Young Brazilian Guitar Genius: Pedro Martins

I feel like I see many young people today who have both great taste and advanced technique, while also being more free and flexible. Of course, there is the evolution of technology, and we are here today because of the history of our predecessors who, even if it wasn't cool, were full of bravado, saying things like 'this is jazz,' 'this is rock,' or 'no, this is jazz-rock.'

I first heard Brazil's Pedro Martins on 'Caipi,' an album by Kurt Rosenwinkel, who is sometimes called the emperor of modern jazz guitar.

What a flexible sensibility he has. It features vocals, guitar, arrangements, and rhythms that seem to drift in from a different universe than Kurt's previous albums, yet they are warm and have a sense of floating. I looked him up and was surprised to find he was born in 1993. He is the same age as my daughter.

He looks like a thin, modest, and unassuming young man you could find anywhere. He doesn't boast about transcendental technique, and he doesn't have an intense sense of self-assertion in his tone or anything else.

Brazil also has Michel Pipoquinha, a young and incredibly skilled bassist born in 1996. There is a live recording of a duo performance by the two of them on YouTube. It is well worth listening to; no matter how many times I listen to it, or where I start listening from, I never get tired of it.

In 2020, they released an album under both of their names.

It reminds me that individuality is not something you declare or act out by saying 'this is my individuality,' but rather that it is simply how you are naturally—that way of being is your individuality.

...Although, there are some people who have an intense individuality in that very way.

Anyway, he is a musician whose future I am very much looking forward to.