Don Stiernberg and Dudu Maia at Old Town School April 20

[Tom Wright]

I got lucky and have the night off, so I am ticketed to see Don and Dudu Saturday, conveniently in my town. I always come away from seeing Don newly energized and with refreshed ears.

https://www.oldtownschool.org/concer...ectacular-8pm/

[Jim Garber]

They are playing together? Wow!! Lucky folks in Chicago.

[R. Kane]

Saw Dudu in the Trio Braziliero last night in a house concert. The Trio is Dudu, Douglas Lora on 7 string, and Alexandre Lora on padeiro. They mostly played from their recently released CD, (which is a must-have). The band is phenomenal. The concert was a terrific 90 minute interaction among musicians and audience. 5 encores. Many smiles.

[Al Bergstein]

Just see them, you won't regret, or forget it.

[Ethan Setiawan]

I'll be there...anyone else? Really excited!

[Pete Braccio]

Ack! Maybe I should cash in some frequent flyer miles!

[Tom Wright]

Well, that was a treat. Packed house, fine sound, all-acoustic (no pickups). Don opened with "Topsy", essayed an original gypsy-ish tune from his upcoming release, sang some favorites, played with signature playfulness, and was his usual, wonderful, stage presence. His Nugget was powerful and rich on the mic, and Andy Brown and Jim Cox played with a deep pocket that carried every tune, adding their own tasteful solos.

Dudu and the Lora brothers were sparkling and expressive, Dudu's bright-toned Ribiero 10-string singing out, and Douglas Lora's 7-string guitar huge in tone and driving the rhythm. Alexander Lora played delicate muted tambourine. My favorite was probably "Vibraciones", and the other tune that stuck with me was an original titled "Marujo" (old fisherman). Alexander and Dudu explained their music, telling the audience some things about choro, and their own history. Standing ovation at the end of the Trio Brasileiro set.

The evening ended with combined forces, both trios playing, among others, "Chega De Saudade", and "All Of Me", Don and Dudu trading fours in the final chorus. Another standing ovation, and we all went home happy.

[Tom Wright]

Nothing like seeing it done in person, to "get" the style. After last night I got out some choro tunes available from Dudu's web site, previously downloaded but had been waiting for the right time. Infectious fun.

Oh, Alexandre Lora (sp). Love that 7-string. Dudu uses his C sparingly, but Lora goes down to B regularly. He said that most Brazilians tune down to C. He likes the extra half step mainly to keep the 4ths, but the B is great to have on its own.