It hasn't always been easy, but Brazilian guitarist/singer/composer Georgia Barretto is still hanging on. In fact, "Hanging On" is the title of her upcoming CD — named after a painting that inspired her.
The painting, she said, is of a drop hanging on a line, painted by an artist that shared Barretto's last name. "I fell in love with that painting," Barretto said. "I found it through the Internet, so I contacted her and told her I'm going to write a song with this painting, and I did."
The lyrics say, "I see the world through a drop still hanging on this line of life, hanging on, hanging on."
"It has to do with my life, too," Barretto said.
"I'm hanging on, and I'm trying to hang onto my music in spite of all the hardships that I've gone through in life. I'm trying to hang onto my music because that's the only thing that keeps me going, and it keeps me a good person. The music has really shaped me into somebody very, very strong."
A native of Brazil, Barretto is the child of two music teachers. Her father taught guitar in a conservatory — classical music. And her mother taught popular guitar. "A lot of people think, 'Oh, because your parents are teachers, they probably forced you to learn,' but that was not the case with me, ever." Barretto said she eagerly wanted to learn what her parents could teach her.
They did, however, have high expectations. "They were more requiring of me than anybody else," she recalled. "Ninety percent of the time, they would expect me to be above everybody else even though I was little."
And since Barretto excelled, she had many opportunities to perform.
Her mother had her play a solo at her big student concerts when she was just 10. Gradually, as she got more and more experience playing in front of an audience, she lost her fear of performing.
Eventually she went on to nightclubs. Her first regular gig was when she was just 17.
"I remember this guy in his 50s coming up to me and saying, 'How about we do a duet here so I can have work performing here, too, with you?' " A flute player did the same thing. It was then she realized she was accepted as a musician.
Her parents eventually moved to Los Angeles. A year later, Barretto followed.
It was hard being new in a new country, Barretto said. It was hard having to start all over again.
"Coming from the lifestyle that we had, coming to a country where I had to work so hard, when you start all over you have to work really hard. Constantly I wanted to have that kind of lifestyle that I used to have."
She stuck it out, but things started falling apart.
She had several miscarriages. A friend committed suicide. Her marriage was on the rocks.
And, to top it off, an earthquake hit where she was living. Enough was enough, and she eventually moved to Ogden to be with family.
Barretto turned to her music for strength. "That kept me going, it kept me alive, it kept me sane, it kept me stable. All that art let me know why am I here in this world because I know I have a mission, I know God created me and gave me this talent for a reason," she said.
Some of the music that came out of those experiences resulted in her first album, "Sensibilidade." It was a struggle to put it together. Barretto was a single mom, working two jobs with three kids in order to come up with the money to record it. "I worked all day and all evening, and those two jobs kept me plenty busy," she recalled.
"Sometimes I took breaks from my job to go and record during the day, but my best recordings were done at night when my kids were asleep and I could totally dedicate myself to it."
It all paid off.
The album met with success.
Opportunities to perform in Kingsbury Hall, Capitol Theater and other significant venues opened up.
"That really brought me back to my childhood," she said, "and those big concerts that my mom put me in to perform by myself for big audiences . . . it brought me back to really what I enjoy doing."
Inspired by the success of that album, and the rekindled flame of her childhood love, Barretto set out to record a second one. This time, she had significant professional support. Hussain Jiffry, Yanni's bass player, promised to play for the album, and he helped recruit other top-level professionals. He also lent a hand in producing the album — long-distance from Los Angeles.
Still, it wasn't easy. Once again, Barretto had to take on two jobs to support the endeavor. She flew to L.A. for a two-day recording session, sleeping in her truck at night because she couldn't afford a hotel.
Already, she said, she is seeing positive results — even before the album's release. She's got three concerts lined up for Los Angeles as well as appearances at local venues. She's even going on tour next summer — her first.
Next Friday's concert will be her CD release celebration — not only of her music, but of Barretto's ability to keep "Hanging On."
If you go
What: Brazilian jazz artist Georgia Barretto
Where: Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $9-$12
Phone: 355-2787
Web: www.arttix.org
E-mail: rcline@desnews.com