Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

Washingtonpost.com Brazilian Pop Star Gil Tours U.S. By MICHAEL ASTOR The Associated Press Friday, March 16, 2007; 2:17 PM RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Gilberto Gil, one of Brazil's leading luminaries, is a founding father of the Tropicalism movement, whose everything-plus-the-kitchen sink ethos is largely responsible for the harmonic and rhythmic complexity of Brazilian music. But today, he's carrying just an acoustic guitar along on his first North America tour in eight years. At 64, the musical alchemist, now Brazil's minister of culture, is looking to keep it simple. American Dream Savings Account More Money Por Your Money Emigraict.com Ask about our CDs. "As a minister, I have very little time to dedicate to music, so I have made choices marked by minimalism and taken a certain care in not to bet on adventures," said the rail-thin Gil, who looks something like a rebel investment banker with his graying dreadlocks topping button-down shirts and black slacks. The mix of traditional bossa nova, rock 'n' roll and reggae Gil created with his occasional collaborator Caetano Veloso was revolutionary for Brazilian music, and Gil has sold millions of albums over his 45-year career. But he's less known in the United States _ in fact, many Americans confuse him with bossa nova legend Joao Gilberto. "People are always coming up to me abroad and telling me 'I love your records, I'm your fan for many years,' but they're talking about Joao," Gil laughed during an interview with The Associated Press. Gil, who won a Grammy in 1998 for best world music album, is on a three-week North American tour; his U.S. appearances will include New York City's Carnegie Hall. He is promoting "Gil Luminoso," a career retrospective of 15 songs reworked for solo guitar and voice, originally recorded in 1999 but only just released. "The album was conceived and produced by a friend of mine who wanted to focus on the most mystical and spiritually oriented songs of my repertoire, so that album goes in that direction," Gil said. He calls the album "very religious," then concedes that his spirituality has taken an agnostic turn. "I began as Christian, then I got interested in the Eastern religions, then I moved to the elemental African religions, then I got interested in theosophy and now I feel I just want to be outside all that," he said. Gil has made a career of exploring the connections between conflicting concepts. With Veloso, he helped found the Tropicalism movement, which arose in the 1960s in response to deep musical divisions between Brazil's bossa nova traditionalists and its emerging rock groups. Instead of taking sides, the Tropicalists declared all musical influences valid, merging bossa with rock while throwing in strains of traditional Brazilian rhythms like forro, baiao and maracatu.