Egberto Gismonti ‎– Dança Das Cabeças

For fans of Sandy Bull, Baden Powell, Pat Matheny, Sandy Nassan, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Bola Sete, prog-rock, and especially Steve Tibbetts.

I received this album years ago, in a package of jazz records I purchased through discogs. Since I did not intentionally order the album, at first I thought the sleeve was just extra packaging (I've received old covers in this fashion before — due to some sellers' surplus of value-less sleeves — it can make more sense than buying extra cardboard for postage.) But what's this? The record, still inside. It looked like it had been treated nicely, so I decided to put an ear on it....

I really had no idea what I was getting into. What a mind-bending foray into the hearts' of two extremely talented individuals. This album is a journey. Essentially two side-long compositions with many interior movements, they act as an orchestrated classical piece, though they feel positively improvised. The first side is a percussive vehicle for Gismonti's 8-string guitar, while side two showcases his temperament on the piano. Oblique, shapeless note-clusters build to up-tempo, jazzy chords and intense tribal drumming. A few minutes in, and we're flying. The fretboard seems to be miles long. Building and building — while passing some wild disembodied voices along the way — everything soon crashes and falls to pieces, holding just enough of the theme together to press onward. The musical universe they've created confidently guides listeners to explore a diverse jungle of lush canopies, dimly-lit tributaries, and wide-open clearings. Whether it's on the guitar, wood flute, or piano, Gismonti's expert playing seems to be only just barely catching up with his ideas, creating a stream-of-consciousness experience that takes you to the very deepest part of his creative center... A place not seen in recorded music all that often. Simply beautiful, a work of art.

Not bad, for a free album I almost threw in the recycling bin.