Marco Pereira plays Dilermando Reis in “Dois Destinos” by Carlos Calado In the year that marks the 100th birth anniversary of Dilermando Reis (1916-1977), this distinguished Brazilian guitarist is celebrated in a way that will call the attention to his work again. With impeccable technique and eclectic musical background that make him one of the best guitarists in Brazil, Marco Pereira plays Dilermando’s compositions with modern arrangements in “Dois Destinos” [Two Destinies], released with Borandá’s quality label. “I thought about keeping the country style, the simplicity of Dilermando’s music, imagining how he would play this repertoire if he were 30 or 40 years old today”, explains the guitarist and arranger from Sao Paulo, who admits having a sentimental relationship with this master’s work. “When I started playing the guitar, the first songs I learned were Dilermando’s choros and waltzes. I once had a large repertoire with his songs”, he said. Dilermando Reis was very popular – he was one of the few instrumentalists who played in TV shows frequently during the 50s. His successful career started in the 40s, when he recorded albums and played in radio stations. People usually think that the waltz “Abismo de Rosas” (by Américo “Canhoto” Jacomino) or the maxixe “Sons de Carrilhões” (by João Pernambuco) – some standards of the Brazilian instrumental music that were a huge success played by Dilermando – were composed by him. “He was spontaneous and treated the music naturally, so the audience really liked his choros and waltzes”, says Pereira, who highlights a technical aspect when explaining why people lost interest in Dilermando’s guitar from the 60s on, precisely when this instrument was largely used in the Brazilian musical scene. “With the rise of bossa nova, nylon strings guitars also began to be used. Those who played steel strings guitars, like Dilermando, were considered outdated”, says Pereira, who didn’t know there were other musical tributes to Dilermando’s centenary. “The last tribute I remember was made by the guitarist Raphael Rabello more than 20 years ago.” Guitarist’s comments on the recordings For the album “Dois Destinos”, Marco Pereira invited some renowned musicians of the Brazilian instrumental music: partners and friends with whom he plays for a long time – the accordion player Toninho Ferragutti, the flutist Toninho Carrasqueira, the bass players Neymar Dias and Guto Wirtti, the drummer Sergio Reze, the percussionist Amoy Ribas and the clarinetists Luca Raele and Diogo Maia. “I decided to create arrangements to highlight the most chamberish aspect in Dilermando’s work”, explains the guitarist, who worked on this project with many instrumental ensembles: from an unusual duet with guitar and bass clarinet (in the waltz “Dois Destinos”) to a septet (in the choro “Caxinguelê”). Only the waltzes “Se Ela Perguntar” and “Flor de Aguapé” are played only in the guitar. “Se Ela Perguntar”, reinterpreted in the first track of the album, shows Pereira’s care when playing Dilermando’s compositions. With this arrangement, he changed the original tone (E minor) to D minor and tuned the guitar in a way that improves the sonority of the instrument. “This way, the notes and chords sound better”, explains the guitarist, who has also made small changes to the harmonics to highlight the melancholy of this waltz. “Dilermando’s songs are simple, which makes it easy to reinterpret them. This provides us with many options. If you do it carefully, you will have good results.” The batuque “Xodó da Bahiana” was played in a lively version. The fact that Dilermando practically copied the maxixe “Corta-Jaca”, by Chiquinha Gonzaga, stimulated Pereira to play with other tunes when reinterpreting it. “Dilermando liked to borrow ideas from other composers”, commented the guitarist who, like jazz players, has fun including parts of “Night in Tunisia” (a classic from the American trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie) and “Segure o Tchan” (a hit from the group Gera Samba, from Bahia) when improvising. “The fun starts right on the introduction”, says Pereira, explaining that, in this recording, he used the “slap” percussion technique (which consists in “slapping” the instrument’s strings with the thumb), common among electric bass players. Talking about maxixe, the choro “Gente Boa” received a trio arrangement (with guitar, bass guitar and percussion) in maxixe rhythm. “I had to read the score because I hadn’t heard a recording by Dilermando. In my opinion, this song was almost minimalist, and I like it”, analyses Pereira, who reinterpreted other choros, such as “Caxinguelê”, “Tempo de Criança” and “Feitiço”, and played them more like samba. “Magoado”, one of the most popular Dilermando’s choros, is played by Pereira with modern arrangements, with improvisations and a rhythm that reminds jazz music. “Regarding the arrangements, I have tried to keep the theme styles, without interfering on it, but I just couldn’t play a chorinho nowadays the way it was originally created”, he explains. The great arrangements of “Dr. Sabe-Tudo” are another example of how Pereira updated Dilermando’s compositions without misinterpreting them. “This choro has been played a lot. I came up with the idea of playing it in five different tones, which makes this arrangement special. I thought it would sound interesting with accordion, so I decided to invite my partner Toninho Ferragutti, a real master of this instrument”, says the guitarist. “I have been saying that we have great guitar masters in Brazil. In fact, nowadays you can see a new generation of guitarists making amazing things”, comments Pereira. “It’s important to highlight musicians like Dilermando or Garoto, who are part of this history”. More than a tribute to a guitar master not so remembered today, the album “Dois Destinos” shows that Marco Pereira is a great instrumentalist and a complete musician. Thanks to his graceful reinterpretations, the new generations will be able to know the beauty of Dilermando Reis work. Carlos Calado is a journalist, editor and music critic.