(headline image: Hermeto Pascoal – Photo by Gabriel Quintao)
Hermeto Pascoal, a celebrated Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist, will be honored with the WOMEX 24 Artist Award. Pascoal, who began his musical career in 1950 at the age of 14, has created an extensive body of work, including over ten thousand compositions. Over his 74-year career, the highly influential artist has earned numerous accolades, including several awards and honorary doctorates.
The WOMEX Awards, established in 1999, recognize exceptional contributions to world music. They honor achievements in musical excellence, social impact, commercial success, political influence, and lifetime contributions. The Artist Award specifically celebrates artists or groups who demonstrate extraordinary mastery of their craft and use music as a tool for positive change. Past recipients have represented a wide range of musical genres and cultural backgrounds, highlighting the diversity of global music.
Pascoal’s recognition is attributed to his remarkable and uncompromising artistic vision, the quality, and quantity of his work, and his influence on generations of musicians worldwide.
The WOMEX press release stated: “It is for his extraordinary and uncompromising artistic vision as a musician and composer; for the breathtaking quality and sheer quantity of his recorded and live output over a 74-year career; and for influencing and inspiring generations of world-jazz-and-beyond explorers in Brazil and the world over, that we are delighted that Hermeto Pascoal is the WOMEX 24 Artist Award recipient.”
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central