"Jogo da Vida" - Celso Machado

• artist:
  Celso Machado
• featured artist:
  Celso Machado
• country:
  Brazil
• release year:
  2007
• style(s): Brazilian Samba
• formats:
  • CD (Compact Disc)
• record submitted by:
  Celso Machado
• label:
  CBC Records
• publisher:
  Surucuá Art Production
• 
  buy this record

Celso Machado is a wonderful example of the musical riches currently flowing into Canada from many parts of the world. He has lived on our west coast since 1990 and since then has become a most appealing voice in the national conversation. Musically he lives somewhere between Brazil and Canada, and he does his utmost to bring the warmth and richness of his native land - plus the sound of the Amazon rainforest - to our rapidly thawing cultural tundra.

Up close, Celso Machado is probably the most musical person I know. He performs, composes, publishes, records, teaches, and makes music out of literally everything he touches. In his magical hands bottles of water, rocks he finds on the beach, his own body and, of course, almost any musical instrument I could name - plus some I couldn't - sing beautiful songs. Indeed, a couple of haunting musical effects on this CD emerged from pieces of junk Celso found lying around the recording studio. You'll also hear echoes of Celso's serious study of European Classical music, Italian folk music and several African musical traditions mixed into the whole bursting sonic universe he absorbed growing up in Brazil. For me, Celso Machado is the truest of musical Renaissance men (except that he's more interested in the music of the later Baroque period) and the ultimate one-man band.

Until now, in fact, Celso's recordings and live performances have been mostly solo affairs: amazing, delightful, but still focused pretty much on his own talents. To start this project, however, we put together Celso's dream band for a Toronto concert as part of CBC Radio's OnStage radio series. We brought in his brother, Carlinhos, from São Paulo, added the prodigiously-talented young Torontonians David Virelles and Rich Brown, and completed the quintet with renowned New York-based Brazilian expatriate, Cyro Baptista. The concert was a great success. Then, as the subsequent recording sessions heated up, two more young Torontonians - singers Eliana Cuevas and Guiomar Campbell - stirred their sonic spices into the delicious musical stew that is now Jogo de Vida. Celso alone is a force of nature, but I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard the sound of these six other great musicians adding their unique voices to his. Now you can too. Bom apetite!

Malcolm Gould
Producer

Liner notes in English and French with lyrics in Portuguese.