The Whole Music Experience

Yamandu Costa and Hamilton de Holanda Live! Adventure Music I reviewed Brazilian mandolin (10-string) Hamilton de Holanda’s jazz ensemble in 2010 and now I see he has returned, this time in a duet with guitarist (7-string), Yamandu Costa with Live!   Here we have a live performance in front of an appreciative audience.   The songs performed by this duo caused me to applaud as I felt exhilarated listening to these two brilliant musicians wed their virtuoso talents.   I’ve been under much stress lately with trying to find a new home in Bellingham, staying in temporary housing in the interim.   I wasn’t planning on reviewing any CDs until after I settled into a new home, but this recording came to me as a nice surprise in the mail.   The music on the recording has restored my vitality and helped me to keep a positive outlook.   Brazilian music does that in general, but this live recording emits a powerful uplifting energy which can only bo...

Hamilton De Holanda Quintet Brasilianos 2 Adventure Music If the late American bebop legend Charlie Parker had spent time in Brazil soaking up the music of Rio and Bahia, he would have composed music a lot like Brazilian mandolin player Hamilton De Holanda. The songs on Brasilianos 2 alternate between laidback and wildly frantic and the frantic ones can downright leave a listener breathless. In fact, I can sit listening to the faster pace songs and get my heart racing without aerobic exercise. It’s like eating gourmet chocolate and losing weight.  But on the musicians' part, the music itself could not be called effortless.  These players work up a sweat. The CD portion of the album features 12 tracks and the DVD features a concert in Paris that shows the virtuoso musicians in action. The highlight of the DVD for me is De Holanda’s solo performance of Astor Piazzolla’s Adios Nonino , probably one of the most complex and sad song ever composed. I have seen classical...