Badi Assad
I wonder when I first learned about the Brazilian female musician Badi Assad; I think it was a few years ago, relatively recently. I believe it was because I happened to find a performance of a wonderful guitar trio (*1) with Larry Coryell and John Abercrombie on YouTube. Born in December 1966, she is a young artist whose birth date is less than a month apart from mine, and since she is world-famous, it wouldn't have been strange for me to have known about her sooner, but I was careless.
While she doesn't exactly flaunt transcendental technique, it is a dignified and charming performance with jazz guitar masters on either side of her. This song is "Bee Hive," a track from when Larry Coryell was active with a band called "Live from Bahia" around 1992 (*2). John Abercrombie's (on the right) restrained playing is also as enjoyable as ever.
This trio released an album titled "Three Guitars" in 2003.
Badi Assad's guitar playing is wonderful, but above all, her singing is great. I am captivated by her bright, transparent, expansive, and powerful voice.
As if by perfect timing, the single "Eterno," which was just released today (May 26, 2022) (probably), is also pop and feels great.
The 2020 album "Around The World" is also good. You can fully enjoy the charm of her guitar and vocals through the simple, acoustic sound production of her singing and playing.
Every song is good, but the 10th track, "Ondas," is interesting.
Her album debut was in 1988. On Spotify, you can listen to about 12 albums starting from 1994's "Solo." "Solo" is also full of her charm. You can hear not only her vocals but also plenty of her wonderful guitar playing.
Recently, the 2021 mini-album "Volta ao Mundo com Convidados" (Traveling with Guests - Google Translate) is worth listening to, as each song is unique and varied.
The single "Feminina," released in March of this year (2022), is also impressive. It is a performance with a Brazilian female musician, and it is a self-cover of a song included on her 2004 album "Verde." It is interesting because it includes the playing of the African folk instrument, the kalimba, making it sound like a completely different song.
There are too many good songs and good albums to write about them all. I would like to post links to all the albums, but finally, I will post "Vacilão," a video that was uploaded in 2021.
It was good to write this article while listening to everything again like this. The more I listen, the deeper my love for her grows.
■ Notes
(*1) There was a time when the Super Guitar Trio took the world by storm. It was a collaboration of three superstars: Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía, and John McLaughlin. Sometimes Larry Coryell or Bireli Lagrène would swap in, but when people say "Super Guitar Trio," they are likely referring to Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucía, and John McLaughlin.
The song in this video is "Mediterranean Sundance," a piece by Al Di Meola. The original was a duo recording with Paco, and I think that led to the Super Guitar Trio project. I love this live video because you can see Al Di Meola playing and enjoying the collaboration with his two senior master guitarists like a young boy, which is heartwarming.
Since then, I think it has become common to gather a trio of transcendental guitarists for special projects. For example, in metal/hard rock, there is G3.
Duos are nice, but duos are ordinary. When you get four or more people together, it gets a bit noisy... Maybe that's how it feels.
(*2)
I watched the 1992 Live Under the Sky performance on TV, but I haven't been able to find many other recordings of it.
"Bee Hive"
The next video is "Vera Cruz" from the same stage. I recall introducing it in another article, but I'll include it again here. From 3'47" for a little over two minutes, you can fully enjoy a somewhat forceful and masterful solo by Larry Coryell.
The album was uploaded to YouTube.
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