Gig Review: Brazilian Master Pianist Túlio Mourão’s Concert in Mumbai

It is a rarity to have a South American musician perform in Mumbai. Those present were very fortunate to hear a master Brazilian pianist, Túlio Mourão, in concert at NCPAs Tata Theatre. In many ways it was the opposite of the concert of American pianist Chick Corea‘s, just a month ago in the city. Everyone had heard of Corea, very few, if any had heard of Mourão. However, the Brazilian’s performance was quite brilliant.

Mourão played from the Brazilian song book. He performed his concert in two phases. First a solo piano recital, then in trio format. For the solo segment of his performance, he introduced the audience to music from ‘the father of Brazilian music,’ Villa Lobos. For the second segment, he was joined on stage by bassist Gianluca Liberatore and Saurav Ghosh on drums, as the maestro played the music of ‘the second father of Brazilian music,’ Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Audiences worldwide are familiar with Jobim’s music largely because of the genius of jazz saxophonist Stan Getz who brought the sound of the Bossa Nova into jazz in the Sixties with the great compositions, “Desifinado,” “Girl from Ipanema” and others. Jobim’s compositions are very popular with Mumbai audiences and Mourão’s renditions of “How Insensitive,” “Corcavado,” “The Waters of March” and others were met with plenty of applause and cheer.

While solo piano might be a treat for a small part of any audience, it can be a little lacking in dimension for the average, if enthusiastic listener. Fifteen minutes of solo piano followed by a larger part of the concert in trio format was just the right balance for the 400 plus present in the theatre. Brazil is quite far away from India and its music has almost been a well kept secret for us in these parts. After hearing the genius of Mourão, may we have more Brazilian musicians, please!