ProJazz.net

Pra Você, Ilza is a jazz album by Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal released on May 28, 2024. Released by Rocinante Records, the album is Hermeto’s tribute to Ilza, the artist’s wife, to whom he was married for over forty years. It was his last album released before his death in September 2025.

Critical reception

Sidney Molina, from the São Paulo newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, gave it five stars—the highest rating adopted by the newspaper—and added that: “the themes played in unison are not yet, of course, improvisations, but the result of writing in which virtuosity is already implicit, both in the rhythmic twists and turns and in the fast tempo.” Laís Franklin, from Bravo!  magazine, praised the album and recommended it: “This is one of those albums that deserves to be listened to in its entirety, without rushing. An invitation to creative immersion.”

Katchie Cartwright, from the US website All About Jazz, rated the album four and a half stars out of five, saying that it is “heartfelt, a labor of love, with multifaceted performances, in a loving tribute to a fruitful life and a long marriage.” Raul da Gama, from the Canadian website Latin Jazz Network, praised the work and commented: “As in other recordings, in Pra Você, Ilza, Mr. Pascoal’s music inexorably intertwines melody, harmony, and rhythm.”

Track listing:
Side A
1. “Inspirando fundo” 3:05
2. “Conversação” 4:51
3. “Porto da Madeira” 2:46
4. “Do Rio para Recife” 5:17
5. “Seus lindos olhos” 4:50
Total length: 20:49
Side B
1. “Passeando pelo jardim” 5:33
2. “Sentir é muito bom” 3:34
3. “Recordações de Recife” 4:04
4. “Sol de Recife” 4:32
5. “Pra você, Ilza” 3:33
Total length: 21:16
Digital album bonus tracks
1. “Voltando para casa” 3:05
2. “Na feira do Jabour” 8:06
3. “No topo do morro de Aracajú” 2:54
Total length: 14:05

Personnel:

Arranged By [Arranjos] – Hermeto Pascoal
Composed By – Hermeto Pascoal
Drums – Ajurinã Zwarg
Electric Bass, Tuba – Itiberê Zwarg
Horn [Berrante], Percussion [Copo Com Água], Percussion [Chaleira], Percussion [Cano PVC], Bass Flute, Melodica – Hermeto Pascoal
Percussion – Ajurinã Zwarg, Fábio Pascoal
Piano [Piano Acústico], Keyboards – André Marques, Hermeto Pascoal
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo Flute [Flautim] – Jota P.

_________________

Released: May 28, 2024
Recorded: Araras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Studio: Rocinante Records
Length 42:05
Label Rocinante
Producer Fábio Pascoal