Window To The World

There is no shortage of adjectives to paint a shining picture of Milton Nascimento’s singular contribution to the landscape of Brazilian music. For decades, his work inspired generations of artists across musical genres and the entire planet. We are some of them. 

I was born into the music of this iconic singer-songwriter, absorbing it before I could barely speak. Years later, in the ’90s, I began attentively listening to Milton’s music as an adolescent. In my twenties, his music followed me to the United States and into the twenty-first century. I started the lengthy process of studying his music in reverse, dating back to his first musical project, and concluded: His music feels timeless. Even the earliest arrangements of the late ’60s and ’70s seem to belong in the present: the songs and the stories in these verses are very much alive today. I incorporated his music into my repertoire little by little, and some of them landed on this album. 

During a Denmark tour in 2018, my good friend Johan suggested we recorded it. He rented a space, called some friends in common, and in one swift afternoon, we registered most of the songs included here. Such a joy to spend an intense few hours with incredibly talented musicians.  

I invited my brother Rodrigo Assad and singer Muato to add beautiful vocals into the mix. I asked my old-time friend and collaborator, percussionist Keita Ogawa, for a much needed special guest participation: We spent almost a decade performing Milton’s music around the world as a duo. Together, we are happy to be a part of the perpetuation of Nascimento’s musical legacy; into re-imagined interpretations of his timeless songs, which reigns supreme as one of Brazil’s most remarkable cultural treasures.