Watch Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding Bring The ‘Tiny Desk’ To Brazil

When the pandemic hit, NPR transitioned the beloved Tiny Desk Concert series from their Washington D.C. headquarters to locations around the world for Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts. While the performances have long since returned to D.C., NPR took the desk back on the road to Brazil to capture a rare performance from renowned jazz musician Esperanza Spalding and famed Brazilian vocalist Milton Nascimento.

esperanza spalding and Milton Nascimento have a long history both personal and professionally. The pair will release their first full-length collaborative album, Milton + Esperanza, this Friday, August 9 via Concord. At age 81, Nascimento has hard time leaving Brazil leading Tiny Desk (Home) Concert to come to his living room in Rio de Janeiro.

Nascimento and spalding were joined by an extremely talented band to deliver performances of five Milton + Esperanza cuts for the new Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. Milton sang and esperanza sang and played bass accompanied by vocalist Maria Gadú, Guinga and Lula Galvão on acoustic guitars, keyboardist Leo Genovese, drummer Dedê Silva, percussionist Ronaldo Silva, Shabaka Hutchings on flute and electric guitarist Filipe Coimbra.

The otherworldly outfit kicked off the set with reimagined versions of Nascimento’s “Cais” and “Outubro.” Guinga then starred on “Saci,” a song he wrote with Paulo César Pinheiro. It’s back to the Nascimento songbook next for “Saudade Dos Aviões Da Panair (Conversando No Bar)” before a Tiny Desk Concert like no other ends with a cover of the Wayne Shorter classic “When You Dream.”

Check out Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert below: