Fabiano do Nascimento performs solo and in tandem with a small combo in a special set for NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series, featuring compositions from his various Now-Again albums.
Words on Fabino’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert by NPR’s Abby O’Neil:
The seraphic sounds by Brazil-born, L.A.-based guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento are hypnotic and transcendent, an amalgamation of Afro-Brazilian jazz, folklore, bossanova and samba. The combination of his overdubbed rhythmic and melodic guitar lines, coupled with the delicate hands of piano player David Bergaud and drummer Julien Cantelm, just seem to hit differently. It’s a wandering journey that put me into what feels like the Samadhi state in meditation, where the brain frequency surrenders and the soul completely takes over.
Fabiano and his band flow into the first number, “Nanã,” a folkloric composition that “is the spirit that comes from African lineage and represents the forest … and is the primordial mother of earth.” On “Etude,” a composition by Fabiano inspired by Cuban classical guitar virtuoso Leo Brouwer, he is joined by new accompaniment: Adam Ratner on guitar and Leo Costa on drums and chocalho. His love for his motherland Brazil — an “endless foundation of inspiration” — is threaded deeply into the tapestry of his sound and ethos. If you’re looking for a musical moment of zen, this set comes highly recommended.
Filmed by Bennett Piscitelli and Fabiano do Nascimento. Produced by Abby O’Neil.
SET LIST: “Nanã,” “Etude,” “Tributo”
MUSICIANS: Fabiano do Nascimento: guitar, vocals; Julien Cantelm: drums; Leo Costa: drums; Adam Ratner: guitar; David Bergaud: piano
