I meant you could go. Here's Gil with the current trio last year in Spain doing a song with French lyrics that he wrote for a festival in Senegal “La Renaissance Africaine,”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuVQZL-MjX8
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 March 2010 06:36 (fourteen years ago) link
A jazz expert friend of mine who says he loves Gil's albums thought his voice sounded terrible last night. While it might not be what it once was, and his high-note yelping was not as good as it once was, I don't think it was that bad (but I spent my college years listening to punk rock so maybe my tolerence for rougher-edged trilling is greater than that of others).
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 14 March 2010 19:31 (fourteen years ago) link
I see that Gilberto Gil just did a North American West coast swing with a band and he emphasized rural Brazilian accordion-led forro music. He's coming East with the tour as well
“In this concert, we mix a little—it’s mostly Forró, [music] but also some standard, some hits from my whole career, some reggae music, and Bob Marley’s songs.”
As a guitar-playing bandleader, Gil happily yields solos to his uniformly excellent sextet: drummer Jorge Gomes, percussionist Gustavo Di Dalva; bassist Arthur Maia; violin player Nicholas Krassik; Sérgio Chiavazzoli, a brilliant slide guitarist and multi-string player who can make a banjo impersonate a sitar; and accordionist Toninho Ferragutti, whose extraordinarily facile keyboard scale-climbing must've left his fingers gasping for oxygen.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 31 October 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
First blurb is from SF Chronicle and second is from LA Times
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 31 October 2012 19:52 (eleven years ago) link
So no one here's seen him on this "mostly forro" music tour yet?
― curmudgeon, Friday, 2 November 2012 12:30 (eleven years ago) link
I guess not
― curmudgeon, Monday, 5 November 2012 15:57 (eleven years ago) link
I saw Gil here in Nashville this wk. His first show here ever. House about 2/3 full at best. The forro stuff he does now was well done, and it definitely grooved. Show really took off when Gil got into "Expresso 2222." In fairly good voice--he's lost some of it, but very few cracks. As always, I think Gil is a bit misguided aesthetically in the way he presents some of his music, in the sense that some of it was perhaps counter-productive to just, you know, presenting the songs. But for the most part, it was amazing, and the Nashville crowd was obviously hungry for it. I could've just watched him do his great tunes with a small band, with emphasis on Gil's guitar playing, and when he did "Lamento Sertanejo" from "Refazenda" with guitars and accordion, that was the essence of his art, not so much the forro stuff, which was very well performed and for the most part, not cheesy at all. I interviewed Gil--a big day for me--and he was amazingly gracious and intelligent, it's up at the Nashville Scene's website.
― Edd Hurt, Saturday, 10 November 2012 17:34 (eleven years ago) link
Was listening to Expresso 2222 early this morning. He makes some joyous sounds on that and sings too.
3 years later, am finally reading Edd's interview. Gil is coming back to my locale this month
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/groundbreaking-brazilian-icon-gilberto-gil-master-of-inclusive-pop-music/Content?oid=3064967
― curmudgeon, Friday, 3 April 2015 14:25 (nine years ago) link
Speaking of forro, which is *Brazilian* country music, somewhat like cajan x conjunto, with the accordion connection (the way some of us Americans are struck by what we hear as the blues elements in some Malian music), Forro etc., on Luaka Bop, is a great place to start, even got really engaging translations of the lyrics, though they're not strictly necessary to enjoy the music.
― dow, Friday, 3 April 2015 14:57 (nine years ago) link
Expresso 2222 is pretty amazing. Probably my second favorite Gil after Frevo Rasgado. O Canto da Ema, Sai do Sereno and the title track.
― Frederik B, Friday, 3 April 2015 15:44 (nine years ago) link
Gil is playing Manhattan on April 23 at Town Hallhttp://thetownhall.org/event/593-gilberto-gilFull band, samba theme.
― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 5 April 2015 23:40 (nine years ago) link
thx, r u going to go?
― Let's Take A CQ with Frankie Ford (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 5 April 2015 23:45 (nine years ago) link
love this record
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 5 April 2015 23:55 (nine years ago) link
i'm actually working press for it! So if anyone's a NY based journalist and into it, hit me up.
― Maybe in 100 years someone will say damn Dawn was dope. (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 April 2015 00:09 (nine years ago) link
Hoping to see him the next night in DC
― curmudgeon, Monday, 6 April 2015 03:50 (nine years ago) link
Need to recheck spotify for Gilberto Gil (also commonly referred to as Gilberto Gil (Frevo Rasgado) to differentiate it from Gil's other self-titled releases) is the second album by Gilberto Gil,
mentioned above too
― curmudgeon, Monday, 6 April 2015 13:54 (nine years ago) link
I like his 2014 Gilbertos Sambas record that pays tribute to Joao Gilberto and also includes a take on "Desafinado"
recent Seattle show review notes
when Gil did finally play the biggest bossa hit of all, “Desafinado,” his backup band — drummer Domenico Lancelotti, accordionist Mestrinho and Gil’s son, Bem, on a variety of instruments — subtly subverted it with wild electronic percussion.
http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/gilberto-gil-dazzles-seattle-audiences-with-tribute-concert/
― curmudgeon, Monday, 20 April 2015 20:42 (nine years ago) link
DC show was kinda like that Seattle one. All his tours are different though--sometimes with a band doing hits; other times doing forro; sometimes acoustic; once acoustic with cello
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 26 April 2015 16:36 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEVZkJHES2E
― brimstead, Saturday, 5 December 2015 00:16 (eight years ago) link
^this is excellent btw
― ogmor, Thursday, 24 December 2015 17:13 (eight years ago) link
there's a few other clips from the same performance.. i love youtube.
― lute bro (brimstead), Thursday, 24 December 2015 19:07 (eight years ago) link
kicking myself for sleeping on 1974's Ao Vivo for so long. might actually be gil's best ever, at least on par w/ the first self-titled and refavela.
12 mins of pure bliss right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWq6Q7HiMGE
― J. Sam, Saturday, 16 January 2016 17:46 (eight years ago) link
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/02/caetano-veloso-and-gilberto-gil-review-reunion-brazilian-greats
These two are still touring together. Wish their 2016 tour would come to my neighborhood. They are doing Miami, NY and Oakland and Europe so far
― curmudgeon, Monday, 29 February 2016 17:34 (eight years ago) link
this is outstanding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7MHBZmdvis
perfect music for dancing high - where do I go from here?
― niels, Saturday, 14 October 2017 16:06 (six years ago) link
do you have anything else by either of them?
― rob, Saturday, 14 October 2017 16:21 (six years ago) link
nope, only familiar with Getz/Gilberto and the Taj Mahal single
― niels, Saturday, 14 October 2017 17:13 (six years ago) link
Both have pretty big catalogs filled with good stuff (especially Ben), but as said upthread this album is pretty unique. That said, the closest connections in their catalogs would probably be "Expresso 2222" for Gil and "A Tábua de Esmeralda" for Ben. Both are mostly acoustic and are definite high points in their careers.
If you'd rather just hear amazing albums from them that aren't necessarily that similar to "Gil e Jorge," then I'd probably say "Africa Brasil" for Ben (it has the most well known version of Taj Mahal on it, though there are several), which is super fun samba-funk, and for Gil I'd get the 1968 self-titled, which is Tropicalia's peak imo and just beautiful. Tbh for Ben there are several others I love just as much, but I think you'd like the energy on Africa Brasil.
Neither Gil nor Jorge, but you might like Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges's "Clube da Esquina" which has a nice communal vibe to it.
― rob, Saturday, 14 October 2017 17:25 (six years ago) link
Massive co-sign on Africa Brazil and Milton Nascimento.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 14 October 2017 18:17 (six years ago) link
Expresso 2222 is one of my favorite albums.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 14 October 2017 18:19 (six years ago) link
thanks for those recommendations, will keep me busy for a while!
sounds great so far
― niels, Saturday, 14 October 2017 19:37 (six years ago) link
yeah rob otm
― Choco Blavatsky (seandalai), Saturday, 14 October 2017 20:10 (six years ago) link