Hermeto Pascoal, Eccentric and Prolific Brazilian Composer

 

 

  A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, he rose from a childhood of rural privation to become a favorite of jazz musicians and audiences around the world.  

 "Hermeto Pascoal, the eccentric, prodigiously prolific Brazilian composer and self-taught multi-instrumentalist who rose from a childhood of rural privation to become a favorite of jazz musicians and audiences around the world with a taste for the unpredictable and adventurous, died on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. He was 89.

Known in Brazil as “the Sorcerer” and “the Mad Genius,” Mr. Pascoal affected a wild man’s appearance: He had long, unkempt hair, a thick beard and a childlike demeanor. But he was passionately serious about playing and composing music.

He wrote more than 2,000 instrumental pieces, many with quirky time signatures or harmonies, and orchestrated or arranged hundreds more songs for others, including jazz luminaries like Miles Davis, who once described Mr. Pascoal as “one of the most important musicians on the planet.”

READ OBIT BY LARRY ROHTER