All songs by Garoto (Aníbal Augusto Sardinha) except 'Gente Humilde' by Garoto / Chico Buarque / Vinícius de Moraes and 'São Paulo Quatrocentão' by Garoto / Chiquinho do Acordeon

Recorded and mixed by Adonias Jr. at Estúdio Arsis in Sao Paulo in September, 2016

Bossa nova genius João Gilberto once said “Garoto is extraordinary and his guitar is the heart of Brazil”. And he was not embellishing the facts, so common in the artistic world. He did mean it. Such a statement proves that Gilberto had drunk so much from the inexhaustible fountain of the harmonic language that Garoto had revealed years before the arrival of bossa nova.

If the music of Aníbal Augusto Sardinha (1915-1955), best known as Garoto (meaning “Kid”), had served as a beacon for bossa nova creators and its disciples only, his importance would already be tremendous. However, as an extremely revolutionary composer, author of innovative choros and sambas, founder of the modern Brazilian guitar style, and one of the greatest multi-instrumentalists in history, Garoto’s legacy became vast, intangible, and timeless.

But even so, it still lacked a work that could reaffirm the greatness of this composer to beyond the string universe. With “Enigma”, Caixa Cubo Trio amplifies the genius of Garoto. Compositions originally written for acoustic guitar, cavaquinho, hawaiian guitar, mandolin, tenor guitar, and Portuguese guitar are now played using a combination of piano, bass and drums.

In its first album, “Misturada”, the trio had already made clear that the only meaning of re-recording a repertoire is to add something to it. So the Caixa Cubo Trio wouldn’t limit to just emulating the work of the innovative Garoto. Instead, it exhibits a sense of originality in every track on “Enigma”.

This album pays a tribute to one of the greatest Brazilian composers more than 60 years after his death. Hopefully, the Garoto’s legacy as well as the Caixa Cubo Trio’s music will keep reverberating around the world for the next 60 years.