By: Dr. Matt Warnock

Paulinho Garcia Quartet Featuring Art Davis

On a cool, rainy fall evening in downtown Chicago, the kind of day that painfully reminds the city’s residents that the long, cold winter is fast approaching, the Paulinho Garcia Quartet featuring Art Davis took the stage at the Auditorium Theater and warmed the crowd with two breathtaking sets of Brazilian standards and arrangements of American jazz classics.

Each of these five world-class musicians played at the top of their game during the performance, and their exuberance and love of the music shone through on every song. If there was any question that Garcia is the Windy City’s, and possibly the Midwest’s, most accomplished Brazilian guitarist-vocalist; this evening’s concert removed all doubt.

One of the most interesting and engaging features of the concert was the set list. Though all of the tunes were performed with traditional Brazilian rhythms, with the notable exception being “Love Story” which was arranged as a Bolero, the song selection represented two notable catalogues, the Brazilian and Chet Baker songbooks.

Garcia chose songs such as “Portrait in Black in White,” “Desafinado,” “Brazil,” and “Waters of March” to represent the Brazilian side of the concert, while Baker classics such as “If You Could See Me Now,” That Old Feeling,” and of course “My Funny Valentine” were thrown into the mix to add a welcomed layer of contrast to the sets.

Garcia also arranged a couple of American songbook standards that weren’t drawn directly from Baker’s catalogue, such as Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight.” But, these non-Baker tunes were played with Baker in mind, providing a unique take on each song as Garcia channeled the creative energy of the legendary trumpeter and singer through his comping and singing.

By drawing material from these two distinct inspirations, Garcia maintained a thread throughout the evening that firmly linked one song to the next. Audience members were never left wondering why a certain tune was being played; it was either chosen to represent the Brazilian inspiration in Garcia’s playing, or the Baker inspiration.

Wide shot of Paulinho Garcia Quartet

This proved to be a smartly designed layout for the concert that other jazz musicians could learn from, as the song choices kept the audience guessing at what was coming next without losing them along the way.

There was also a strong sense of respect for the music that emanated from each arrangement, and from the musicians themselves, as they interpreted these carefully crafted charts. It never felt like a song was merely a vehicle for improvisation. Yes, there was blowing in every tune, but the improv grew organically out of the arrangement, with the main focus of each piece being the song itself, providing a refreshing break from the solo drenched jazz concerts that are the norm these days.

As a guitarist, Garcia is deceptively simple in his approach to comping and soloing. Listening to him, one gets the impression that with a few hours in the practice room, any guitarist could get up there and do what Garcia does, but this is definitely not the case.

Taking a cue from Chet Baker, Garcia prefers to focus on the melody as both an accompanist and soloist. Leaving the long single-lines to trumpeter Davis, Garcia played short, to the point lines that were more reminiscent of what a vocalist would sing, rather than what your average jazz guitarist would play.

But what makes his playing so effective, and technically complex, is his ability to maintain a comping figure in the low register as he plays a melody line in the upper register. This is where Garcia’s true genius as a guitarist lies, in the way that he manages to simultaneously play chords and single lines without losing the rhythmic pulse, or masking the melody line with his comping.

Any guitarist who has tried to walk a bass line or keep a chord pattern going while improvising at the same time, knows how difficult this can be, but Garcia pulls it off time and again on songs that range from slow ballads to up-tempo kickers. In one sense Garcia’s playing is simple, but on the other hand it is very precise and technically challenging. His success as a player comes from his ability to pull off the technical challenges without having the audience notice how difficult they really are.

With a full house on hand, and a beautiful room to perform in, the Paulinho Garcia Quartet featuring Art Davis put on a dazzling show for those lucky enough to be in attendance. If you get the chance to see Garcia perform live, either with his ensemble or as a solo artist, do yourself a favor and take the opportunity. This understated guitarist puts on one heck of a show.

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Photo Gallery

Photo Credit: Tony Richards

Photo Credit: Tony Richards

Photo Credit: Tony Richards

Photo Credit: Tony Richards

Photo Credit: Tony Richards

Photo Credit: Tony Richards