Gui Mallon: Live in Montreux

Brasil, Brazil

Guilherme Mallon was born in Rio de Janeiro but throughout his life, he has lived in Argentina, Spain and Sweden. Accomplished guitarist and composer, Mallon has traveled the world with his music. Dividing his time now between Sweden and Rio da Janeiro, he continues to record and tour with his group, The Gui Mallon Ensemble (the line-up varies between 9 to 12 members).

It was during one of these European tours that this album originated. Recorded in 1999 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Live at Montreux is a sample of Mallon’s music. It shows why critics in Sweden, Denmark and Brazil consider his works and fine guitar playing some of the best in the world.

Gui Mallon’s Live at Montreux centers around the eight-part “Brasil, Brazil Suite.” However, before delving deep into that suite, Mallon treat his audience to some extraordinary guitar playing. The opening track, “Baião Tvá,” is an uptempo, jazzed up baião with the ensemble traveling the back roads of Brazil in preparation for the larger suite. With violins, violas and cellos clearly dominating most tracks, the ensemble is also very rich in percussion. All music is arranged by Mallon, who exhibits a fine approach to mixing the classical elements of Villa-Lobos with clear jazz tendencies. That is present in all tracks, but when the “Samba Intro” of his “Brasil, Brazil Suite” begins, the euphoria of strings, winds and percussion is quite impressive. In the middle of all that, the music does make time for Mallon’s remarkable acoustic guitar solos, as in the case of “Pavana da Guanabara.” From that track, he slowly progresses into more orchestrated pieces, but carefully paying attention to the acoustic elements in Brazilian music that are a part of his own formation. “Canto Índio,” for example, contains some special percussion effects that make that melody one of the most beautiful pieces of the suite. With complete understanding of the Brazilian musical landscape, Mallon pays homage to the northeast with “Baião,” with all the right instruments, including a triangle accompanying his beautiful guitar lines. Whereas in the other numbers in the album, the ensemble seems to be more featured, in “Brasil, Brazil Suite,” Mallon shines with his incredible guitar solos and artistic skills.