POP MUSIC REVIEW : Brazil’s Bosco Bursts With Creativity in Kickoff Concert

Joao Bosco made a quick stop in town Saturday night. It was just long enough to provide a tantalizingly short sampling of the music of this extraordinary Brazilian singer/songwriter/guitarist.

Bosco and the instrumental group Uakti appeared at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery in Barnsdall Park for the kickoff of “L.A./Brazil Projects ‘90,” a series of events designed to showcase Brazilian music and art in the United States, Japan and Brazil.

Although he is one of the most important artists in the post-bossa nova MPB ( musica popular brasileira ) period of Brazilian music, Bosco has had little visibility in this country. It’s hard to understand why. His performance was a virtual one-man explosion of creativity.

Working only with his guitar, his voice and the sheer magnetism of his physical presence, Bosco performed a set that mixed his provocative originals (mostly written with lyricist Aldir Blanc) with fascinating readings of “ ‘Round Midnight” and “Bahia.” His guitar figures ranged from hypnotically repetitious patterns to lushly harmonized chording, while his singing managed to incorporate percussive pops, squeals and shouts with romantic balladeering.

The total effect was stunningly rich and inventive--music that reached out to touch both the mind and the body.

Uakti, a group from the eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais who appear on Paul Simon’s newest recording, played a colorful array of instruments handmade from plastic tubing, gourds, bamboo, rubber and wood. Many of their pieces reverberated with the sounds of jungle and forest. Perhaps most fascinating, however, was Uakti’s whimsical reading of Ravel’s “Bolero,” performed on a metal pot and a collection of gourds floating in basins of water.

Uakti will appear April 1 at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks.