Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

suntimes.com Member of the Sun-Times News Group Gilberto Gil brings a concert of culture to Ravinia June 21, 2008 Recommend (1) BY LAURA EMERICK Staff Reporter Decades after they set off their first creative sparks the twin titans of Brazil's Tropicalia movement still tower over the rest of the field known as MPB (musica popular brasileira). While Caetano Veloso remains better known in the United States, through his collaborations and many covers, Gilberto Gil deserves equal acclaim. Closing in on 66, Gil doesn't tour much nowadays, in part because he also serves as Brazil's minister of culture, appointed in 2003 by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His current tour, with his six-piece Banda Larga, marks Gil's first big-band swing through the United States since 1999. So the sense of anticipation ran high for his concert Thursday at Ravinia, which also served as his festival debut His two-hour show, which surveyed the many facets of his career, drew from his just-released retrospective disc, Banda Larga Cordel" (Warner Latina). Touching on all of his many musical bases, including Tropicalia, samba rock, reggae, funk, xote and baiao, Gil shifted stylistic gears seamlessly, powered by his fluid ensemble (which featured his son Bem on guitars). As befitting a culture minister, Gil used the first half of the concert as a sort of a Brazilian music appreciation survey. Introducing songs such as 'Formosa" (by fellow Brazilian icons Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes) and "Chiclete com Banana" (popularized by the legendary Jackson do Pandeiro), Gil spoke between tunes about his many artistic inspirations. Before he launched into a gritty "Nao Grude Nao," he also tipped his musical hat to Luiz Gonzaga, the father of Brazil's musica nordestina In the 70s, Gil fell under the spell of reggae, and its modern patron saint, Bob Marley, and so his lilting delivery of "Three Little Birds' acted as a kind of benediction. The bossa nova standard "Garota de Ipanema" and the Beatles' Something were reworked in Marley-influenced samba reggae style, with Gil evoking the waves off that famous beach with his delicate phrasings Though at times a bit frayed, Gil's voice remains amazingly souful, especially on 'Sarara Miolo," an ode to black pride. Occasionally he switched to a kind of vocalese that indicated where Al Jarreau and Bobby McFerrin had taken their stylistic lessons. Gil's percussive guitar lines played off excellent accompaniment by Sergio Chiavazzoli on guitars and cavaquinho (a Brazilian mandolin), Claudio Andrade on keyboards, Arthur Maia on bass and the dynamic rhythm section of Alex Fonseca and Gustavo di Dalva Closing with a one-two punch of the samba rock powerhouses of "Kaya N'Gan Daya" and "Palco, Gil and company laid down a blistering groove that sliced through the night sky. Overhead a beautiful yellow moon seemingly had been conjured up for this special occasion. And why not? The god of samba rock was in his element and all was right with the world Localism.com's Top Management Address Active Rain Member Concerns BROWN'S AFRICAN WAR The views expressed in these blog posts are those of the author and not of the Chicago Sun-Times Search Site STNG BECOME A MEMBER What's this?