Town across the USA. (Although it is all Dead now -destroyed). And while over several decades I played pretty much everything under the sun ,in Every kind of gig you could imagine ,including a bar in a Cowtown ,in a Wire Cage as a Young Hippie duo who knew maybe 3 C&W tunes including - Yes - Rawhide. It was a page right out of the Blues Bros.
But through it all - I was still committed to Jazz / Fusion & whatever you call it all. Over 50 years committed. And Yet - I was Flabbergasted. How on earth could I missed this GIANT ? 2 days after he left us ? He was Music Personified. Amazing. As my daughter said as I was Raving on yesterday about this person I found who gave me one of the Best days in years ... "Well ,at least you found him - now go out & Listen & Remember. And I will.
PS - apologies for the long Post - I could on but will spare you all
Had the pleasure of seeing him in 2019 here in Manaus. Watching the concert was like if was in a magical musical universe. He played various instruments, Including a beer mug, and could move easily between bossa nova, free-jazz and forró. Hermeto was a true genius.
I began playing the accordion about 30 years ago, and fell in love with Brazilian accordion music. I discovered Sivuca, and thru him discovered Pascoal. His musicianship and skills are beyond imagination for me.
Hey, Ted and others: 20+ years ago, a roommate once told me about an interview of Hermeto for an American magazine that I've never been able to locate, with an exchange that went something like this.
Interviewer: Tell me what it was like to play with Miles Davis.
H: Oh, it was nice and interesting, but I am more musical than him.
I (taken aback): Ah, you are more musical than Miles?! Can you please explain why you think this is the case?
Such a wonderful life! I never got to meet him, but I did meet people who had found the same source of inspiration, and that has helped me enjoy the musical life so much.
You said, “no recording can convey more than a small taste…”— and that is very much to the point. I had that same thought when I saw the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1965 or 66, at Slug's. The entire experience was so immersive – snake dancing through the audience! – It really was like a voyage through space to other planets! It utterly transformed my concept of what music was comma and could do. I immediately knew that there would be no point in trying to get recordings of this, but I did manage to see the group a couple more times over the years.
That was how it was for me when I saw Albert Collins "snake dancing through the audience!"
Out into the middle of a downtown street in Berkely ,Ca. His "Assistant behind him ,uncoiling the most Humongous Guitar Cord I had ever seen in 1969 ..
If you are in Montreal, come to the Place des Arts tomorrow, Thursday for a concert of the National Jazz Orchestra playing an all-Hermeto program of big band music conducted by yours truly.
Tune into a radiophonic tribute to the legendary multi-instrumentalist and prolific composer Hermeto Pascoal (1936-2025) on Sounds of Brazil on Monday, September 15, 2025, 10 PM - midnight PDT. Hear his own music from the 1960s to the 2020s, as well as numerous covers and homages. Acoustic and electric alike. On The Squid. KSQD 90.7 89.7 89.5 FM (Monterey Bay Area) and ksqd.org streaming worldwide. Post-broadcast the show will be in the Two-Week Archive (Listen tab on the website). All with DJ CP (Charles Perrone). Bem-vind@s tod@s! Welcome one and all! Help us celebrate the legacy of a sui generis talent. RIP H.P.
Very cool - got some of Hermeto's music in my queue. I nominate Allan MacDonald, Glenuig, Scotland as a magician of sound. His most popular work is leading/ producing the Highland Sessions with the BBC, available on both YouTube and Spotify. His importance to Gaelic music and linguistic revival is immense. He is a singer and piper, and is working to elevate Gaelic song, classical piping styles, and music in general. He has done phenomenal work reuniting Gaelic song and Gaelic piping, particularly with Margaret Stewart. He's a bit of a renegade, too - pushing back on received wisdom and what he would probably call 'fake tradition'. Worth a listen, especially if you love The Chieftains, Julie Fowlis, Lunasa, etc.
Can you imagine my surprise when I read the Obituary on Hermeto in the NY Times the other morning ? When ,after reading about a Giant I had Never heard of after over 50 years of Loving Jazz (along with lots of other stuff). I thought I had pretty much heard it all. As a Matter of fact -lately I was getting a bit bored again (Same old Same old ,regardless of Genre. Especially with the Hurricane flooding the World with Good ,Bad & Mediocrity) & Longed for something new. This had always occurred through out my Musical Life. An Epiphany ,a Discovery ! Not very often ,but usually right when needed.
I immediately searched him out. I ended up watching 3 different Videos of concerts & performances- for Hours. Transfixed by his & his fellow bandmates wonderful & inventive ,TIGHT playing .I kept being amazed & Several times He/They brought me to Tears ! went in back & sat in the sun in the most amazing weather here at end of a Long & (Unusual for us) Summer. It was the the BEST day I have had in years. As I have been slowly recovering from a very unpleasant surgery ,& I realized surprisingly I had NO pain when I watched him play & outside after His music "Awakened" me again.
I have played one instrument or another since probably 4th or 5th grade. Starting out playing at age 16/17 in clubs I wasn't supposed to be in. I loved Jazz ,even fairly young ,but I learned early on - if you wanted to make a living - you play what sells. In those days (60's/70's) - there were hundreds is not thousands of gigs in every city & Town across the USA. (Although it is all Dead now -destroyed). And while over several decades I played pretty much everything under the sun ,in Every kind of gig you could imagine ,including a bar in a Cowtown ,in a Wire Cage as a Young Hippie duo who knew maybe 3 C&W tunes including - Yes - Rawhide. It was a page right out of the Blues Bros.
But through it all - I was still committed to Jazz / Fusion & whatever you call it all. Over 50 years committed. And Yet - I was Flabbergasted. How on earth could I missed this GIANT ? 2 days after he left us ? He was Music Personified. Amazing. As my daughter said as I was Raving on yesterday about this person I found who gave me one of the Best days in years ... "Well ,at least you found him - now go out & Listen & Remember. And I will.
PS - apologies for the long Post - I could on but will spare you all
Can you imagine my surprise when I read the Obituary on Hermeto in the NY Times the other morning ? When ,after reading about a Giant I had Never heard of after over 50 years of Loving Jazz (along with lots of other stuff). I thought I had pretty much heard it all. As a Matter of fact -lately I was getting a bit bored again (Same old Same old ,regardless of Genre. Especially with the Hurricane flooding the World with Good ,Bad & Mediocrity) & Longed for something new. This had always occurred through out my Musical Life. An Epiphany ,a Discovery ! Not very often ,but usually right when needed.
I immediately searched him out. I ended up watching 3 different Videos of concerts & performances- for Hours. Transfixed by his & his fellow bandmates wonderful & inventive ,TIGHT playing .I kept being amazed & Several times He/They brought me to Tears ! went in back & sat in the sun in the most amazing weather here at end of a Long & (Unusual for us) Summer. It was the the BEST day I have had in years. As I have been slowly recovering from a very unpleasant surgery ,& I realized surprisingly I had NO pain when I watched him play & outside after His music "Awakened" me again.
I have played one instrument or another since probably 4th or 5th grade. Starting out playing at age 16/17 in clubs I wasn't supposed to be in. I loved Jazz ,even fairly young ,but I learned early on - if you wanted to make a living - you play what sells. In those days (60's/70's) - there were hundreds is not thousands of gigs in every city & Town across the USA. (Although it is all Dead now -destroyed). And while over several decades I played pretty much everything under the sun ,in Every kind of gig you could imagine ,including a bar in a Cowtown ,in a Wire Cage as a Young Hippie duo who knew maybe 3 C&W tunes including - Yes - Rawhide. It was a page right out of the Blues Bros.
But through it all - I was still committed to Jazz / Fusion & whatever you call it all. Over 50 years committed. And Yet - I was Flabbergasted. How on earth could I missed this GIANT ? 2 days after he left us ? He was Music Personified. Amazing. As my daughter said as I was Raving on yesterday about this person I found who gave me one of the Best days in years ... "Well ,at least you found him - now go out & Listen & Remember. And I will.
PS - apologies for the long Post - I could on but will spare you all
Had the pleasure of seeing him in 2019 here in Manaus. Watching the concert was like if was in a magical musical universe. He played various instruments, Including a beer mug, and could move easily between bossa nova, free-jazz and forró. Hermeto was a true genius.
I began playing the accordion about 30 years ago, and fell in love with Brazilian accordion music. I discovered Sivuca, and thru him discovered Pascoal. His musicianship and skills are beyond imagination for me.
Bandcamp has several albums available of his music.
this is without exaggeration some of the strangest and best music I have heard in a very long time.
"He doesn't even recognize the walls." Yep. And all the more honor to him!
For a bit or extra trivia, the opening theme for 'X-Men: the animated series' plagiarized "Papagaio Alegre" by Hermeto Pascoal.
I was not familiar with him at all. Thank you so much for such a wonderful article and a 'musical' person to explore.
He was one of a kind.
Hey, Ted and others: 20+ years ago, a roommate once told me about an interview of Hermeto for an American magazine that I've never been able to locate, with an exchange that went something like this.
Interviewer: Tell me what it was like to play with Miles Davis.
H: Oh, it was nice and interesting, but I am more musical than him.
I (taken aback): Ah, you are more musical than Miles?! Can you please explain why you think this is the case?
H: Well, can he play a goat? I can.
Such a wonderful life! I never got to meet him, but I did meet people who had found the same source of inspiration, and that has helped me enjoy the musical life so much.
You said, “no recording can convey more than a small taste…”— and that is very much to the point. I had that same thought when I saw the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1965 or 66, at Slug's. The entire experience was so immersive – snake dancing through the audience! – It really was like a voyage through space to other planets! It utterly transformed my concept of what music was comma and could do. I immediately knew that there would be no point in trying to get recordings of this, but I did manage to see the group a couple more times over the years.
That was how it was for me when I saw Albert Collins "snake dancing through the audience!"
Out into the middle of a downtown street in Berkely ,Ca. His "Assistant behind him ,uncoiling the most Humongous Guitar Cord I had ever seen in 1969 ..
Thanks Ted. Never heard of Hermeto, but he sounds terrific. And that Miles story is hilarious.