|
Saturday,
July
20th
2002
Gilberto
Gil
Gilberto
Gil
is
one
of
the
most
important
singers,
composers
and
instrumentalists
of
modern
Brazilian
pop
music.
He
is
today
a
distinguished
personality
in
the
Brazilian
cultural
scene.
During
his
29
years
as
a
musician
and
composer,
he
has
recorded
32
records
and
had
many
albums
released
in
sixteen
European
countries,
seven
Latin
American
countries,
Japan,
U.S….
His
compositions
characterized
by
a
remarkable
rythmic
versatility
and
by
a
wide
variety
of
themes
ranging
from
human
behavior
to
social
issues
were
performed
by
representative
national
and
international
artists
as
Elis
Regina,
Sergio
Mendes,
Ernis
Watts,
Larry
Coriel
and
others.
Gilberto
Gil
has
contributed
in
other
activities
and
taken
an
important
role
in
the
preservation
of
nature
in
Brazil.
He
has
also
invested
his
efforts
to
save
Salvador's
architectural
heritage.
Nowadays,
Gil
works
actively
with
the
Blue
Wave
Foundation
and
pursues
foreign
collaboration
with
Sting
in
order
to
reach
justice
for
Brazilians
indians
and
with
the
Green
Party.
Gilberto
Gil
was
born
in
the
city
of
Salvador
in
1942.
He
began
his
musical
life
playing
accordion
then
switched
to
guitar
on
hearing
the
bossa
nova
of
Joao
Gilberto.
Other
influences
include
everyone
from
legendary
South
American
singer
Yma
Sumac
to
Miles
Davis
and
others
in
modern
jazz.
In
1965
Gil
moved
to
Sao
Paulo.
After
playing
and
singing
in
various
shows,
he
had
his
first
hit
when
the
famous
singer
Elis
Regina
recorded
his
song
"Louvaçao".
In
the
following
years,
Gil
quickly
established
himself
as
a
protest
singer
and
became
one
of
the
leaders
of
"Tropicalia",
a
cultural
movement
that
sparkled
a
whole
renovation
in
all
aspects
of
artistic
manifestation
in
Brazil.
Gil
was
not,
however,
popular
with
the
Brazilian
authorities,
who
forced
him
in
1969
to
emigrate,
until
1972,
when
he
returned
to
Brazil
.
During
those
years,
he
lived
in
London
where
he
mastered
his
technique
on
electric
and
acoustic
guitars
,
exposed
his
music
to
new
audiences
and
recorded
his
first
album
in
English.
When
he
returned
to
Brazil,
he
returned
to
his
baiao
and
samba
roots.He
recorded
many
famous
albums.
The
album
"Refavela",
expresses
the
relationship
with
the
music
of
Africa,
where
he
had
been
for
a
Black
Art
Congress
in
Lagos
and
met
Stevie
Wonder
and
Fela
Kuti.
Also,
of
his
most
successful
records
is
the
"Re-Trilogy".
Gil
teamed
up
with
Jimmy
Cliff
for
their
first
tour
together
in
Brazil.
Gil's
cover
song
of
Bob
Marley's
hit
"No
Woman,
no
cry"
(from
the
"Realce"
album)
climbed
the
Brazilian
charts
to
number
one
for
months
selling
700,000
copies.
In
1998,
he
moved
back
to
Salvador
and
took
over
the
presidency
of
Fundaçao
Gregorio
de
Matos
(an
institution
responsible
for
the
cultural
activities
and
the
preservation
of
the
historical
landmarks
of
the
city).
In
1983,
he
became
a
member
of
the
Council
of
the
City
Hall
of
Salvador
where
he
remained
till
1992.
Leaving
the
City
Council
Gil
recorded
"Parabolicamara"
marking
25
years
of
recording
success
and
continued
with
"Unplugged"
(1994),
"Quanta"
(1997),
"O
Sol
De
Oslo"
(1998),
"Me,
You,
Them"
(2001)
and
"Gil
&
Milton"
(2001).
Gilberto
Gil
was
decorated
as
"Knight
of
Arts
and
Letters"
by
the
French
Minister
of
Culture,
Jack
Lang,
and
awarded
the
Shell
and
Sharp
Prize,
as
well
as
the
Cruz
da
Ordem
de
Rio
Branco
by
the
Itamaraty
in
Brazil
for
overall
career
excellence.
This
year,
he
will
present
at
the
Baalbeck
Festival
his
new
project
"Kaya
N'Gan
Daya"
which
includes
his
famous
songs
and
a
special
tribute
to
his
personal
hero
Bob
Marley. |
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