Gaia Wilmer: Parabolico
Sunnyside Records

Having earlier crafted projects dedicated to the music of Egberto Gismonti and Caetano Veloso, Gaia Wilmer now pays tribute to the legendary Brazilian Gilberto Gil, born in 1942 and still with us. Conducting a twenty-piece ensemble, Wilmer guides her players through five of his originals and two of her own, with four of the settings graced by the sensual vocal gifts of percussionist Monica Salmaso. It's the second time the two have collaborated on a recording but the first time they conceived the project from the outset and selected the repertoire together. A natural fit for Gil's music, Wilmer grew up in southern Brazil before eventually making her way to Boston's Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory.

There's a husky quality to Salmaso's delivery that's wholly suited to the music and complements the sultry allure of the material. She's hardly, however, the only star in this firmament, with Wilmer having assembled a crack ensemble filled with some of New York's most illustrious players. Scan the personnel list and names such as flutist Yulia Musyelyan, baritone saxophonist Carl Maraghi, trombonist Ryan Keberle, guitarist Vinicius Gomes, and others jump out. Serving up percolating grooves throughout are bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Richie Barshay, with pianist (accordian too) Vitor Goncalves completing the rhythm section. Seven woodwinds players, four trumpeters, and four trombonists compose the front line to give the music heft and texture wherever needed. It's a big band, yes, but also one distinguished by the inclusion of two flutists, Maiara Moraes (flute, alto flute) and Musayelyan (flute, piccolo, bass flute), the move not only amplifying the lustrous South American aura of the music but also echoing at moments the sound of Gil Evans' orchestrations.

Her instrumental “Overture: o nascer de cada dia” allows the ensemble to establish its identity before vocals are added and in doing so shows the smoothness of the textures the band achieves under Wilmer's direction. A soothing intimacy is generated by her orchestral layering of flutes, piano, and guitar, with Barshay nicely ornamenting the expression with cymbal shadings and accents. Roeder's solo intro to Gil's “Aqui e agora” shows how commanding a presence he can be when performing sans accompaniment; the music's patient blossoming into an emphatic statement thereafter is as compelling. Gil's “Oriente” is elevated by a soaring opening solo from trumpeter David Smith before a coquettish Salmaso enters to flesh out the beguiling melodic treatment. It's Gil's composition, but it's Wilmer who boldly fashions it into an adventurous, twelve-minute odyssey.

Two other pieces also stretch out liberally, “Febril,” a dreamy ballad marked by lilting rhythms and atmospheric woodwind and vocal gestures, and the closing “Parabolicamará,” dreamy too when introduced by aromatic vocal textures and rippling piano figures but mighty when the tune's triangle-prodded swing kicks in and the music picks up steam. Wilmer's other composition, “Vignette: a luz na escuridão,” embraces a freer dynamism, with extended tones by the horns and woodwinds stabilizing the furious whirlwind stoked by Barshay, Roeder, and Goncalves.

September 2026