Hamilton de Holanda
I’ve never been drawn to the bandolim (Portuguese for “mandolin”), which I thought was an instrument restricted to [Brazilian traditional music] choro. Also, its eight strings — four pairs tuned in unison —laid over a tiny scale make it hard to play for my big fingers.
Having bigger hands than mine didn’t stop Hamilton de Holanda to become a master of this instrument, though. So, attending one of his concerts would be a great opportunity to see him in action and maybe change my limited preconceptions about the bandolim. The special guests — singer Paula Lima and legendary trombonist Raul de Souza — would make the concert even more interesting to me.
The objective of Hamilton and his ensemble that night was to recreate the classic Rio’s gafieira balls [“Gafieiras” are places where couples go to dance samba and other Brazilian rhythms since the end of the 19th century]. The difference from this group and regular dance bands is the generous space for improvisation — made by first-rate musicians — in almost every song.
Hamilton de Holanda really deserves the praise he’s been getting over his prolific career. Acomplished instrumentalist, he plays with unbelievable speed his ten-string (!) bandolim when the music demands it, each note perfectly clear, his melodies beautiful and lyrical. He and his band played songs from several rhythms of Brazilian popular music (choro, forró, bossa nova, samba… everything), in amazing arrangements.
The musicians were improvising at will in an atmosphere of a Caribbean jazz of sorts. The arrangements had been made to invite people to dance (it was a ball, after all) and the audience responded to that by dancing until the end of the show.
Halfway through the concert, Hamilton calls to the stage trombonist Raul de Souza — a monster of swing at age 82 — and singer Paula Lima, whose voice and stage presence stirred the audience even more.
Just before the end of the party, Paula and Raul left the stage. Hamilton and the band, even after having played for over an hour and a half, still had gas to perform amazing improvisations in front of an ecstatic — and still dancing — audience. They finished the concert playing fast Carnaval music that made everyone jump.
Hamilton de Holanda is indeed an exceptional musician. In addition to incredible musicality and technical skill in his instrument, he plays with the joy of someone who has Music as a long-time friend. His discography is also impressive. In the days after the concert I’ve listened many times to several of his albums, always discovering new details in each audition.
If you want to get a good idea of Hamilton’s work in this cool project, listen to the Baile do Almeidinha album on Spotify or the group’s official website. Equally impressive is the album recorded in duo with guitar player Marco Pereira, from which I highlight the track “Um a Zero”.
As always, there’re more pictures of this concert on my Flickr account.
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Got a typo? A misused word? Let me know! English is not my primary language and I’d love to learn better (or new) ways to express myself.
