Several years have passed since Gustavo Pazos released his first instrumental cd Papas Calientes (Hot Potatoes, 1998), a duet together with the Dutch guitarist Esther Steenbergen.

The quote which Gustavo uses for his new cd, a phrase from ‘Song for my guitar’ by the Uruguayan musical poet Osiris Rodriguez Castillo, is still the same as the one he used for Papas Calientes. The very words ‘secret guitar that evokes the image of my land’ are still as relevant to Gustavo as they were in 1998.

On this cd he incorporates some of the gaucho traditions, such as the milonga, the estilo, the chamarrita or more urban forms like the waltz and the tango. The signature sound of Montevideo is the candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan form of musical expression, and it is present on this album as well. Here the recent and the distant past converge with the present and possible futures.

Gustavo Pazos is not set on a faithful reflection of the Río de la Plata musical traditions, but plays his own interpretation of the musical sources important to him as a Uruguayan. These sources are very divers: the gaucho master Osiris Rodriguez Castillo, Atahualpa Yupanqui, the anonymous street drummers of Montevideo, the bandoneón landscapes of Dino Saluzzi, but J. S. Bach too, to mention just a few.

Caraguatá is Pazos’ first solo album and contains thirteen instrumental compositions. Nine are written by Pazos himself. He recorded two works by the modern Uruguayan composer Sergio Fernandez Cabrera, a milonga by Anibal Arias and an estilo by the guitarist/composer Walter Heinze.

It is a very personal record, breathing Pazos’ deeply felt love for the music and the culture of his homeland. Listening to this cd is a very intense and rewarding experience, not in the least because of his skills and musical talent.

The Artist

Gustavo Pazos came into contact with the guitar when he was a child and they have been inseparable ever since. He had his first classes from an old teacher in Montevideo, who helped him making the transition from classical guitar to the traditional gaucho guitar of the milonga, vidalita and estilo.

Later he studied with the Uruguayan guitarist Magdalena Jimeno of NEMUS (Núcleo de Educación Musical Institute) and attended the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam for several years. In the eighties he recorded three albums: El Retorno (1983), Vida y Oficios (1984) and Aparceros (1988). His first instrumental cd with works for two guitars he recorded in The Netherlands, together with the Dutch classical guitarist Esther Steenbergen (Papas Calientes, 1998). In recent years he is concentrating more and more on composing music.

Gustavo used to work as a radio producer for the Dutch national radio until 2010. He made several documentaries for the radio and was involved in many productions as artistic director.