And now he sings. Brazil’s most unclassifiable musician expands his horizons. Daniella Thompson 12 March 2008 Writing about the music of Antonio Saraiva is not easy. This multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, saxophones and more), composer, and arranger defies classification. In creating his music, Saraiva dips into disparate and far-flung sources, from música nordestina to Indonesian gamelan, from rock to minimalism à la Steve Reich. What he creates from this mélange is something else altogther. Antonio Saraiva is a thoroughly modern musician. I first met Saraiva in 1999, after he had produced Marcos Sacramento’s most modern album, Caracane (read my interview with him in “Magic Marcos”). At the time, he was composing ballet music for the Paula Nestorov dance company of Rio de Janeiro. Some of this music has been released on the CDs Chegança (1998) and Orquestra (2000). In 1999, Saraiva released a duo CD with Marcos Cunha that most popular-music aficionados would characterize as experimental. So now it comes as somewhat of a surprise to find Saraiva on a new solo disc full of real songs, which he sings. Saraiva wouldn’t be true to himself if he abandoned modernity, but in the eponymous album Antonio Saraiva, the musician demonstrates that it’s possible to be modern, accessible, evocative, and even emotional all at once, not to mention tongue-in-cheek. frio noite na boca teu céu o frio de pé no chão lembra a guerra cais e amor lampejo no olhar e o luar sem sertão He also shows how a single person can do it all. All the songs (music and lyrics) are his compositions. He arranged them all and plays piano, acoustic and electric guitars (including a 12-string guitar), saxophones, flute, and drums. And he sings. On Saraiva’s beautifully designed website you can watch various videos and listen to his music. Perhaps you might even be able to classify it. If you do, drop me a line. Antonio Saraiva (Independent AS05; 2007) 36:36 min. All compositions by Antonio Saraiva 01. Prólogo/Sem História 02. Quimera 03. Graça 04. Só 05. Sem História 04. Lua de Londres 05. Frio 06. A Saudade 07. Luminoso 08. O Segredo 09. Trilhos 10. Ir 11. Conto 12. Pé 13. Epílogo/O Elefante   Copyright © 2008 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved.