Hermeto Pascoal

Unique Brazilian artist Hermeto Pascoal makes a rare trip to Europe to play on The Everyman stage in the company of twenty of the UK’s finest players as part of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival.

“One of the most important musicians on the planet” – Miles Davis

O Bruxo, they call him in Brazil. It means the sorcerer, and it’s an apt description for the charismatic, wayward, once-in-a-lifetime genius of Hermeto Pascoal. This unique artist makes a rare trip to Europe and, rarer still, he does so in the company of twenty of the UK’s finest players, assembled to play compositions from his vast repertoire of music that defies category, classification or genre.

Call it Hermeto music, equal parts eccentric and virtuoso, unmistakeably Brazilian in its dexterity and momentum, yet happy to detour into jazz, chamber music, free improvisation, pop and rock. Far from being a contrivance, this wilful eclecticism is borne of this self-taught musician’s deep affinity with the natural world, inspired by the rainforest cacophony of his native Lagoa da Canoa in north-eastern Brazil.

His prolific output as a composer is matched only by his savant-like ability with any instrument, and Pascoal wields keyboards, woodwinds, accordions and guitars with an amazing facility. He’s just as likely to fashion music from a kettle, a plastic toy, a balloon pump, even the cadence of human speech, or som da aura as Hermeto calls it. It’s further evidence that Hermeto is a conduit for ceaseless creativity from some enigmatic source and it shows no sign of abating as he ushers in his seventh decade. Recent projects have included a book of songs for every day of the year as a birthday gift from Hermeto to each of his fellow citizens.

Many of today’s Brazilian stars acknowledge his influence, from Tom Zé to Caetano Veloso and Airto Moreira, who called him “a genius, the most complete musician I have ever met.” If he is loved in Brazil, he has long been a source of fascination in the jazz world, where musicians were drawn to the pioneering spirit of recordings like ‘Festa Dos Deuses’, ‘Slaves Mass’ and ‘Musica Livre’. His greatest champion was Miles Davis, with whom Hermeto collaborated on 1970’s Live-Evil.

For fans of Miles Davis, Baden Powell, Airto Moreira and Tom Zé

Location of event - Get Directions

Venue Information - The Everyman

The Everyman is a non-profit company that produces and presents the best in Irish and international performance for Cork and Irish audiences. Our mission is to be indispensable to all of the communities we serve: audiences, artists (local, national, international), employees and suppliers, while remaining rooted in, and inextricably linked to, Cork.

Our beautiful theatre is 650-seat listed building and a jewel of late Victorian architecture, celebrating its 120th birthday in 2017. The building is steeped in history and the auditorium is a favourite with audiences and performers alike for its intimacy and atmosphere.