The legendary Brazilian singer/songwriter Milton Nascimento and the award-winning US bassist/composer/singer Esperanza Spalding join forces for the album Milton + esperanza, released on August 9 on Concord Records.
The album, which was recorded in Brazil, was sparked by the two musicians’ friendship, which began almost 15 years ago when Herbie Hancock introduced Spaling to Nascimento. Comprising sixteen tracks, it’s a star-studded affair that includes cameos by Paul Simon, Dianne Reeves, Lianne La Havas, Maria Gadú, Tim Bernardes, Carolina Shorter, and Shabaka Hutchings. Also contributing is Spalding’s core band of Matthew Stevens (guitar), Justin Tyson and Eric Doob (drums), Leo Genovese (piano), Corey D. King (vocals, synths), and several Brazilian musicians, including Orquestra Ouro Preto, percussionists Kainã Do Jêje and Ronaldinho Silva, and Lula Galvão and Guinga on guitar.
The pair reimagine five Nascimento evergreens while Spaldin contributes six new songs. They also put fresh and original spins on The Beatles’ ‘A Day In The Life’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song.’ For 39-year-old Spalding, the album’s underlying theme is the importance of younger generations creating with, learning from, and building new worlds with elders.
Now 81, Nascimento began his recording career in the late ‘60s. He was immediately recognized as an evocative lyricist – his themes encompass protest songs and the natural world; songs of friendship, love, and racial harmony brought alive by unpredictable melodies, textures, and harmonics.
For Spalding, who has collaborated with Nascimento before, on the song ‘Apple Blossom,’ her 2010 album, Chamber Music Society, a full-length collaboration with a Brazilian icon is a dream come true. She first heard his music while hosting a dinner party with Brazilian friends. One of her guests put on Native Dancer, Nascimento’s 1975 collaboration with saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter. “I get chills even thinking about it,” she says. It was a life-changing moment: “Ninety percent of things I write, I’m thinking of him. I’m thinking of his voice. I’m imagining singing it with him. He’s a very present part of my creative imagination.”
Milton + esperanza is released on August 9 by Concord Records
