Celso Machado brings his Brazilian roots and worldly influences to the Upstairs Lounge on Friday night.
He grew up in Brazil with a musician father and four brothers who loved to play. When he was young he would march in the streets with his friends banging pots and pans like a marching band – inspired by the Carnival of Brazil. While their heritage musical roots were in Samba music, they loved to play a wide range including Jazz and Classical. Much of the music was original compositions.
“Whatever is in front of me becomes a musical instrument,” says Machado. “That’s what we did in my family. We played with no conventional musical instruments. We had a table, we had chairs. Each one of the family members would choose one sound. Each person would have to choose a different component of the rhythm. So if you hear someone playing a bass drum, you come up with a different part, to complete the percussion ensemble. So one might have a table, one has a frying pan, one has water glasses, and one has a box of matches. None of them are traditional instruments but you can make all the different sounds. If you want to play music you don’t have to go to the store and buy an instrument. There was no buying at the time. Nobody had money to buy anything.”
Celso Machado now focuses on traditional music, classical guitar, renaissance, baroque. He creates a blend of music antiqua and Brazilian beats. He also gets inspiration from Morocco, Egypt, West Africa.
“It’s not World Music that I like, but music of the world,” says Machado
Celso often tours Europe, playing in Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was in Japan earlier this year. While he enjoys touring he also loves his quiet life in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast. It allows him to get away from it all but also keeps him close to transportation hubs for his shows.
He is sure to delight the audience as he feels a responsibility to not just play music but to also entertain the crowd and make sure they are having a good time.
Celso Machado performs Nov.17 at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6 for dinner) in Oak Bay Recreation’s Upstairs Lounge, 1975 Bee St. Tickets are $20 in advance at Ivy’s Bookshop and Oak Bay Recreation or online at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/celso-machado-tickets-35154161042. Tickets are $25 at the door. Get a taste of the band at www.celsomachado.com.
