ARTIST INFLUENCE #4

This week's artist of influence can be credited to a good friend of mine from New Orleans. She introduced me to this particular person when she heard some of the Latin music that I was playing on my system. She popped in a cd and immediately I was hooked. Essentially, I heard beautiful strings and melodies with a soft-melodic voice that instantly put me in the mindframe of a long vacation in some remote place with not a care in the world. When I inquired about the artist, my friend told me that it was Bebel Gilberto. Afterwards, I went to itunes and started downloading any and everything that I could. In addition, I did some research on this beautiful voice and her body of work. Attached is a biography from allmusic.com.

Bebel Gilberto has been recording with worldly famous artists like Kenny G, David Byrne, Amon Tobin, Smoke City, the Thievery Corporation, Towa Tei, Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, and João Gilberto. Gilberto also has had worldwide success as a songwriter with the song "Technova." Gilberto is from a famous musical family in Brazil. Her father is João Gilberto, her mother is the singer Miúcha, and her uncle (Miúcha's brother) is Chico Buarque de Hollanda. She learned how to sing with Miúcha, and since she was a child, she was already participating in professional musicals like Saltimbancos and Pirlimpimpim. At seven she had her recording debut on one of her mother's albums. At nine she performed together with her mother and Stan Getz at Carnegie Hall. In 1983, she shared an album with the singer Pedrinho Rodrigues (Um Certo Geraldo Pereira, Funarte). Nevertheless, she wisely managed her career, avoiding a hasty debut as a solo singer. Her first album was the EP Bebel Gilberto (Warner, 1986). Gilberto wrote the songs on the album together with Brazilian pop/rock artists like Cazuza ("Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo," which was also included in the Red Hot + Rio compilation and winner of the Sharp Award for Single of the Year in 1989, "Mais Feliz," re-recorded by Adriana Calcanhotto in the '90s also with great success), Dé, and others. In 1991, Gilberto moved to New York (where she was born) and began gigging in clubs, performing at the Lincoln Center, and working with David Byrne and Arto Lindsay, among others. In that year, she participated (together with Gal Costa, Naná Vasconcelos, and Laurie Anderson) in a tribute to Carmen Miranda, idealized by Arto Lindsay. She had noted participation in the productions that aimed at the dance music market with a Brazilian bossa nova scent, co-writing (with Deee-Lite's DJ/producer Towa Tei) the worldwide hit "Technova." She also appeared in singles by the Thievery Corporation ("Só Com Você") and the duo Arling & Cameron (on "Sem Contenção"). By the end of the '90s, she was living in England. In 1998, Gilberto had a duet with João Gilberto in his Carnegie Hall concert. Her first solo album, Tanto Tempo, came finally in 2000 (Ziriguiboom) and had a good performance at the world music charts. Tanto Tempo went on to earn two Latin Grammy Nominations for Best New Artist and Best Música Popular Brasileira Album in 2001. Its companion Tanto Tempo Remixes was also issued that same year. Gilberto hooked up with producer Marius de Vries for her second album shortly thereafter. The introspective self-titled effort appeared in mid-2004, followed three years later by Momento, which featured appearances from Brazilian Girls and Orquestra Imperial.



Attached is one of my favorite songs from Bebel. It struck a chord with me from the moment I first heard it.

"Mais Feliz"- Bebel Giberto

As usual, I had to do my own interpretation. Here it is!!! Enjoy!!!

"Bebel" - J-Finesse