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Marius Gundersen is a classical guitarist from Norway who also plays Brazilian music. If your prejudices are telling you that this is an odd fit, you couldn’t be more wrong. Gundersen has a wonderful feel for the Bossa Nova rhythms of Brazil. His touch is so light and delicate, and his rhythms are so subtle and supple, that I’m sure he has made many native Brazilian guitarists jealous. When you get into the higher echelons of classical performance, its all about control and all the different shades of lightness you can bring to a piece. Gundersen’s ability to play lightly, but with strength, makes “Retrato Brasileiro” one of the best guitar albums to come out so far this year. If you are a fan of mastered technique, Gundersen’s playing will be sweet delicate music to your ears.
Gundersen pulls from many sources to assemble his songs on this CD. There are many classics from Brazilian composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell, as well as six originals composed by Gundersen himself. Particularly nice is Gundersen’s bitter sweet melody on “Obrigado” that closes out the CD. All of the songs on here flow together smoothly creating an endless stream of intricate acoustic guitar sounds. You don’t need serious knowledge in Brazilian music to enjoy “Retrato Brassileiro”, this CD has cross appeal for fans of all kinds of instrumental music from modern classical to contemporary jazz. Some may even say this CD makes for great background music, but it is even better when you give it a serious listen.