It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and you might think that HotHouse should be as barren as the Bears’ locker room. But the place is packed, and after Brazilian jazz guitarist Paulinho Garcia takes the stage, it’s soon evident why.
With a grin, Garcia apologizes (he’s recovering from a cold) and launches into “Upa Neguinho.” His seductive fingerpicking suggests two classical guitarists. And to savor Garcia’s voice, soaring and supple, one has to wonder: What cold?
Garcia, 55, is arguably Chicago’s most talented guitarist-vocalists, and his gifts will bear much musical fruit in 2004. Three or four new CDs with different lineups are in the works, with Sweden, Poland and Brazil as probable studio stops.
“When I was [growing up] in Brazil, there was the perception, the talk, that a [full-time] musician would starve to death,” said Garcia, who came to Chicago from Brazil 24 years ago. “But once you get into a position where I am, I can just make my music and not worry about it–and that makes me honest and sincere.”
“He plays four musical roles: singer, guitarist, bassist and percussionist,” said saxophonist Greg Fishman, half of the Garcia’s duo Two For Brazil. “It’s kind of like watching Michael Jordan–it looks so easy until you try to do it.”
Garcia may play like he comes from musical royalty, but in fact was the first serious musician in his family. He started as a singer and drummer, but switched to bass–his primary instrument on arrival here–and was a recording engineer and jingle director in Brazil.
Prior to the 1990s, music was a sideline; he worked at a variety of places, including the Chicago Board of Trade. But as his children grew and his wife passed away in 1996, Garcia turned life transitions into opportunities.
At an age where most folks mull retirement, Garcia entertains no such notions. He teaches at the Old Town School of Folk Music and strives to improve his already formidable technique–a quest he hopes will culminate in a live CD.
“I think I’m in the prime of where I’ve been, and my next concert is going to be the best one,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played better or sang better. I’m 100 percent into music.”
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Paulinho Garcia/Two for Brazil, 9 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4, 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday at Jazz Showcase, 59 W. Grand Ave.; $20-$25;312-670-2473.