Nana Vasconcelos - Saudades

LP from ECM's Luminessence Series

Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos's Saudades

Gatefold jacket, with new liner notes featuring historical context and background!

Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos's Saudades album, recorded in March 1979, was the culmination of a dream for a musician who had long yearned to hear the percussion instrument the berimbau in an orchestral context. This "concerto" for an innovative player of a traditional instrument was made possible with the creative input of Egberto Gismonti, here the arranger of the material for strings, as well as co-composer and supporting soloist.

The Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart was conducted by Mladen Gutesha (who had worked with ECM previously on trans-idiomatic projects with Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal). Produced by Manfred Eicher, Saudades remains an extraordinary journey, an ahead-of-its-time album, waiting for the world to catch up. This vinyl reissue, in gatefold sleeve, adds new liner notes providing historical context and background information.

Recorded March 1979, Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg

Luminessence, ECM's new audiophile vinyl-reissue series, is a kaleidoscope, shedding light on the jewels of the label's deep catalog in elegant, high-quality editions. The hallmarks of the series: original and evocative music, imaginatively played and sensitively produced. The recordings underline the scope and variety of ECM's world of sound and the LPs are presented in different formats.

Some are offered in exclusive facsimile editions, others framed in high-grade gatefolds that include new liner notes offering historical context and fresh perspectives, while again others have been long out of print or even never before released on vinyl. Many of the re-issues are cut from the original analog master tapes and all Luminessence releases incorporate the striking cover art which has contributed to ECM's renown.

Musicians:
Nana Vasconcelos, berimbau, percussion, voice, gongs
Egberto Gismonti, super 8-string guitar
Members of the RSO, orchestra
Mladen Gutesha, conductor