Daniela Mercury: 'To speak of Gil, only speaking of God'

When I was a child, my parents would play all of Gil's songs at home. My contemporary dance teacher would also use his songs in class.

I remember being very fond of Procissão, Domingo no Parque, Eu Só Quero Um Xodó, Refazenda and many other songs from Gil's repertoire.

The first show I saw Gil in wast at Arembepe Festival. I think it was during the Extra album tour. I went crazy, because it was amazing. A very groovy performance!

I remember listening to Palco and Cores Vivas, from the Luar (A Gente Precisa Ver o Luar) album and I remember him singing and the dust rising. The concerts were at the Arembepe beach. It was unforgettable!

I always loved his music, his arrangements, the lyrics and his swing. Of my favorite baianos, Gil and Caetano share the first place.

I tried out to be a vocalist in his bad for my admiration of Gil's work. To be able to sing his songs with him was a unimaginable dream. Also, a great opportunity to learn in every way possible.

Eu conheci Gil pessoalmente em um de nossos ensaios na boate Zuk Santana, no Rio Vermelho. Lembro que fiquei muito nervosa durante esse ensaio em que ele participou. Também me lembro de vários shows que fiz com Gil. 

Foi a primeira vez que estive no Canecão, e também em várias cidades no sul do país. Foi uma alegria tamanha cantar com Gil em tantos shows.

Sempre que faço meu álbuns, penso nas músicas de Gil. Quero regravar muitas outras músicas dele. Gravei Geléia Geral porque a música é genial e conceitua o movimento tropicalista. E foi uma maneira de reverenciar Gil e o movimento, que são minha grande influência artística.

After re-recording Geléia Geral, Toda Menina Baiana, Amor Até o Fim, Ladeira da Preguiça, Se Eu Quiser Falar com Deus e Divino Maravilhoso, I asked Gil to write me a new song, so he wrote Quem Puder Ser Que Seja.

And so I took some of Gil's DNA to my work. Chico Buarque once told me that Gil had written a unpublished song in 1968 that spoke of love and carnival, Amor de Carnaval. I asked Gil about it and he sang me the entire song.

I asked to record it, so we sang it together in the Carnaval Eletronico album, with BID's arrangement. I also recorded Aquele Abraço in the album with de Cabeça de Nós Todos group. I was to mix the song with some samba-reggae funk and it really worked.

That version is 'delicious', I love singing. I recorded Super Homem - A Canção and Cálice in the O Axé, a Voz e o Violão. Gil teaches me a lot with his harmony, arrangements and experience with diverse rhythms. 

Composing is like talking. Since I was a little girl, I have written as much as I have talked. I have been composing since my Cia Clic album. I learned my way around making music that I could sing. Believing in myself as a composer wasn't easy.

I listened and sang to great and talented composers and musicians like Gil. As a songwriter, I suffered with a lot of sexism from record label directors and critics that tend to not believe that a great singer can also be a great songwriter.

Today, I am very proud of all my songs. I love singing what I write, because it expresses what I feel and thing at every moment very clearly. It is hard to measure how much Gil inspires me.

Back when I was his backing vocal, I was really impacted by the concert at Canecão, for the historical importance of the venue and for being there alongside Gil. I also remember a festival where we were joined by Pepeu Gomes.

And of concerts at a fair in Pelotas and other cities in the south of Brazil, and the Northeast. In my solo career, I remember having the joy to be joined by Gil in a performance of De Onde Vem o Baião in a TV special.

I loved our concert in Rio de Janeiro and hearing him sing my songs with me. The times when we sang together at Expresso 2222 are also great memories, as well as the concert in Paris, at the 500th anniversary of Brazil at Bastille Square.

And every time we sing from the window or the balcony at his private box at carnival, it is always an immense joy and honor to sing with Gil.

Eu sempre fui tiete desse lado dançante do Gil. O balanço dele é de arrasar. Quando eu apenas pulava carnaval, já adorava dançar seus ijexás, xotes, funks, sambas, reggaes e rocks.

Among them Vamos Fugir, Andar com Fé, Toda Menina Baiana, Palco, Cores Vivas, Rock do Segurança and Realce, other than his masterpice Filhos de Gandhy.

Gil's joy has always moved me. He leads the carnival trios with the same passion that he has when dancing on the stage. He moves non-stop, like a little boy having fun with the rhythm.

Gil's genius is unparalleled in its artistic production by the virtuousness of everything he does. A giant artist, rare, charismatic, talented to the extreme, a songwriter and sensational musician, other than being an arranger and intellectual. Everything about him is music and wisdom. 

His contributions are vast. Gil is as talented as he is versatile in so many areas. He brings a philosophical content to his work that only great poets bring. In music, he transitions in many musical genres and mixes it all with skill and ease.  

With no doubt, his swing and rhythms are visceral and are his most natural musical expression. He is our Minister of Samba, Samba Rock and Ijexá, rhythm very present in his albums. In Gil's mind, the words dance and rhymes caper. 

He is xote, xaxado, the baião, the bossa nova, he is music. His albums are masterpieces. When I heard OK OK OK I cried happy tears for the deep beauty that he produces with his art. 

When we think he is done aweing us, he released a new and even more enchanting album. And the world takes turns, camará.