This irrepressible innovator performed in a river to test its sonic properties, used kettles and bottles as instruments and played with Miles Davis. His influence cannot be overestimated
Hermeto Pascoal, Brazilian music legend known as ‘the Sorcerer’, dies aged 89
Jazz critic John Fordham’s favourite Pascoal performances
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here are many anecdotes about Hermeto Pascoal, the Brazilian musician who died on Saturday at the age of 89, that have become the stuff of legend. From punching Miles Davis in the face to playing for five hours straight one night in Rio and being widely known as “the sorcerer” of Brazilian music, with a long white beard to match, these episodes would make an average artist infamous. But beyond the outre stories, Pascoal truly was a mythic figure: a musical genius with few peers, who pushed music beyond boundaries.
