RhoDeo 1713 Roots

Hello,

The music of Brazil encompasses various regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history, Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles such as samba, bossa nova, MPB, sertanejo, pagode, tropicalia, choro, maracatu, embolada (coco de repente), mangue bit, funk carioca (in Brazil simply known as Funk), frevo, forró, axé, brega, lambada, and Brazilian versions of foreign musical genres, such as Brazilian rock and rap.


Today's artist while many of the performers during the heyday of Tropicalia and the rise of MPB (música popular brasileira) opted for a more radical stance in their challenge to Brazil's political and cultural authorities, artists like Jorge Ben took a more understated approach. Rather than use overly theatrical performance to shock the audience or write songs loaded with political content, Ben became known as one of the country's great musical alchemists, a furiously eclectic songwriter who combined elements of indigenous Brazilian music with a groove from the west coast of Africa.  With that he became one of the most respected and resilient figures in Brazilian pop.  ...  N'Joy

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Born (March 22, 1945) Jorge Duilio Lima Menezes in Rio de Janeiro, he first took the stage name Jorge Ben after his mother's name (of Ethiopian origin) but in the 1980s changed it to Jorge Ben Jor (commonly written Benjor). Jorge Ben obtained his first pandeiro (Brazil's most popular type of tambourine) when he was thirteen, and two years later, was singing in a church choir. He also took part as a pandeiro player in the blocos of Carnaval, and from eighteen years of age, he began performing at parties and nightclubs with the guitar that his mother gifted him. He received the nickname "Babulina", after their enthusiastic pronunciation of Ronnie Self's song "Bop-A-Lena". Was presented to Tim Maia by Erasmo Carlos, soon discovered that Maia was also known for the same reason. It was at one of those clubs in which he performed that his musical career took off. In 1963, Jorge came on stage and sang "Mas Que Nada" to a small crowd that happened to include an executive from the recording company, Philips. One week later, Jorge Ben's first single was released.

The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics. But as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed, and bossa nova became better known throughout the world, Ben rose to prominence.
Holdings both television programs O Fino da Bossa and Jovem Guarda from Rede Record, after being reprimanded by the production of "O Fino da Bossa", chose to participate in the Jovem Guarda, soon after, joined the program Divino, Maravilhoso from TV Tupi, presented by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

Jorge Ben's first public appearances were in small festivals organised by his friends, where bossa nova and rock and roll predominated. As with most musicians of the time, Ben was initially influenced by João Gilberto even though he was quite innovative in his own right. The aforementioned song, "Mas Que Nada", was his first big hit in Brazil, and remains to this day the most played song in the United States sung entirely in Portuguese.[citation needed] Outside of Brazil, the song is better known in cover versions by Sérgio Mendes and the Tamba Trio. The song has also been reinterpreted by jazz luminaries such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and Al Jarreau; as well as other samba artists of the time, such as Elza Soares. His musical work has been vastly sampled by music producers and DJ's, and covered by many bands in a variety of genres such as heavy metal, disco, rock, reggae, jazz, drum and bass, house music and more.

In 1969, Jorge Ben released his self-titled album amid the excitement of the cultural and musical Tropicália movement. The album featured Trio Mocotó as his backing band, who would go on to launch a successful career on the back of their association with Ben. The album was noted for "País Tropical," one of his most famous compositions, although it would be Wilson Simonal who would take his recording of the song to the top of the charts in Brazil that same year. Instead, the song "Charles, Anjo 45", also from the self-titled album, would become Ben's biggest self-performed chart hit of the year.

In the 1970s, Jorge Ben released his most esoteric and experimental albums, most notably A Tábua de Esmeralda in 1974 and Solta o Pavão in 1975. In 1976, he released one of his most popular albums: "África Brasil," a fusion of funk and samba which relied more on the electric guitar than previous efforts. This album also features a remake of his previously released song "Taj Mahal," from which Rod Stewart's 1979 hit "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? was plagiarized (a matter that he claimed was settled out of court in his favor).

In 1989, Jorge changed his recording label as well as his artistic name, becoming Jorge Benjor (or Jorge Ben Jor). At the time, it was said that there were numerological reasons for his change in name; other sources say it was in response to an incident where some of his royalties accidentally went to American guitarist George Benson. In 2002, Jorge Ben contributed to the critically acclaimed Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, that raised money for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. He collaborated with fellow hip-hop artists Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and Bilal to remake the famous song by Fela Kuti, "Shuffering and Shmiling," for the CD.

In 2006, a remake of Ben's "Mas Que Nada" became an international chart hit for Sérgio Mendes with The Black Eyed Peas after being used by Nike in a global TV advertisement during the 2006 FIFA World Cup; this remake (the second time Mendes had covered the track) reached the Top 10 in several European countries, including the UK and Germany, in addition to reaching Number 1 in the Netherlands. Jorge Ben is also a big fan of Flamengo, a Brazilian football club, located in Rio de Janeiro, which counts Zico, Junior and Leandro among their former star players. Ben's interest in football carries over to his music, as many of his songs deal with the subject, such as "Flamengo," "Camisa 10 da Gávea," "Ponta De Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)," "Zagueiro," and "Filho Maravilha."

On July 7, 2007 he performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro. On March 20, 2011 his name was mentioned in President Barack Obama's speech in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Theatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro). President Barack Obama quoted: "You are, as Jorge Ben-Jor sang, “A tropical country, blessed by God, and beautiful by nature.”"



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This 1976 album is undoubtedly one of the greatest classics of Brazilian popular music, with Jorge Ben mixing funky samba, Afro-Brazilian beats, and crunching guitars to create one of the most fascinating sounds ever recorded in Brazil. The album kicks off with the raw, energetic "Ponta de Lança Africano," and from there on it never slows down, but continues to pile up one fiery, funky gem after the other. The samba soul and samba funk scenes of the '70s in Brazil produced many great artists and many great recordings, fully comparable with the best soul and funk music recorded in the U.S. during the same period. Jorge Ben was the most prominent figure of this scene and África Brasil is probably the most famous of his '70s recordings. For any person who is interested in the music of Jorge Ben, or indeed Brazilian funk in general, there is no better sample of it than África Brasil.

Jorge Ben - África Brasil (flac  293mb)

01 Ponta De Lança Africano [Umbabarauma] 3:49
02 Hermes Trismegisto Escreveu 3:01
03 O Filósofo 3:20
04 Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro 3:51
05 O Plebeu 3:03
06 Taj Mahal 3:04
07 Xica Da Silva 4:03
08 A História De Jorge 3:45
09 Camisa 10 Da Gávea 4:01
10 Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado 4:42
11 África Brasil [Zumbi] 3:31

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Bem-Vinda Amizade, released in 1981, is the 19th studio album by Brazilian singer Jorge Ben . It brought the success "Santa Clara Clareou" and Ben's own recording of the song "Todo Dia Era Indio", for an 80s album, from Jorge Ben no less, when many rock/pop heavyweights were sinking like stones, this doesn't sound too dated and the songs, if not for production are dead solid. Most of the songs recall the territory Marco Valles or Caetano were taking on around the same time, mainly sunny pop dance music. It's what the sweet funky Chic-like soul and Jorge Ben's own brasil-soul would sound like if they were combined. It's a hard album to dig outside of summer since it's so sunny and upbeat but when the season is on nothing beats stuff like this to cheer you up or get you going on vacation trips or in a beach.

For Jorge Ben this is at best a 4 star album, but for anyone not Jorge Ben this would easily be their best if not their personal best. This album grows on one, truly funky as hell and once the joy-inducing vibes have sufficiently latched on, its as good, if not better, than Africa Brasil.

Jorge Ben - Bem-Vinda Amizade   (flac  213mb)

01 O Dia Que O Sol Declarou O Seu Amor Pela Terra 3:44
02 Santa Clara Clareou 3:22
03 Oê Oê (Faz O Carro De Boi Na Estrada) 3:06
04 Era Uma Vez Um Aposentado Marinheiro 3:30
05 Lorraine 3:34
06 Curumin Chama Cunhã Tã Que Eu Vou Contar (Todo Dia Era Dia De Indio) 3:49
07 Katarina, Katarina 3:55
08 Ela Mora Em Matogrosso Fronteira Com O Paraguai 3:17
09 Para Que Digladiar 3:34
10 Luiz Wagner Guitarreiro 3:25

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Its a testament to Ben's 70s legacy that even a collection of rarities can be this consistent. This double cd functions as a gap filler for all of Ben's non-album releases.  Some live tracks, some alternates, all of them sounding like they are deserving release.  The majority of tracks from the relatively obscure Jazz Potatoes album are scattered throughout this release, remastered and sounding better than they ever have.  An outstanding companion for those who are fan of Jorge Ben's late 60s / early 70s heyday

Jorge Ben Jor - Salve Jorge (Rarities and Unpublished) 1 (flac 362mb)

01 Mas que nada [Versão mais acelerada][Gravação inédita] 3:16
02 Hino do Clube de Regatas do Flamengo [Hino do Flamengo] 5:54
03 Lá vem Salgueiro 2:36
04 Olha a beleza dela 2:42
05 Aleleuia é nome de mulher 3:12
06 Caramba!... Galileu da Galiléia [Gravação inédita] 3:18
07 Sai de mim, mulher [Versão mais acelerada][Gravação inédita] 4:43
08 Bahia, berço do Brasil 4:55
09 Sem essa no. 5 2:52
10 Dorothy [Gravação inédita] 3:08
11 Maria Luiza [Gravação inédita] 3:15
12 Silvia Lenheira [Gravação inédita] 3:43
13 Cosa nostra 5:32
14 Descalço no parque [Ao vivo] 4:46

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Jorge Ben Jor - Salve Jorge (Rarities and Unpublished) 2 (flac  279mb)

01 Sai de mim, mulher [Versão mais suave] 3:49
02 Você não é Ave Maria, mas é cheia de graça 3:03
03 Jazz Potatoes 3:45
04 Mas que nada [Versão alternativa] 2:50
05 Os mentes claras [Gravação inédita] 3:50
06 Olha a beleza dela (Olha o balaio dela) [Gravaçao inédita] 3:12
07 Quase colorida (Verushka) [Gravaçao inédita] 3:27
08 Salve América [Gravaçao inédita] 2:58
09 Tô com Deus, tô com amor 2:59
10 Jesualda [Gravaçao inédita] 2:48
11 A lua é minha [Gravaçao inédita] 2:36
12 Camisa 12 [Gravaçao inédita] 3:10
13 Bicho do mato [Ao vivo] 2:12
14 Mano Caetano feat. Maria Bethânia 2:35

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