Radamés & Rafael Collaboration

Radamés Gnattali had several collaborations with renowned MBP artists during his long career as a composer, director and pianist - in the context of choro his collaboration with Garoto and Jacob do Bandolim is well known. In the early 1950s Gnattali and Garoto collaborated and prepared a work for orchestra and violão by Gnattali with Garoto as the soloist, and in the mid-60s Jacob do Bandolim was deeply involved as a soloist in the first performance and recording of Gnattali's famous 'Retratos' suite. A third example of a fruitful collaboration is the one between Gnattali and Rafael Rabello, the acclaimed maestro of the violão in the 1980s.

Gnattali knew Rabello from his co-work late 70s with the choro ensemble Camerata Carioca, which had Rabello as a member on violão 7 cordas, and in 1982 they joined forces in a duo setting preparing and recording some of Garoto's works and a composition by Gnattali. The project was a part of the Projeto Almirante initiated by the government's cultural department (FUNARTE), and this resulted in a recording by Gnattali and Rabello, 'Tributo a Garoto', which is deservedly famous and still available in the FUNARTE archieve, released on a cd by the Atracão label (click on headline or picture below to learn more).

The cd has five compositions by Garoto: 'Desvairada' • 'Gente Humilde' • 'Enigmático' • 'Nosso Choro'• 'Duas Contas' and a reading of Gnattali's 'Concertinho Para Violão'. The cd features Gnattali on piano and Rabello on violão 7 cordas - perhaps a somewhat unusual example of duo interplay, but nonetheless the music is worth listening, as both musicians excell great virtuosity throughout the performance.

I found a video recording of a TV performance featuring Gnattali and Rabello, audio is a bit distorted, anyway, hope you to enjoy this rendtion of Garoto's 'Desvairada'

Jo