Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

42 THE BEAT VOL. 13 #6, 1994 SAN FRANCISCO- Thousands of devoted Brazilian music fans explode in a standing ovation as two men walk on stage towards a simple arrangement of chairs, acoustic guitars and other instruments that more resembles a living room than the setting of an historic musical event. For almost two hours, the pair present duet or solo renditions of songs spanning three decades and many styles, eras and feelings; they sing the history of their generation and their culture. Their playing is impassioned and lyrical; their harmonies bring chills to the skin. At the first note of each tune, applause erupts and shouts of joy ring out from the crowd, which then listens with rapt attention or claps and sings along as if at a major production rock or funk festival. The atmosphere is almost reverential, and at the end, the elated fans don't want to let their heroes go. The two Brazilian musical icons are Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, and this Oakland, CA, concert is how they kicked off a summer "Tropicalia 2" tour, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of their landmark Tropicalia album and the recent release of the sequel cd after which the tour is named. Longtime musical partners; founding members of the then-revolutionary musical and cultural tropicalia movement which via "artistic cannibalism" brought North American, African, Caribbean and other influences into previously "pure" Brazilian samba and bossa nova; labeled "subversive" by the military dictatorship and exiled in the late 1960s; returning three years later even more famous than before, and continually exploring musical frontiers since then-Gil and Veloso have been called the "Transcendental Twins" in Brazil for their inseparable image of committed musicality and spirituality. Gil even moved into politics, becoming a city council. man in his hometown of Salvador, Bahia, in 1987. But this tour was the first time he and Veloso had performed together outside of Brazil. After California they were scheduled for concerts in New York City and then throughout Europe. Along with only a couple of other musicians of similar stature, Gilberto Gil is a true cultural icon in his own nation and a superstar abroad as well-or at least wherever listeners are aware of Brazilian music. Since his emergence in the tropicalismo movement, virtually every move Gil has made, musical or otherwise, has been scrutinized, criticized, celebrated. Long aware of his high profile, Gilhas not been averse to stirring things up, both artistically and politically. His lyrics and writings are always thoughtful and sometimes provocative, yet rarely if ever combative. In some ways, then, he has been a most subversive presence, questioning the status quo through the decades of his career. And he is blessed with such a beautiful voice and keen melodic sense that, as in the case of much of the best African, Caribbean and Latin music-all genres from which Gil has drawn freely-his message gets across sweetly, inciting movement and pleasure along with thought. When I visited with Gil in San Francisco the day after the Oakland show-Veloso was out being a tourist-he was eagerly examining a fax listing the television stations which would be televising the World Cup soccer games in each city in which he and Veloso were slated to perform. With this Tropicalia 2 tour and album, his landmark Parabolic album from last year and his newest Acoustic disc, Gil seems to be riding another career peak. He was ebullient about the ecstatic reception he and Veloso had received the night before, and willing and able to talk articulately in English about seemingly anything. The following are excerpts from a wide-ranging conversation about music, politics and more. Steve Heilig: How did the idea for this tour come about? Cilberto Cil: We did just three concerts in Brazil to commemorate the anniversary of Tropicalia and the second album by that name. But then we had lots of requests to play in Europe, and we couldn't bring the whole 35-40 people who are on the album. Caetano especially didn't want to get involved in a circus, so he said "Let's go do the opposite extreme just you and me.' Q: Were you happy with the show last night? A: Oh yeah, it felt terrific. We really didn't know how it was going to be up there, and it's very nice to know it can work. It was quiet in a way, just the two guitars. We could play real soft on the ballads, and at the same time we could sort of get it bouncing, you know, rocking.. Q:I have to say, I think that was the first time I've seen one guy-you-with just an acoustic guitar get such a big crowd of people into a frenzy like that! I guess you don't need a band after all, A: [Laughs] Well, this tour does feel like a return to our roots in a way. Caetano Veloso and I were close friends 30 years ago, playing daily-Caetano sort Flearned to play guitar by watching and playing with me and we've been very close ever since. So we are like brothers. Being together with him now on stage is like being comfortable at home, in the living room of one of our houses, just playing for our own enjoy- ment. And people enjoy that because it's natural. And that's the feeling we wanted to create. Q: Can you in a brief way recall what you and others were trying to do in the tropicalismo era? A: We're talking about a time almost 30 years ago, but what started then is still a part of what we are doing today. We wanted to discover and pay tribute to our musical tradition while at the same time bringing in new influences, musical and otherwise. It was for the us the start of what is now being called world music, the image of the global village.