js It certainly seems the world has taken a turn towards the ugly lately. Not only do we hear WWIII type saber rattling, but political leaders in the news seem determined to outdo each other with how callous and downright mean they can be. Possibly one of the best remedies for all this harshness is the beauty that can be found in music. “Chamber Music by Marco Pereira”, the new album by guitarist Marius Noss Gundersen, is almost radical in its difference to today’s culture of crude stupidity. Marco is blessed with the ability to touch us with melody, texture and mood. His music provides sensitivity and delicateness as nourishment to a world that is in need.

Periera is a Brazilian composer who works with a mix of Brazilian rhythms, (chorro, samba, bossa, bolero etc) plus neo-classical long forms and art pop songs. This seems not unusual in Brazilian music where high art and rhythmic songs are not necessarily exclusive of each other. Gunderson provides some nicely detailed liner notes where he expresses his gratitude to Periera for teaching him all things Brazilian in the world of music. Likewise, Marco also provides notes explaining aspects of each of his compositions. Its nice when artists take time with presentation. The music on here is a varied mix, sometimes upbeat and uptempo and sometimes more somber. Some pieces take on a more neo- classical type development, while others lean more towards Brazilian pop or jazz ballads. The closing number features some blazing fretwork for those that know that Marius is capable of such.

There is a lot of variation within the musical ensembles presented on each track, some pieces feature small chamber orchestras, while others may be performed with duos or trios. There are also female vocals on a couple tracks too. With so many different ensembles, recording locations and recording engineers, it’s a surprise how well this album flows from track to track. The production on here is excellent and the sound is crystal clear and fortunately devoid of any digital sugar coating.

js “Arrangements for Guitar by Marco Pereira” is the second installment in a series of tributes to Pereira by guitarist Marius Noss Gundersen. Marius is a Norwegian who specializes in classical music and Brazilian traditions, which makes him a perfect fit to play the arrangements of Pereiera which walk a fine line between Brazilian art pop and contemporary classical music. Marco is a super star in Brazil, his career has found him working with top performers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento and he is well known for his arrangements, compositions and performances on classical guitar which have won him many awards and competitions over the years. On this new album, Gundersen has picked out twelve Pereira arrangements of art songs by well known Brazilian composers such as the previously mentioned Jobim and Nascimento, as well as Egberto Gismonti and Chico Buarque. Gundersen faithfully recreates Marco’s arrangements, which makes this very much like a contemporary Brazilian classical concert.

Every piece on here is a gem. Marius has technique to burn, but he never resorts to pure flash in his playing, consider him the exact opposite of a certain ‘elegant gypsy’ in that regard. These are, for the most part, melodic and somewhat somber or sentimental tone poems, but if you are looking for some fire, the demanding chart for “Frevo” should satisfy those looking for some burning Latin passion. Also “Modinha” and “Chega de Saudade” lean a bit in that direction as well. The Brazilian take on rhythm is present here, but don’t expect any cliché type bossa nova or samba, the tunes and arrangements on here lean in a more sophisticated and classical tradition. Quite simply, this is beautiful music performed by someone with commanding technique and complete mastery over their instrument.

js Something wonderful happened in the world of music starting sometime in the 1920s and continuing to today and that is the merging of jazz and European classical traditions to create new modern hybrids. Its hard to think of a composer past the 1920s that wasn’t influenced by jazz’s sophisticated syncopated rhythms, and certainly jazz musicians had no chance to escape the classical influence as more than likely most of their advanced lessons centered around Chopin, Bach and the rest. In today’s musical universe, other musical components can enter the picture as well, such as Indian ragas, Indonesian Gamelan and Latin American traditions. Its within that merger of classical, jazz and Brazilian practices that we find the new album by Marius Noss Gundersen, “Brazilian Guitar Music by Marco Pereira”.

The title says it all, Gundersen’s new album is a collection of compositions for classical acoustic guitar written by Marco Periera, who’s classical compositions are inspired by Brazilian song forms. In the album liner notes Periera expresses his gratitude to Marius for producing the first album entirely devoted to Marco’s music. Marco also includes very helpful notes for every track on the album, which is nice because very few of us are going to be familiar with all of the Brazilian traditions he is referencing, so its good to have some program notes as a guide if you want to learn more.

The compositions are excellent, deep enough for close and repeated listening, but also pleasant enough to be attractive to people who might not know a thing about Latin jazz or contemporary classical music. Marius’ guitar playing is impressive as he tends to bring out the delicate side of this rather difficult instrument. Listening to how well he can control volume as an aid to expression proves that he is definitely in that upper echelon of guitarists. Fast passages sound unrushed and handled with ease, this CD is a treasure chest for fans of nimble finger picking in any style. So many good tracks on here, but some standouts include, “Estrela da Manha” with its mystical mixolydian chord changes, “Bate-Coxa” has an almost Carribean sounding celebratory style, and album closer, Baiao Cansada” with its modernistic Lydian melodies.

js Marius Gundersen is a classical guitarist from Norway who also plays Brazilian music. If your prejudices are telling you that this is an odd fit, you couldn’t be more wrong. Gundersen has a wonderful feel for the Bossa Nova rhythms of Brazil. His touch is so light and delicate, and his rhythms are so subtle and supple, that I’m sure he has made many native Brazilian guitarists jealous. When you get into the higher echelons of classical performance, its all about control and all the different shades of lightness you can bring to a piece. Gundersen’s ability to play lightly, but with strength, makes “Retrato Brasileiro” one of the best guitar albums to come out so far this year. If you are a fan of mastered technique, Gundersen’s playing will be sweet delicate music to your ears.

Gundersen pulls from many sources to assemble his songs on this CD. There are many classics from Brazilian composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell, as well as six originals composed by Gundersen himself. Particularly nice is Gundersen’s bitter sweet melody on “Obrigado” that closes out the CD. All of the songs on here flow together smoothly creating an endless stream of intricate acoustic guitar sounds. You don’t need serious knowledge in Brazilian music to enjoy “Retrato Brassileiro”, this CD has cross appeal for fans of all kinds of instrumental music from modern classical to contemporary jazz. Some may even say this CD makes for great background music, but it is even better when you give it a serious listen.