Saturday night, Memorial Hall was filled with the musical stylings of Brazilian artist Nascimento and his five-man band. According to Andy Kleindienst, director of the Charanga Carolina ensemble at UNC, Nascimento is the most famous Brazilian musician of the past 50 years. He said that his style was born out of a communication between 1970s American jazz and Brazilian bossa nova and samba .
“There were a lot of musicians in the 1970s like Milton who were influenced by jazz, and jazz was influenced by Brazil,” said Kleindienst. “Milton reflects a collaboration with jazz and Brazil that still exists today.”
Kleindienst stressed that Nascimento is not solely a jazz musician or a traditional Brazilian musician, but incorporates nearly 50 years of music history into his work.
Mark Nelson, a spokesman for Carolina Performing Arts, said he was delighted to book Nascimento because he completed the trifecta of Brazilian superstars.
“Caetano Veloso was here back in ‘07-’08 and Gilberto Gil was back in ‘12-’13 — the third corner of the triangle, Milton, really was the final piece,” Nelson said.
Nelson said he enjoys introducing people to global superstars, like Nascimento, and tries to book people who will leave a big wake where they go. His choice proved successful, as Nascimento received not a standing ovation, but a dancing ovation.
Nelson expected a large audience and was pleased that nearly half of the audience members were students.
“One of the things that we feel is really important is when a student leaves Carolina that they have utilized this as a resource to learn about different music and broaden their cultural fabric,” he said.