|
COPYRIGHT 2007 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.
In 1983, Bob Hurwitz, who worked for a jazz and classical label called ECM, attended a performance at the Public Theatre, in New York, by the Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso--his first show in America. "The audience was probably ninety per cent Brazilian," Hurwitz recalled. "Caetano played with a band, and then, in the middle of his set, did six or seven songs by himself, which was a rare thing for a Brazilian to do here. He sang in English once--a Cole Porter song. Then he brought out his son, Moreno, who was ten or eleven, to sing. It was magical."
The following year, Hurwitz took over the classical label Nonesuch and signed Veloso. In September, 1985, Veloso returned to New York and recorded thirteen songs, using little besides his voice and a nylon-string acoustic guitar. He chose pieces that Brazilians knew by heart: "O Leaozinho" ("Little Lion"), a lilting ode to, as Veloso has described him, "a beautiful young man whose sign was Leo"; also "Terra," a long, melodically complex song inspired by photographs of the earth taken by astronauts. In addition, Veloso included a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," converting Jackson's tense dance music into a quiet,...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
