Amigo Violão

Last year Yamandú Costa joined forces with fellow 7-string guitarist Rogéiro Caetano and recorded the shown cd that was released by Delira Música earlier this year. The cd is dedicated to the violão sete cordas and great players of the instrument representing the tradition like Dino 7 Cordas and Raphael Rabello. Marco Pereira, guitarist and friend of Yamandú and Rogéiro, wrote the notes for the cd and honors the duo's excellent work, quote (- in English):

  "(...) With diversified background, Yamandú and Rogério know how to unite two 7 string guitars with intelligence and mastery in favor of a musical result of the highest level. The two musicians demonstrate an amazing level of virtuosity in the broadest sense of that term. It is the exuberant art that demonstrates (...) a rich phrasing, and yet, by a remarkable ability to move naturally with the naïve lyricism, elaborates simple diatonic melodies to the most hellish and daring color combinations expressed in complex rhythmic formulations." (Marco Pereira)

 

Yamandú Costa needs no further background information to readers of this blog. Yamandú simply is a natural genius, he has continued the Brazilian tradition of the violão convincingly into the 21. Century and has already reached a level of virtuosity that leaves everybody else breathless behind. It's  no exaggeration to say that Yamandú has revolutionized the role of the violão 7 cordas through his approach to the instrument, which has developed into a respected solo voice in the hands of this wizard.



Rogeiro Caetano was born 1977 in Goiânia (GO) and moved to Brasilia in 1995, where he became a regular participant in the Brasília Choro Club. He joined the duo Dois de Ouro (1998-2002) and then formed the string trio Brasilia Brazil in partnership with Hamilton de Holanda and Daniel Santiago. In 2004, he graduated from a course in composition at Universidade de Brasília. He has recorded the CD "Abre Alas" (2001) with the trio Brasilia Brazil and then the CD “Pintando o Sete” (2006), which was nominated for a TIM Award of Brazilian music. His CD "Rogério Caetano" (2009) was elected a Latin Grammy nominee for best instrumental album. In 2009 he also launched the CD “Na Cabeça” with Marcos Sacramento, Luis Flávio Alcofra and Zé Paulo Becker, and in the same year he conducted a tour of Europe and Brazil. He has taught workshops and participated in various music festivals, and in 2010 he wrote a method for the violão sete cordas in partnership with Marco Pereira. Today Rogeiro Caetano is considered a virtuoso 7-string violonista, having developed a new school
for the instrument.



The set-up of the cd has Yamandú playing lead voice while Rogério provides excellent accompaniment adding complex modulation and rhythmic support to the music, however, Rogério also gets the chance to showcase his ability to share solo improvisation in some of the recorded tracks. The repertoire of the disc is a mixture of classic choros like 'Vou vivendo' (Pixinguinha/Lacerda) and 'Fidalga' (Nazareth) and tunes by contemporary artists. Yamandú contributes with the choro 'Chorando por amizade' and the frevo inspired 'Frevinho', while Rogério adds his 'Choro Bagual' and 'Amigo violão'. The remaining tracks are devoted to 'Flor das águas' (Marco Pereira), 'Beija-flor' (Doug de Vries), 'Marceneiro Paulo' (Hélio Delmiro), 'Choro em Mi maior' (Rafael Rabello), 'Choro pra Yamandú' and 'Matutinho' (Lalão). The interplay between Yamandú and Rogério is amazing, and the disc is a delight to be listening to throughout, highly recommended! These recordings highlight some of the finest choros for violão in a contemporary setting, a must-hear for anyone interested in the Brazilian guitartradition. - The disc is available for download in mp3 at Amazon and other online retailers.



- To give you an impression of the music on the disc, here's a live performance of Rogério Caetano's 'Amigo violão' with spoken intro by Yamandú



---
Jo