Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Caetano, Gilberto and Chico - all of Brazil is on first-name terms with them - spent
a few years in exile in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Caetano and Gil in London
(both still speak fluent English with immaculate BBC accents) and Chico in Rome,
before returning in triumph as the military regime wound down. They have made
dozens of records between them and are still, in their seventies, the leading figures of
Brazilian music. Gilberto Gil's stint as
Minister of Culture
in Lula's government, while
thin on political achievements, at least meant Brazil could boast unquestionably the
coolest government minister on the planet. Chico Buarque's dense lyrics and
hauntingly beautiful melodies are still flowing, although he produces recordings more
rarely now, devoting more of his time to novel-writing and theatre. Pride of place,
however, has to go to
Caetano Veloso
. Good though he was in the 1960s and 1970s,
he is improving with age, and his records over the last fifteen years have been his best:
mature, innovative, lyrical and original as ever. His continuing originality has kept him
at the leading edge of Brazilian popular music, acknowledged everywhere from the
favelas
of Rio to Carnegie Hall as the finest modern Brazilian musician.
Female singers
Brazilian music has a strong tradition of producing excellent female singers. The great
Elis Regina
was something of a Brazilian Edith Piaf: her magnificent voice was tragically
stilled in 1984, when she was at the peak of her career, by a drug overdose. Two of her
songs in particular became classics,
Águas de Março
and
Carinhoso
, the latter being
arguably the most beautiful Brazilian song of all. After her death the mantle fell on
Gal Costa
, a very fine singer although without the extraordinary depth of emotion Elis
could project. More recently,
Marisa Monte
has emerged as a worthy heir to Elis; the
classic
Cor de Rosa e Carvão
is the best introduction to her enormous talent, and 2008's
Universo Ao Meu Redor
is the best samba record of recent years.
Other good younger singers include
Silvia Torres
,
Belô Veloso
(a niece of Caetano)
and
Fernanda Porto
, whose musical style is a fusion of samba and drum 'n' bass. More
recently, younger singers - like Brazilian footballers - have been heading abroad much
earlier and carving careers in the US and Europe as much as at home. Rio and New
York are developing particularly close musical links, best represented by the eclectic,
fusion sound and occasional English lyrics of
Céu
, a superb singer whose ability to mix
influences from all over and still remain unmistakeably Brazilian is a sign that Brazilian
music will surf globalization rather than be swamped by it - to everyone's benefit.
The Bahian sound
Although Rio is the traditional capital of Brazilian music, for some years now it has
been rivalled by
Salvador
, the capital of Bahia. Bahia in general, and Salvador in
particular, has always produced a disproportionate number of Brazil's leading musicians
including Caetano Veloso and his sister,
Maria Bethânia
. The main reason for this is the
extraordinary musical blend provided by deep African roots, Caribbean and Hispanic
influences coming in through the city's port, and a local record industry that quickly
realized the money-making potential of Bahian music.
The Bahian sound has two dimensions. Bahian pop is, at its best, an enjoyable blend
of Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms, exemplified by groups including
Reflexus
, and
singers such as
Luis
Caldas
,
Margareth Menezes
,
Ivete Sangalo
and
Daniela
Mercury
.
But Bahia also has a much funkier, rootsy and percussive side, much rougher and rawer
than Bahia's more poppy singers. Its guiding light is the percussionist and producer
Carlinhos Brown
; a great performer and songwriter in his own right, he is also the
éminence grise
behind the rise of other prominent artists like Marisa Monte, with
whom he joined forces, together with the punk singer
Arnaldo Antunes
,
to create the
Tribalistas
group.
