Gualdino Barros, the master of ceremonies

 

Gualdino Barros ® Rita Draper Frazão 2004

My latest article about the drummer Gualdino Barros, that recently passed away, has just been published in Jazz.pt magazine. 

For those who don't speak Portuguese, here is my English adaptation of it:

Gualdino Barros, the master of ceremonies

The drummer Gualdino Barros passed away on November the 21st. My heartfelt condolences to his family, all his friends and the many fans I know he had out there.

I have to confess that something broke inside of me when I heard about the news. Nito, Gualdin or Gualdinex as he was called by many, was 85 years old.

I don't know exactly when I met Gualdino, but I was a teenager and he was almost 50 years older than me. It might, even, sound strange to make friendships under such circumstances, but not is this case. Gualdino was a magnet for the younger generations. Regardless of his physical age, he must've been the most youthful spirit I have ever met. Those who liked music, learning and having fun, had an open door to his universe. Therefore, it was easy to like him.

In a context in which in Portugal, in his generation, there was still no official and organized education specifically aimed at jazz, Gualdino was a self-taught drummer. Through his curious and entrepreneurial spirit, restless soul and desire to learn, he listened and saw his musical idols play and, thus, learned to play. The drummer Luís Sangareau (who I still had the pleasure to meet) was one of those who, in Portugal, greatly inspired him.

The self-taught drummer, who was a Portugal's history of jazz milestone, had a very unique “sound of his own” (the cymbals and solos!) and a sense of style that never faded. Small in stature, anyone who might think he had ever gone unnoticed, would be mistaken. Chatty, Gualdino was the life of the party, loved eccentric clothes, wore rings and had a huge collection of hats, caps and berets, that became his iconic trade mark.

This musician was an old-school type of gentleman. He always treated me with the utmost deference and politeness. I also recognize a certain candidness in him. He had an enormous spontaneity, liked to take risks, was sharp as a tack and had an enviable ability to get away with things and improvise, both in life and in music.

Those characteristics made him feel touched and promote what was new and beautiful. He was proud to have launched a bunch of new Portuguese talents. Jorge Palma, Bernardo Sassetti, the Moreira brothers, Francisco Rebelo, Filipe Melo, Joana Espadinha, Rita Maria... all of them played with him at the beginning of their professional lives.

I can't help to mention the fascination he had with singers. Whenever we met Gualdino, his enthusiastic conversation, invariably, started with the new vocal talent he had just discovered with whom he was playing with. Regardless of the art we dedicated ourselves to (which contradicts the idea that he's only helped musicians and I am living proof of that), during a certain phase, when one was starting to enter the jazz scene in Lisbon, it was almost an initiatory ritual to the activity, to work with him. And what a master of ceremonies he was for us all.

I took and developed this photo of him in 2004, when we were on tour out there. By his invitation, I drew and photographed, he played the drums and managed it all. His degree of generosity went to the point he'd gave up his own cachet in favor of other artists, something I know he did to other people and that he also did to me. He had an unwavering faith in us and didn't abdicate our presence.

On this tour I took several photographs, one of which was published in the magazine “Grande Reportagem (see here)”. The photograph that goes along with this text, is another one and was special to him. According to what he told me, it would be the only portrait he had, in this position with the drums. His musical instrument of choice was a symbol of his complicity with music and the means by which he expressed the love of his life: jazz.

We are left with Gualdino's teachings, his sense of humor, his enormous generosity but... how not to  mention the gigantic repertoire of stories he had to tell? Besides being a drummer, he was Portuguese with roots in Angola where he lived, as well as in Germany, France and, of course, Portugal. He was a sacristan, played for Sporting de Braga Football Club, worked on construction sites, spoke several languages, was a good friend, brother (of percussionist Quim M'Jojo), uncle, engineer and so many other things...

His incredible life experiences deservedly inspired at least three cinematographic works: Inner Urge by Isabel Cardeira (2003) (in which I also participated), Um Mundo Catita by Filipe Melo (2007) and The ninth life of Gualdino by Filipe Araújo (2014). The last two movies were shown on Portuguese television, on RTP 2.

I was part of this huge class of friends of which Gualdino was the master. We stopped to listen to him, when he told us about his personal and artistic experiences with people like Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Max Roach, Bud Powell, Mickey Rooney, Amália Rodrigues, Jorge Palma, Fernando Girão or Duo Ouro Negro.

Here I remember one night, when the Hot Clube of Portugal (Jazz Club) had already closed its doors to the public and only a small group of regulars remained, who Fernando Mendes, affectionately, put up with behind closed doors, until late hours. We were all partying hard in jam session mode, when Gualdino jumped on stage, not straight to the drums, but to the microphone. 

Solemn moment. 

To everyone's surprise, he started singing “Autumn Leaves” in French. Who was also there and remembers this?

His life had great ups and downs. Between cold-blooded tonsil surgeries in Africa, sleeping under the bridge Neuf in Paris, severe burns on the hand, alligator attacks in the USA, overthrown addictions, strokes and countless challenges that he overcame from childhood until the end of his life, I believe that all these experiences made him the exceptional individual he was.

Powder and Shadow ® Rita Draper Frazão 2005

In his twilight years, when he was already very ill, his friends' mobilization to help him was massive and moving. Above is one of the drawings I made on tour with him that documents his great friendship with the pianist Rui Caetano. It was drawn with my left and right hands. I chose to do so, not only because of the ambidextrous nature of those who play piano and drums, but also due the complementarity of the two musicians. Like shadow to light and powders to magic. Therefore, it is titled “Powder and Shadow”.

After 2016 Euro's Portuguese football team's victory and the football player Eder having shared the importance that his mental coach had had in this process, a greater public awareness began to raise in Portugal, of the importance that such a tool could have in someone's life, in the evolution of a team or in the history of a country. But twenty or thirty years ago, nobody spoke about coaching in Portugal. Gualdino was an absolute visionary in this and was the best coach that an entire generation of artists here could've ever asked for. I think it's safe to say he left his mark in all of us.

In his own way, Gualdino was a philosophical and spiritual person. Without being something he talked much about, he confessed me that he was a Catholic and showed me the crucifix he wore under his clothes. Religions aside, I have no doubt that his faith in life was the biggest lesson he gave me. An example to never forget. A person from forever to forever.

Thank you for everything!