For more than 30 years, guitarist and percussionist Celso Machado has performed on stages all over the world, from his original home in Brazil to festivals closer to his current home in Gibsons. His guitar technique sets him apart; his gift of making percussive music out of virtually anything - parts of his body, the microphone stand, hollow gourds - is one of his passions.
As the fourth annual Canadian Folk Music Awards prepares to honour the country's musicians this month in Newfoundland, Machado has been nominated in the category of World Solo Artist of the Year for his recording Jogo da Vida. This is his fourth honour this year - most of them are nominations in the same difficult-to-pigeonhole area of world music. He received Radio Canada's Galaxie Award, was nominated for the Western Canadian Music Awards, and he made the finalist list for the 2008 Juno Awards in the category of World Music Album of the Year.
Machado is on the road right now. After showcasing for francophones in New Brunswick to a great response, he set off for France to play a concert with Brazilian guitarist Cristina Azuma at the Festival International de Guitare de Paris.
It's been a great year. Highlights included a tour across the U.S. with world class Brazilian guitarists, a performance at the New York Guitar Festival's Brazilian guitar marathon, where Machado had the opportunity to jam with some of the best, and a full concert of his published compositions, including his new piece for guitar orchestra, performed by students and faculty in Apt, France.
Since leaving Brazil to pursue an international career in Europe in 1983, Machado has become fluent in Italian, French and English in addition to his native Portuguese and bits of Spanish he picked up in South America. He immigrated to Canada in 1989 and now lives on the Sunshine Coast. Reached on the touring circuit by his wife Jessica, Machado says that moving to the Coast brought a fresh wave of inspiration to his music.
"Living here I can achieve a balance of the necessary quiet and peacefulness for composing with my international touring," he said.
Naturally, he is happy about the current award nomination; awards are important to his career, even if he does not take home the big prize. One of the difficulties appears to be that his music is difficult to classify - most audiences don't catch the subtle differences between Brazilian style guitar and other classical guitar, although the result is enjoyed by fans of jazz, folk and world music, and, in Canada, it holds equal interest for French and English-speaking audiences. The award categories just never seem to fit, but the nominations open doors to great concert possibilities.
The Canadian Folk Music Awards take place on Nov. 23, but Machado will not be able to attend as he is performing in Quebec City that night. The awards ceremony will include a tribute to the fiddler, the late Oliver Schroer, well known on the Coast, who is up for four nominations for his final recording Hymns and Hers.
