Sandro Albert Talks About His Latest Album “Vertical.”

By Rodrigo Brandão

Brazilian jazz guitarist Sandro Albert will celebrate the release of his fourth full-length album, Vertical (Daywood Drive Records) at Iridium Jazz Club on Thursday, July 15, 2010.

Sandro Albert

In this exclusive interview with BrazilNYC, he talks about his upcoming album and concert on July 15.

RB: On your website, you list Wes Montgomery, Miles Davis and Antonio Jobim as some of your first musical influences. Was it usual for kids in Porto Alegre to listen to Wes Montgomery? How did you encounter his music at the age of 14?

SA: No, it was not. We were all really into Beatles and rock in general, and this was true for me as well. But that was only until a friend of mine played me a Wes record. It was fantastic to hear other possibilities in the sonic area that the guitar could do.

RB: What are some of the songs you´ll be playing at the upcoming concert, on July 15, at Iridium Jazz Club? Will you be focusing on the tracks from your next album, Vertical?

SA: The show is based on the new record. I will play two songs from my two previous releases, “Soulful People” and “The Color of Things”. I will have with me a great quartet with Michael O’brien on bass, Mauricio Zottarelli on drums and Rodrigo Ursaia on flute and sax.

RB: Can you tell us about what you think are the next trends in Brazilian Jazz? What are some of your favorite musicians right now? Are there particular names that you look up to?

SA: I am a big fan of Milton Nascimento whom I had the blessing to have on my first record as a special guest. Egberto Gismonti is another phenomenal musician. I was also really impressed by Itibere Zwarg’s record (ex Hermeto Pascoal bass player), which is accompanied by a very young Brazilian orquestra. Danilo Perez, Keith Jarrett, Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, among others are a big inspiration to me.

RB: You recently said that Vertical was supposed to be a solo guitar record. What made you change your mind about the final product? Is it still fair to say that Vertical is a much more intimate album than The Color of Things?

SA: I started to hear a lot of counterpoints after I concluded the guitar parts, first for bass and then for flute … Because of the kind of writing, I decided to include drums so to not sound too much like chamber music trio. Vertical is definitely a more intimate kind of record, more raw and acoustic than any material I have released to date.