Corumbá (MS) – Adilson Big’s life story is intertwined with his musical career itself. Born in Presidente Prudente, he has lived in Campo Grande since 1980. Adilson is a multi-instrumentalist due to his work in studio production, but made the guitar his main instrument.
And it was with this instrument that he performed during Quebra-Torto com Letras (a traditional Pantanal brunch combined with literary readings) on the morning of this Friday (05.27), at Moinho Cultural, as an attraction of the 16th Festival América do Sul Pantanal. “It’s an instrumental repertoire that I recorded through FMIC in 2015, and since then I’ve been developing some other things. I applied for the grant and was selected. I’m very happy and very grateful.” The musician was accompanied by instrumentalists Gabriel Basso (bass), Marcelo Ferreira (drums) and Gabriel Andrade (guitar).
Adilson’s story in music began when he started playing at parties and birthdays. Then things evolved and he ended up forming a heavy metal band in Campo Grande, Alta Tensão. But the musician soon left the band to seek new paths. “I started working with Tostão e Guarani — imagine that, from rock to sertanejo — I worked with them for three years and then formed the first Banda Lilás, and I formed Banda Company, which is a band specialized in weddings, graduations, carnival, that kind of work. And now, after the pandemic, I decided to take a break from all that rush and take a little more care of my own instrumental work.”
Adilson defines his style as “fusion”: “it’s a well-defined instrumental music, you stop to listen and you can identify the melodies. For this work I had several influences from North American guitarists, Brazilian guitarists, Larry Carlton, and several other guitarists that we’ve been listening to over time and sometimes end up identifying with that sound.”
The original work that the guitarist presented at Fasp is called “Beira Rio” (Riverside). “I really like fishing, I really like being by the river, so I wrote several songs like Beira do Rio and Cachoeira do Sossego. Beira do Rio is a song I wrote on the Rio Aquidauana, Cachoeira do Sossego is a song I wrote there at Cachoeirão, which has a very beautiful spot. And there’s the one on the Rio Jatobá, going down the Rio Jatobá, that polca-rock… In every place we went, there was that sense of inspiration.”
The musician cites an example of situations he manages to turn into music. He describes something that happened here in Corumbá. “Yesterday, for example, we arrived at the hotel, Hotel Anzol de Ouro, and the gate was closed. We didn’t know what to do, everyone was a bit at a loss, we rang the intercom, nobody answered, we called, no answer. Then we got kind of desperate. Then suddenly someone went over and pulled the gate and it opened. So I said: could that make a song? I’m already writing the song, it’s going to be called Porteira do Anzol. So we just go along with things as they happen, you end up thinking and some ideas end up appearing to keep the work going.”
When asked about his years in the business, the musician replied that his career span is his lifespan: “Since I was a little boy I was already playing the accordion, going to the conservatory. Then I didn’t like the accordion, I ended up trading it for a guitar and from then on my whole life was music.”
His original instrumental music from the work titled “Beira Rio” seemed to please the Fasp audience, who were carried along by the sound of the melodies while waiting to savor the delicious quebra-torto.
Text: Karina Lima
Photos: Muriel Xavier
