Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble - Parabólica: Reflections on Gilberto Gil, Volume I

Saxophonist, composer and conductor Gaia Wilmer turns her attention to the work of the legendary Brazilian artist Gilberto Gil. With a repertoire chosen in collaboration with featured guest vocalist Mônica Salmaso, the large ensemble unites some of New York’s most renowned jazz musicians. Parabólico (Parabolic) is the latest in her series of tributes to influential composers, following after projects dedicated to multi-instrumentalist Egberto Gismonti and songwriter Caetano Veloso. Her sensitive orchestrations transcend the standard big band sonority, where morphing orchestral textures dance with rhythmic precision.

“I have been drawn to working with the music of someone I love and creating my own music from it,” Wilmer explains. “Something that is beyond an arrangement in a way that allows me start from one point, but arrive at any destination I might see myself going to. The original song may remain entirely present, or it may almost disappear. The point is what inspires me and how I can be fully myself departing from it.” Gil has long been a hero for Wilmer, for his breadth of knowledge of Brazilian cultural history, and his ability to remain absolutely current musically and politically. In addition to showcasing Gil’s facility and passion for Northeastern Brazilian rhythms, Wilmer wanted to pursue more freedom and space for improvisation in her writing. This desire led to this cast of some New York’s top-call big band players, including members of Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

A trademark of Wilmer’s sound is augmenting the standard big band orchestration with two additional flautists: her close friend Maiara Moraes, as well as Yulia Musayelyan (a specialist in Argentine music, who doubles here on piccolo and bass flute). The focus on flutes in Wilmer’s orchestration references the virtuosic choro of Pixinguinha, the unclassifiable “universal music” of Hermeto Pascoal, and the iconic large ensemble textures of Gil Evans. The rhythm section is made up of two compelling Brazilian soloists who are also sensitive accompanists – guitarist Vinicius Gomes and Vitor Gonçalves on piano. They are anchored by bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Richie Barshay, who share a deep admiration of music from across Brazil.

Parabólico marks the second recorded collaboration of Wilmer and the esteemed vocalist Mônica Salmaso, but this was the first time they conceived the project together from the outset. “Oriente,” from 1972’s classic album Expresso 2222, was where Wilmer began writing for this project. “I wanted Mônica to sing Gil’s songs with complete comfort and full expressive strength, embracing their shapes, forms, and rhythmic subtleties.” David Smith’s opening trumpet solo is framed by paraphrased fragments of the melody, before the band’s propulsive riff opens the path for Salmaso’s vocals. Wilmer embraces the multitude of personalities involved: Smith, Salmaso, bass trombonist Chris Washburne (of SYOTOS) and Gaia herself.

The reverence for Gil’s roots are in the foreground of “Eu vim da Bahia.” On this early tune of Gil’s, Wilmer weaves Dorival Caymmi’s “O Vento” throughout her arrangement, uniting two generations of Bahian songwriting mastery. The album ends with 1995’s “Parabolicamará.” Playing off the juxtaposition of parabola (the symmetrical trajectory of an object) and parable (a symbolic narrative in literature), Wilmer’s arrangement dances around Gonçalves’ piano and Salmaso’s triangle. “The word parabólico is absorbed through Gil’s perspective: his way of understanding the world and transforming it into poetry,” explains Wilmer. “It holds its geometric meaning as a parabola, the physical trajectory shaped by gravity, as well as its narrative sense as parable.” Gil serves as a parable of the beauty of Brazilian culture, manifested in this album through Gaia and Mônica’s admiration of his work.