Naná Vasconcelos

Naná Vasconcelos was one of the cluster of endlessly inventive Brazilian percussionists who changed the direction and sounds of Brazilian jazz in the post-bossa nova 1970s. Vasconcelos was an especially inventive virtuoso of the berimbau, the expressive instrument shaped like an archer's bow, and he is also adept at the odd-numbered meters (5/4, 7/4) that were used frequently in the north but not the south of Brazil.

As the son of a guitarist, Vasconcelos got his start in his father's band at age 12 playing bongos and maracas. Taking on a drum kit as part of his arsenal, he moved to Rio de Janeiro in the mid-'60s and caught on with the young <a href="spotify:artist:3Bnq7jiU506HcPjRgQ43TM">Milton Nascimento</a>, picking up several other Brazilian percussion instruments in the process. <a href="spotify:artist:7dXBi98p0mN5JCpBnU0XEm">Gato Barbieri</a> heard him and snatched him up for tours in Argentina, Europe, and a U.S. jaunt in 1971; Vasconcelos can be heard on a number of <a href="spotify:artist:7dXBi98p0mN5JCpBnU0XEm">Barbieri</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Flying+Dutchman%22">Flying Dutchman</a> albums. Following the tour, he lived in Paris for two years, occasionally gigging with <a href="spotify:artist:3uPWecBPNXAChysw1uOJwI">Don Cherry</a> in Sweden. In 1976, he made a remarkable duo album with Brazilian guitarist/wood flute player <a href="spotify:artist:6L31zhaK3DUZEze55P3lYJ">Egberto Gismonti</a>, Dança Das Cabeças, the first of several dates as a leader or sideman on the ECM label. He reunited with <a href="spotify:artist:3uPWecBPNXAChysw1uOJwI">Cherry</a> in 1978 and, with <a href="spotify:artist:28rpZV7uGYyg3nwVvHQarq">Collin Walcott</a>, formed <a href="spotify:artist:5x1NGfJhOrOhp3QQM7nzmp">Codona</a>, a trio that played a fusion of music from four continents until <a href="spotify:artist:28rpZV7uGYyg3nwVvHQarq">Walcott</a>'s death in 1984.

In the meantime, Vasconcelos joined <a href="spotify:artist:4uBSazM6snEc9wCG3jMlYt">the Pat Metheny Group</a> from 1980 to 1983 as a "special guest," one who had the effect of rerouting <a href="spotify:artist:16fB7C7jOZicVbi98S0XyH">Metheny</a>'s music in the general direction of Brazil. Since then, Vasconcelos has played on and off with <a href="spotify:artist:3uPWecBPNXAChysw1uOJwI">Cherry</a>, toured and recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:7MEyCD4G0Zl6kmikEAZsym">Jan Garbarek</a>, played on many recording sessions, and, in 1995, formed an unusual duo with the Scottish classical percussionist <a href="spotify:artist:6MYiQGy8MIcBps6Ez0IQA8">Evelyn Glennie</a> at the Bath International Music Festival. Throughout the '90s and early 2000s, he composed and played on film scores to much acclaim (and Grammy nominations). In addition, he kept to a heavy touring schedule.

Vasconcelos continued to perform and record as in-demand sideman. In 2015, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent treatment. He recorded the album Café no Bule in collaboration with <a href="spotify:artist:7LunbFWIm3RPQpywjOSSd8">Zeca Baleiro</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3qpXtgphUBGRRBSVk3XlLw">Paulo Lepetit</a> but his health continued to deteriorate. He passed away from respiratory failure on March 9, 2016 at home in Recife. ~ Richard S. Ginell, Rovi