Eddie Gomez and Cesarius Alvim Team Up for “Forever”

Eddie Gomez and Cesarius Alvim: ForeverBassist Eddie Gomez and pianist Cesarius Alvim are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their first recording together with a new album, Forever. The duo takes on a wide range of tunes on the release, from standards such as “Spring is Here” and “Invitation,” original compositions from both Gomez and Alvim, and Brazilian pianist Luiz Eça’s piece “The Dolphin.”

Alvim met Gomez thanks to Bill Evans. Gomez had been playing with Evans for eleven years at the time.

“Meeting Bill Evans was a musical and human encounter of which the memory is unforgettable,” says Alvim. “He had a beautiful message of love for life and music. Afterwards I met Eddie, a musician whom I had always admired. From the first notes we played together, everything was said. We had the same rhythmic and harmonic sense, and the same passion for melodic phrasing.”

The title track, composed by Gomez, is a tribute to jazz itself. “This music never disappears,” Alvim says. “Musicians all over the world continue to play it and make it evolve, despite all the difficulties present with it.”

“Our paradigm for any work of art is that it crosses over the timeline and stands up to the test of time and continues to provoke the evocative,” Gomez adds. “Sometimes it becomes better and more fully understood. That’s my definition of what I consider to be artistic.”

Alvim, who also studied classical double bass at Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris years ago, says that knowledge brought something extra to the recording.

“Playing bass has helped me greatly, not just in this duo, but in all music,” he shares. “It is very important for a musician to understand how to construct a bass line and how it can evolve through harmony and rhythm.”

Gomez is no stranger to the duo format, and likes what it has to offer.

“It allows me to be more interactive, to put in a lot of colors that may not be so readily available to use when there are other instruments involved. I like to use the full spectrum of color and sound in a duo context.”

The CD will be available on September 14, 2010.

The digital version is available now. Preview and download:

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