Egberto Gismonti and Stella & the Longos to Oslo World 2024
Borderless Brazilian virtuoso and love and theft on the dance floor
The legendary Egberto Gismonti is a rare talent. His body of work combines Brazilian folk traditions with modern classical music and contemporary jazz. He is a brilliant improviser who has worked with some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, such as Charlie Haden and the Norwegian legends Jan Garbarek and Arild Andersen. A virtuoso on piano as well as different types guitars, Gismontis remarkable feel for the range and possibilities of the instruments has endeared him to audiences from all over the world the last five decades.
Gismonti was born into a musical family in 1947. After studying the piano, he took up the guitar in his teens. Later, he moved to Paris where he studied composition under the great masters Jean Barraqué (1928-1973), a disciple of Anton Webern, and Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), a former consultant to Igor Stravinsky. He was inspired by the Brazilian master Heitor Villa-Lobos, and his encounter with indigenous peoples of the Amazon rain forest shaped him. In 1977 his landmark ECM debut Dança das Cabeças established him as one of the leading recording artists on the legendary label. He has continued to seek new expressions and this year, Oslo World is proud to welcome a borderless Brazilian master to the festival.
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The sensual concert sensation Stella & the Longos pays tribute to the Zouk and Boogie of the 1980’s, seen through the glasses of the Paris underground. The founders, Stella Zekri & Ed Longo share a common passion for old forgotten records. They met each other in Berlin, where they both hung out in the same places and went to the same concert. Zekri and Longo are avid DJ collectors and they have scoured the record shops as much as the dancefloors for inspiration. When they met, sparks flew. After a few studio sessions, they decided to make an album.
Détends-Toi was shaped by their common love for the French multicultural productions of the 80s – but they also had a deep desire to innovate, play with the sounds. The album was released in the summer of 2022 on the new Cosmic Romance Records label, created by the band members. After the successful release, Stella & The Longos toured Europe. Their live shows are filled with self-assured attention to detail – they play with the genres they love, unafraid to leave their own mark. The grand spectacle of the DJ-led Neapolitan group Nu Genea, which recently visited Oslo World, might be an apt comparison for them – but when Stella & The Longos take the stage, they inhabit a world of their own.
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