Country : Brazil / Etats-Unis / United States Label : Concord Genres and styles : Brazilian jazz / Jazz Year : 2024 / 2024

Milton Nascimento – MILTON + ESPERANZA (Top Albums 2024)

· by Michel Labrecque

Milton Nascimento is one of Brazil’s greatest musical artists. Esperanza Spalding is one of American jazz’s most prominent bassists and songwriters. Milton Nascimento is one of Brazil’s most frequent collaborators with American jazz musicians, notably the late Wayne Shorter.

Milton + Esperanza is a musical fusion between two worlds and two generations: Milton is 82, Esperanza 39. It was she who came up with the idea for this album, as a tribute to one of the most original Brazilian musicians of his time.


Let’s be clear: Milton Nascimento’s voice is no longer as versatile as it once was. His voice is no longer as versatile as it used to be, and he’s moved away from the spectacular high-pitched vocal effects for which he was renowned. But this doesn’t stop us from sensing, right from the start, the total complicity of the two musicians. Esperanza Spalding has always imbibed Brazilian influences; here she has fun infusing jazz, Brazil, and folk. It mixes original compositions with songs by Milton Nascimento and a reworking of “A Day In The Life” from the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album. Paul Simon takes part in one track, “Um vento Passou,” which he sings in very decent Portuguese. Amazing!

We also hear British folk-soul singer Lilian La Havas and the great American jazz singer Dianne Reeves. However, this track stands out from Milton + Esperanza’s overall musical proposition. The Orquestra de Ouro Preto, a pretty town in Brazil’s Minas Gerais region, also appears on two pieces, with its mix of tradition and strings.

All this may seem scattered. But Esperanza Spalding manages to bring it all together with creative arrangements imbued with emotion. It’s a tribute to the genius of a musician who left his mark not only on Brazil, but on the entire musical planet, through his great originality.

The album closes with a long, beautiful ballad, “When You Dream,” featuring Caroline Shorter, the widow of Wayne Shorter, Milton Nascimento’s former partner on the legendary 1975 album Native Dancer. We’ve come full circle. May this album also serve to rediscover Milton’s musical catalog. And Esperanza, who continues to explore new avenues of sound.

Latest 360 Content

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Subscribe to our newsletter