About his importance

You are here: Home page » Catalog » Composers » Jacob do Bandolim » About his importance

Sérgio Prata, a researcher and one of the founders of the Jacob do Bandolim Institute says: “Jacob always strived to achieve perfection in his performances and excellence in the preservation of our music, without being conservative. He would gather the state-of-the-art technological means available in the 50’s to get innovative results in searching for new sounds or improving his files. That’s what happened when he invented musical instruments such as the vibraplex (a tenor guitar connected to a Hammond organ), through which he obtained a sound similar to our modern synthesizers.”

And goes on: “Today, Choro Jam Sessions in which you don’t hear the strings of a mandolin, or mandolinists who do not have in Jacob their musical reference are rare; but above all, rare is the country that had the privilege of having produced a Jacob do Bandolim.”

More than an instrumentalist close to perfection, Jacob was also a relentless researcher, responsible for reviving and preserving the work of many masters, such as Ernesto Nazareth, Candinho do Trombone and João Pernambuco. He was so concerned about preserving everything related to Brazilian music (especially Choro) that, as a prizewinner photographer, he mastered the photograph development technique and eventually microfilmed thousands of scores to save space and enhance preservation quality.

His files were known as “Jacob’s Files” and contained thousands of pieces, namely records, scores, photos and journalistic articles. In 1974 they were incorporated into the Rio de Janeiro Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound Museum) collection.”

Deo Rian, a musician who had a close relationship with Jacob also points out:  “Jacob left a mark in the Brazilian music. He developed a playing style and stood up for Choro until his death, trying to modernize it without depriving it of its characteristics, preserving the traditional way it is played but not compromising with market pressure.”

As remarked by Izaías do Bandolim, one of the greatest mandolinists of all time: “Jacob is of utmost importance for the Brazilian music for his sheer “Brazilianity” and power to diffuse mandolin characteristics never to be achieved again by the most modern instrumentalists.”

Finally, Sérgio Cabral concludes: “Jacob do Bandolim was the greatest Brazilian instrumentalist ever, and one of the most inspired Choro composers. My close experience with Jacob was intensified by the admiration and love I always felt for him, like for a father.