Fabiano Do Nascimento: Tempo Dos Mestres

Sometimes, perhaps too often, music becomes a competition, a race to be the fastest and the newest, to be razor-sharp and halfway to the stratosphere from the outset. Sometimes, fire and flash are the only ways for a new record to grab hold of an audience oversaturated with countless musical options, and what should be a release becomes another source of stress, a barrage of volume and media play.

Fabiano Do Nascimento doesn’t fall into those traps. He neither overthinks nor overproduces on sophomore release Tempo dos Mestres, a transcendent work whose sounds take their cues from indigenous South American cultures as surely as they do the distinctly Brazilian jazz stylings of avant-garde legends like Airto Moreira (who counts himself among Do Nascimento’s fans and collaborators) and Hermeto Pascoal. Do Nascimento taps into the spirit of the Amazon — the river, the rainforest, the entire region — and from it pours forth unfettered analog beauty, recorded straight to tape with no overdubs. To call it magic would be too dismissive of the work Do Nascimento has put into translating both the stunning natural landscapes and rich musical history of Brazil from his perceptions to this album. Blood, sweat, deep love all play vital roles in building the atmosphere of Tempo dos Mestres.

Central to the album is, of course, Do Nascimento’s classical guitar work. On opening track “Planalto”, he whips up a flurry of fast and varied notes, a solid two minutes of precise acoustic strings strummed so densely that, though clean and quick, the track is lush, a melodic canopy to fall into with eyes shut. From there, the strings continue, joined by backing vocals, percussion, sax, and flute, each addition more enchanting than the last. Sometimes, easy samba beats glide into the mix, as well; they aren’t the strongest moments, but they still sparkle, and they give the album a light touch instead of letting it sink beneath the weight of its impressive atmosphere.