Gilberto Gil

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Portuguese name Template:Infobox person

Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Gil's musical style incorporates an eclectic range of influences, including rock, Brazilian genres including samba, African music, and reggae.

Gil started to play music as a child and was a teenager when he joined his first band. He began his career as a bossa nova musician and grew to write songs that reflected a focus on political awareness and social activism. He was a key figure in the música popular brasileira and tropicália movements of the 1960s, alongside artists such as longtime collaborator Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian military regime that took power in 1964 saw both Gil and Veloso as a threat, and the two were held for nine months in 1969 before they were told to leave the country. Gil moved to London, but returned to Bahia in 1972 and continued his musical career, while also working as a politician and environmental advocate. Known internationally, the album Quanta Live at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, it won the award for Best World Album and album Eletracústico won Grammy Award—Best Contemporary World Music Album.

Early life (1942–1963)Edit

Gil was born in Salvador and spent much of his childhood in Ituaçu. Ituaçu was a small town of fewer than a thousand people, located in the sertão, or countryside, of Bahia.<ref name=katz>Template:Cite journal</ref> His father, José Gil Moreira, was a doctor; his mother, Claudina Passos Gil Moreira, an elementary school teacher.<ref name=katz/><ref name=tepel>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As a young boy, he attended a Marist Brothers school.<ref>Veloso (2003), p. 180</ref> Gil remained in Ituaçu until he was nine years old, returning to Salvador for secondary school.

Gil's interest in music was precocious: "When I was only two or two and a half", he recalled, "I told my mother I was going to become a musician or president of my country".<ref name=quinn>Template:Cite news</ref> He grew up listening to the forró music of his native northeast,<ref name=tepel/> and took an interest in the street performers of Salvador.<ref name=skelly>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Early on, he began to play the drums and the trumpet, through listening to Bob Nelson on the radio.<ref name=tourneen>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gil's mother was the "chief supporter" in his musical ambitions; she bought him an accordion and, when he was ten years old, sent him to music school in Salvador which he attended for four years.<ref name=katz/><ref name=quinn/> As an accordionist, Gil first played classical music, but grew more interested in the folk and popular music of Brazil.<ref name=katz/> He was particularly influenced by singer and accordion player Luiz Gonzaga; he began to sing and play the accordion in an emulation of Gonzaga's recordings.<ref name=wald>Wald (2007), pp. 113–116</ref> Gil has noted that he grew to identify with Gonzaga "because he sang about the world around [him], the world that [he] encountered".<ref name="myers">Template:Cite journal</ref>

During his years in Salvador, Gil encountered the music of songwriter Dorival Caymmi, who he says represented to him the "beach-oriented" samba music of Salvador.<ref name=myers/> Gonzaga and Caymmi were Gil's formative influences.<ref name=katz/> While in Salvador, Gil was introduced to many other styles of music, including American big band jazz and tango.<ref name=myers/> In 1950 Gil moved back to Salvador with his family. It was there, while in high school, that he joined his first band, Os Desafinados ("The Out of Tunes"), in which he played accordion and vibraphone and sang.<ref name=katz/> Os Desafinados was influenced by American rock and roll musicians like Elvis Presley, as well as singing groups from Rio de Janeiro.<ref name=katz/> The band was active for two to three years. Soon afterwards, inspired by Brazilian musician João Gilberto, he settled on the guitar as his primary instrument and began to play bossa nova.<ref name=skelly/>

Musical career (1963–present)Edit

File:Gilberto Gil e Nana Caymmi no III Festival da Música Popular.tif

Gilberto Gil and Nana Caymmi in III Popular Music Festival, 1967. National Archives of Brazil

Gil met guitarist and singer Caetano Veloso at the Universidade Federal da Bahia (Federal University of Bahia) in 1963. The two began collaborating and performing together, releasing a single and EP.<ref name=tepel/> Along with Maria Bethânia (Veloso's sister), Gal Costa, and Tom Zé, Gil and Veloso performed bossa nova and traditional Brazilian songs at the Vila Velha Theatre's opening night in July 1964, a show entitled Nós, por Exemplo ("Us, for Example").<ref name=tourneen/> Gil and the group continued to perform at the venue and he eventually became a musical director of the concert series.<ref>Veloso (2003), p. 46</ref> Gil collaborated again with members of this collective on the landmark 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, whose style was influenced by The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an album Gil listened to constantly.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil describes Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses as the birth of the tropicália movement.<ref name=katz/> As Gil describes it, tropicália, or tropicalismo, was a conflation of musical and cultural developments that had occurred in Brazil during the 1950s and 1960s—primarily bossa nova and the Jovem Guarda ("Young Wave") collective—with rock and roll music from the United States and Europe, a movement deemed threatening by the Brazilian government of the time.<ref name=goodman>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early on in the 1960s, Gil earned income primarily from selling bananas in a shopping mall and composing jingles for television advertisements;<ref name=skelly/> he was also briefly employed by the Brazilian division of Unilever, Gessy-Lever.<ref name=tourneen/> He moved to São Paulo in 1965 and had a hit single when his song "Louvação" (which later appeared on the album of the same name) was released by Elis Regina. His first hit as a solo artist was the 1969 song "Aquele Abraço".<ref name=skelly/> Gil also performed on several television programs throughout the 1960s, which often included other "tropicalistas", members of the Tropicalismo movement.<ref name=tourneen/>

Imprisonment and exileEdit

In October 1968, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso performed at Sucata club in Rio de Janeiro, with Hélio Oiticica's poem-flag {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} displayed on stage.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The journalist Template:Ill of RecordTV propagated a story that Caetano and Gil had sung the Brazilian National Anthem in subversive parody.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The two musicians were arrested without trial December 27, 1968—shortly after the military state had passed on December 13 Institutional Act Number Five, which suspended habeas corpus.<ref name=":0" />

In February 1969 Gil and Veloso were arrested by the Brazilian military government, brought from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, and spent three months in prison and another four under house arrest,<ref name=katz/><ref name=goodman/> before being freed on the condition that they leave the country. Veloso was the first to be arrested; the police moved to Gil's home soon afterward. Veloso had directed his then-wife Andréa Gadelha to warn Gil about the possibility of arrest, but Gil was eventually brought into the police van along with Veloso.<ref>Veloso (2003), pp. 219–220</ref> They were given no reason or charge for their arrest.<ref name=katz/> Gil believes that the government felt his actions "represent[ed] a threat [to them], something new, something that can't quite be understood, something that doesn't fit into any of the clear compartments of existing cultural practices, and that won't do. That is dangerous."<ref name=dibbell>Template:Cite magazine</ref> During his prison sentence, Gil began to meditate, follow a macrobiotic diet, and read about Eastern philosophy.<ref name=tepel/> He composed four songs during his imprisonment, among them "Cérebro Electrônico" ("Electronic Brain"), which first appeared on his 1969 album Gilberto Gil 1969, and later on his 2006 album Gil Luminoso.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Thereafter, Gil and Veloso were exiled to London, England after being offered to leave Brazil.<ref>Veloso (2003), pp. 262–263</ref> The two played a last Brazilian concert together in Salvador in July 1969, and travelled to Portugal, Paris, and London.<ref name=katz/> He and Veloso took a house in Chelsea, with their wives and manager.<ref name=lewis>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil was involved in the organisation of the 1971 Glastonbury Free Festival<ref name="lewis"/> and was exposed to reggae while living in London; he recalls listening to Bob Marley (whose songs he later covered), Jimmy Cliff, and Burning Spear.<ref name=katz/> He was heavily influenced by and involved with the city's rock scene as well, performing with Yes, Pink Floyd, and the Incredible String Band.<ref name=katz/><ref name=skelly/> However, he also performed solo, recording Gilberto Gil (Nêga) while in London. In addition to involvement in the reggae and rock scenes, Gil attended performances by jazz artists, including Miles Davis and Sun Ra.<ref name=katz/>

File:Gilberto Gil with guitar.jpg

Gilberto Gil performing in 2007

When he went back to Bahia in 1972, Gil focused on his musical career and environmental advocacy work.<ref name=cnn>Template:Cite news</ref> He released Expresso 2222 the same year, from which two popular singles were released. Gil toured the United States and recorded an English-language album as well, continuing to release a steady stream of albums throughout the 1970s, including Realce and Refazenda. In the early 1970s Gil participated in a resurgence of the Afro-Brazilian afoxé tradition in Carnaval, joining the Filhos de Gandhi ("Sons of Gandhi") performance group,<ref>Crook (2005), p. 141</ref> which only allowed black Brazilians to join.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gil also recorded a song titled "Patuscada de Gandhi" written about the Filhos de Gandhi that appeared on his 1977 album Refavela. Greater attention was paid to afoxé groups in Carnaval because of the publicity that Gil had provided to them through his involvement; the groups increased in size as well.<ref>Crook (2005), pp. 142–143</ref> In the late 1970s he left Brazil for Africa and visited Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. He also worked with Jimmy Cliff and released a cover of "No Woman, No Cry" with him in 1980, a number one hit that introduced reggae to Brazil.<ref name=skelly/>

In 1996, Gil contributed "Refazenda" to the AIDS-Benefit Album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization.

In 1998 the live version of his album Quanta won Gil the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. In 2005 he won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for Eletracústico. In May 2005 he was awarded the Polar Music Prize by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in Stockholm,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the prize's first Latin American recipient. On October 16 of the same year he received the Légion d'honneur from the government of France, coinciding with the Année du Brésil en France ("Brazil's Year in France").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2010 he released the album Fé Na Festa, a record devoted to forró, a style of music from Brazil's northeast. His tour to promote this album received some negative feedback from fans who were expecting to hear a set featuring his hits.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2013, Gilberto Gil plays his own role as a singer and promoter of cultural diversity in a long feature documentary shot around the southern hemisphere by Swiss filmmaker Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, Viramundo: a musical journey with Gilberto Gil, distributed worldwide. The film also inaugurates the T.I.D.E. experiment for pan-European and multi-support releases.<ref>TIDE to “day-and-date” release Gilberto Gil doc in ten countries Template:Webarchive, SCREEN Daily, February 27, 2013, by Melanie Goodfellow</ref>

His album OK OK OK was ranked as the 4th best Brazilian album of 2018 by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone magazine<ref name="rsbmelhores18">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and among the 25 best Brazilian albums of the second half of 2018 by the São Paulo Association of Art Critics.<ref name="apcamelhores18">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Political career (1987–present)Edit

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Gil describes his attitude towards politics thus: "I'd rather see my position in the government as that of an administrator or manager. But politics is a necessary ingredient."<ref name=rohter2>Template:Cite news</ref> His political career began in 1987, when he was elected to a local post in Bahia and became the Salvador secretary of culture.<ref name=steward>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1988, he was elected to the city council and subsequently became city commissioner for environmental protection. However, he left the office after one term and declined to run for the National Congress of Brazil.<ref name=rohter2/> In 1990, Gil left the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party and joined the Green Party.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During this period, Gil founded the environmental protection organization Onda Azul ("Blue Wave"), which worked to protect Brazilian waters.<ref name=cnn/> He maintained a full-time musical career at the same time, and withdrew temporarily from politics in 1992, following the release Parabolicamará, considered to be one of his most successful efforts.<ref name=tepel/> On October 16, 2001 Gil accepted his nomination to be a Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, having promoted the organization before his appointment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

When President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2003, he chose Gil as Brazil's new Minister of Culture, the second black person to serve in the country's cabinet. The appointment was controversial among political and artistic figures and the Brazilian press; a remark Gil made about difficulties with his salary received particular criticism.<ref name=rohter>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil had not been a member of Lula's Workers' Party and had not participated in creating its cultural program.<ref name=rohter/> Shortly after becoming Minister, Gil began a partnership between Brazil and Creative Commons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, he gave a concert in the UN General Assembly in honour of the victims of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In that concert, he played together with Secretary General Kofi Annan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

As Minister, he sponsored a program called Culture Points, which gave grants to provide music technology and education to people living in poor areas of the country's cities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil asserted that "You've now got young people who are becoming designers, who are making it into media and being used more and more by television and samba schools and revitalizing degraded neighborhoods. It's a different vision of the role of government, a new role."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil also expressed interest in a program to establish an Internet repository of freely downloadable Brazilian music.<ref name=dibbell/> Following Gil's appointment, the department's expenditures increased by over 50 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2007 Gil announced his intention to resign from his post due to a vocal cord polyp.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lula rejected Gil's first two attempts to resign, but accepted a further request in July 2008. Lula said on this occasion that Gil was "going back to being a great artist, going back to giving priority to what is most important" to him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal lifeEdit

Gil has been married four times. He had two daughters Nara and Marilia, with first wife Belina Aguiar. He was then married to famous singer Nana Caymmi, they had no children. His third wife was Sandra Gadelha with whom he had three children: Pedro, Preta and Maria. Sandra inspired one of his most beloved songs Drão, she was with him during the very hard times of Brazilian dictatorship and they both were exiled. His fourth wife is Flora Giordano. The couple has three children: Bem, Isabella and Jose. His first son Pedro Gil, Egotrip's drummer – died in a car accident in 1990.<ref name=astor>Template:Cite news</ref> Preta Gil, an actress and singer, is his daughter with Sandra Gadelha.

Gil's religious beliefs have changed significantly over his lifetime. Originally, he was a Christian, but was later influenced by Eastern philosophy and religion, and, later, explored African spirituality. He is an agnostic.<ref name=astor/> He practices yoga and is a vegetarian.<ref name=goodman/>

Gil has been open about the fact that he has smoked marijuana for much of his life. He has said he believes "that drugs should be treated like pharmaceuticals, legalized, although under the same regulations and monitoring as medicines".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2023, Gil revealed that he had also been in a relationship with men, stating "We are all bisexual".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Musical style and influencesEdit

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} Gil is a tenor, but he sings in the baritone or falsetto register, with lyrics and/or scat syllables. His lyrics are on subjects that range from philosophy to religion, folktales, and word play.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gil's musical style incorporates a broad range of influences. The first music he was exposed to included The Beatles and street performers in various metropolitan areas of Bahia. During his first years as a musician, Gil performed primarily in a blend of traditional Brazilian styles with two-step rhythms, such as baião and samba.<ref name=quinn/> He states that "My first phase was one of traditional forms. Nothing experimental at all. Caetano [Veloso] and I followed in the tradition of Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro, combining samba with northeastern music."<ref name=quinn/> American music critic Robert Christgau said that along with Jorge Ben, Gil was "always ready to go further out on a beat than the other samba/bossa geniuses".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As one of the pioneers of tropicália, influences from genres such as rock and punk have been pervasive in his recordings, as they have been in those of other stars of the period, including Caetano Veloso and Tom Zé. Gil's interest in the blues-based music of rock pioneer Jimi Hendrix, in particular, has been described by Veloso as having "extremely important consequences for Brazilian music".<ref name=veloso>Veloso (2003), p. 191</ref> Veloso also noted the influence of Brazilian guitarist and singer Jorge Ben on Gil's musical style, coupled with that of traditional music.<ref name=veloso/> After the height of tropicália in the 1960s, Gil became increasingly interested in black culture, particularly in the Jamaican musical genre of reggae. He described the genre as "a form of democratizing, internationalizing, speaking a new language, a Heideggerian form of passing along fundamental messages".<ref name=behague>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Visiting Lagos, Nigeria, in 1976 for the Festival of African Culture (FESTAC), Gil met fellow musicians Fela Kuti and Stevie Wonder.<ref name=katz/> He became inspired by African music and later integrated some of the styles he had heard in Africa, such as juju and highlife, into his own recordings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of the most famous of these African-influenced records was the 1977 album Refavela, which included "No Norte da Saudade" (To the North of Sadness), a song heavily influenced by reggae.<ref>Crook (2005), p. 82</ref> When Gil returned to Brazil after the visit, he focused on Afro-Brazilian culture, becoming a member of the Carnaval afoxé group Filhos de Gandhi.

Conversely, his 1980s musical repertoire presented an increased development of dance trends, such as disco and soul, as well as the previous incorporation of rock and punk.<ref name=behague/> However, Gil says that his 1994 album Acoustic was not such a new direction, as he had previously performed unplugged with Caetano Veloso. He describes the method of playing as easier than other types of performance, as the energy of acoustic playing is simple and influenced by its roots.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gil has been criticized for a conflicting involvement in both authentic Brazilian music and the worldwide musical arena. He has had to walk a fine line, simultaneously remaining true to traditional Bahian styles and engaging with commercial markets. Listeners in Bahia have been much more accepting of his blend of music styles, while those in southeast Brazil felt at odds with it.<ref name=behague/>

DiscographyEdit

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1967: Louvação
1968: Gilberto Gil (with Os Mutantes)
1968: Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis (with Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes)
1969: Gilberto Gil (Cérebro Eletrônico)
1970: "Copacabana Mon Amour"
1971: Gilberto Gil (Nêga)
1972: Barra 69: Caetano e Gil Ao Vivo na Bahia
1972: Expresso 2222
1974: Gilberto Gil Ao Vivo
1975: "Gil e Jorge: Ogum Xangô" (with Jorge Ben)
1975: Refazenda
1976: Doces Bárbaros (with Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, and Maria Bethânia)
1977: Refavela
1978: Gilberto Gil Ao Vivo em Montreux
1978: Refestança (with Rita Lee)
1979: Nightingale
1979: Realce
1981: Brasil (João Gilberto album featuring Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethânia)
1981: Luar (A Gente Precisa Ver o Luar)
1982: Um Banda Um
1983: Extra
1984: Quilombo (Trilha Sonora)
1984: Raça Humana
1985: Dia Dorim Noite Neon
1987: Gilberto Gil em Concerto
1987: Soy Loco por Ti America
1987: Trem Para As Estrelas (Trilha Sonora)
1988: Ao Vivo em Tóquio
1989: O Eterno Deus Mu Dança
1991: Parabolicamará
1994: Acoustic
1994: Tropicália 2 (with Caetano Veloso)
1995: Esoterico: Live in USA 1994

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1995: Oriente: Live in Tokyo
1996: Em Concerto
1996: Luar
1997: Indigo Blue
1997: Quanta
1998: Ao Vivo em Tóquio
1998: O Sol de Oslo
1998: O Viramundo (Ao Vivo)
1998: Quanta Live
2000: Me, You, Them
2001: Gil & Milton (with Milton Nascimento)
2001: São João Vivo
2002: Kaya N'Gan Daya
2002: Z: 300 Anos de Zumbi
2004: Eletracústico
2005: Ao Vivo
2005: As Canções de Eu Tu Eles
2005: Soul of Brazil
2006: Gil Luminoso
2006: Rhythms of Bahia
2008: Banda Larga Cordel
2009: Bandadois
2010: Fé na Festa
2010: Fé na Festa ao vivo
2011: Gilberto + 10
2012: Especial Ivete Caetano Gilberto ao vivo
2013: Concerto de Cordas & Maquinas de Ritmo
2014: Gilbertos Samba
2015: Gilbertos Samba ao vivo
2016: Dois Amigos (with Caetano Veloso)
2017: Trinca de Ases (with Gal Costa and Nando Reis)
2018: OK OK OK
2022: Em Casa com os Gils

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Awards, nominations, and positionsEdit

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Year	Work	Award	Result
1981	N/A	Anchieta Medal—São Paulo City Council	Template:Won
1986	N/A	The Gold Dolphin—Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro	Template:Won
1990	N/A	Ordre des Arts et des Lettres—Ministry of Culture of France	Template:Won
1990	N/A	Commendator of the Order of Rio Branco	Template:Won
1997	N/A	Ordre national du Mérite	Template:Won
1999	Quanta Live	Grammy Award—Best World Music Album	Template:Won
1999	N/A	Order of Cultural Merit—Ministry of Culture	Template:Won
1999	N/A	UNESCO Artist for Peace—United Nations	Template:Won
2001	Eu Tu Eles	Cinema Brazil Grand Prize—Best Music	Nominated
2001	As Canções De Eu, Tu, Eles	Latin Grammy Award—Brazilian Roots/Regional Album	Template:Won
2001	N/A	Goodwill Ambassador—Food and Agriculture Organization	Template:Won
2002	Viva São João!	Passista Trophy—Long Documentary – Best Score	Template:Won
2002	Viva São João!	Passista Trophy—Long Documentary – Best Score	Template:Won
2003	N/A	Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year	Template:Won
2005	Eletracústico	Grammy Award—Best Contemporary World Music Album	Template:Won
2005	N/A	Polar Music Prize	Template:Won
2005	N/A	Légion d'honneur	Template:Won
2016	Gilbertos Samba Ao Vivo	Grammy Award for Best World Music Album	Template:Nominated
2019	Ok Ok Ok	Latin Grammy Award for Best MPB Album	Template:Won<ref name="billboardLG19">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit

Perrone, Charles A. Masters of Contemporary Brazilian Song: MPB 1965–1985. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989. Chapter 3. Gilberto Gil: Guidance and Afro-Brazilliance.
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Di Carlo, Josnei (2020).Is there a theory of peripheral postmodernism? Tropicália and the art criticism of Mário Pedrosa in the 1960s .Revista do Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros, 1(76): 18-33.