Customer Reviews

Trem Caipira

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Gismonti continues to re-define his niche in modern musical circles with this effort. I'm not personally in favor of re-casting classical compositions into (nearly) fully electronic form, but Villa-Lobos is perhaps unique in that his music works well in this format. And who but his protege (figuratively, if not literally), Egberto Gismonti, could carry it off better?

Fans of Gismonti's latest work, "The Meeting Point," with its extensive orchestration, will probably enjoy this album. Those of us who are fonder of his more acoustic works, e.g., "Danca Dos Escravos," find it a little harder to get into, but a few listenings will convince even the most sceptical of fans that this album deserves a prominent place in the Gismonti oeuvre.

It left me with one lingering question: How many other Brazilian-made Gismonti albums wait out there to find their way to the U.S.? Can Egberto himself answer this question? And why was this one not produced under the aegis of ECM?

Enquiring minds want to know. Enquiring ears will check this album out!

Egberto Gismonti's interpretation of composer Heitor Villa-Lobos' classical music is one of his best efforts and a good place to introduce yourself to this Brazilian master. It took me a few years to find it but well worth the wait (it is a lot easier now with amazon.com!). This album rates up there with Argentinian Astor Piazzola's Tango Hora Cero (Tango Zero Hour) for must-have South American music.

Gismonti has been amazingly prolific in making many great albums from early 70's up to mid 90's.

Typically, his music is somewhat "rough" but very powerfull, emotive, rich, risky and bold during all the 70's. It is mostly acoustic work with many Gismonti's vocals too. It is a little difficult to access because of the complexity; but once you are in, it will stay with you forever. Most of this earlier work is under EMI or lately reissued under Gimsonti's CARMO labels.

The 80's are a transition period from pure acoustic to a mix between acoustic and electric instruments; Gismonti's vocals tend to disapear. Typically, the music becomes less provocative and more polite than earlier Gismonti's work. It is somewhat more civilized and more easy to access. Yet, the music remains highly sophisticated and creative; but with little less (good or bad?) surprise. Lots of these albums are under ECM label.

The 90's are a period where Gismonti's Group was founded. The music move towards more classical style: very polite, distinctive, fluid and elegant. Yet, there is still this amazing creativity, complexity and freshness of all Gismonti's works.
A few movie music albums are part of this period too (Kuarup, Amazonia). They tend to had more electronic effects but they stay into the elegant distinctive spirit of Gismonti's group latest compositions. Most of these albums are under ECM or CARMO labels.

About the TREM CAIPIRA album, it it a very special one made exclusively of keybord synthetizers playing. It is a must-have for any Gismonti's fans as it has a very unic style; but it will only give a very superficial vision of the artist's huge talent for someone who do not really know him. This album will mostly show the bold creativity of Gismonti but will not trully reveal all the so complicated sophistication he is capable of. Please, refer to my other reviews to know more about other albums of the artist.