Gui Mallon Live At Montreux CD

Right from the very beginning of his career, the guitarist Gui Mallon was interested in developing a repertoire where the guitar would perform together with other chamber instruments. "I could not bear the solitude of my intrument. The great majority of pieces in the traditional classical repertoire are comprised of solo guitar pieces with a few duetts and even fewer compositions for more than two instruments". In september of 1991, Gui, then living in Madrid, recorded his first european album, "The Joy of Guitar", with compositions by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Rodrigo and Tarrega, arranged for guitar, cello, flute and oboe. In '94 he released "The Joy of Guitar II", that included Villa Lobos, Ravel, Albinoni, as well as his own compositions. These first two albums, were released under the "Viking Productions" label, In '96 Gui began to record under his own label, ironically called "MYSELF RECORDS". Discography: Bons Ventos (1984) The Joy of Guitar (1991) The Joy of Guitar II (1994) Guitar (1996) Brazil, Brazil (1997) To begin with, The Gui Mallon Ensamble (a line-up totalling all of eleven musicians), performed only classical and contemporary music, but over the last four years has developed into something that has become difficult to classify.? "It's instrumental music, that's all!" says Gui.

Though not well-known among American Brazilian music fans, despite being on the road for 20 years, guitarist/composer Gui Mallon ought to gain a bigger following with the release of his eighth album -- his first on an American label. Here is one Brazilian who has something new to say in a vintage idiom, combining a 1960s bossa nova/samba sensibility, a sharp ear for good tunes, a flair for driving rhythm, and sophisticated third stream writing for strings and winds. Mallon's energetic acoustic guitar work is complemented by a versatile ensemble that he formed when he was based in Sweden -- and this band has no trouble getting a rise out of the discerning audience at the 1999 Montreux Jazz Festival. The strings are in configurations of duos, quartets, and quintets; the winds are two flutes or two saxophones -- and these musicians are not mere window-dressing slathered onto the band as a sweetener. The string parts often interweave with the rhythms -- and the wind players, obviously well-versed in jazz, are given plenty of worthwhile solo time. The centerpiece of the disc is the multi-part "Brasil, Brazil Suite," a seamless, beautifully played, percolating progression of pieces that seem to take listeners through the vast green interior of the country. As the suite seems to settle into a rumbling cadenza for Mallon's solo acoustic guitar, one that tells a complete short story in only a bit over a minute, the scene shifts abruptly as rapper Glauko Santos Lima jars listeners back to urban reality. Yes, there is a vital, inventive, Brazilian third stream route in the 21st century. ~ Richard S. Ginell

Personnel: Gui Mallon (guitar); Glauko Santos Lima (spoken vocals); Santiago Jiménez, David Bjorkman (violin); Eva Fahlen (viola); Helena Espvall, Jonas Franke-Blom (cello); Anders Hagberg, Anna Sjodal (flute); Jonas Knutsson, Mikael Godee (saxophone); Stefan Wingefors (bass instrument); Amadeo Rodrigues, Kalle Af Ekenstam, Finn Bjornulfsson (percussion).