The following year, Sérgio and Odair returned to New York for a concert at the Merkin Hall. Harold Shaw, envisioning a recording contract for the duo, persuaded producer Robert Hurwitz to attend. Robert had recently left ECM Records to take on the role of artistic director of a new project within Nonesuch.
Although part of the Warner Brothers conglomerate—known for its vast popular and commercial catalogue—Nonesuch occupied a distinctive space, dedicated to contemporary, experimental, and concert music, and a reference point for avant-garde recordings. Sérgio and Odair’s inventive sound fit this profile precisely, dialoguing with emerging movements such as the minimalism of Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Sérgio and Odair thus became the first guitarists to sign with the label.
