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Tom Zé is an cult experimental musician from Irará (Bahia), Brazil, born in 1936. Being one of the members of the Tropicália
Movement,TomZé has, throughout the years, proved himself as one of the most influential, unique and insane musicians to come out of Latin
America,albeitbeing by two decades (70s and 80s) overshadowed by his "Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses (1968)" colleagues, such as
CaetanoVeloso,Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, and Nara Leão, therefore falling into obscurity - but without stopping his
dadaisticexperimentations withmusic.
In the early 1990s, he w ...read more
Tom Zé is an cult experimental musician from Irará (Bahia), Brazil, born in 1936. Being one of the members of the Tropicália
Movement,TomZé has, throughout the years, proved himself as one of the most influential, unique and insane musicians to come out of Latin
America,albeitbeing by two decades (70s and 80s) overshadowed by his "Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses (1968)" colleagues, such as
CaetanoVeloso,Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, and Nara Leão, therefore falling into obscurity - but without stopping his
dadaisticexperimentations withmusic.
In the early 1990s, he was rediscovered in the media, when American musician David Byrne slipped into Zé's most famous album,Estudandoo
Samba (1975), on a visit to Rio de Janeiro. Quoting Byrne:
"When I listened to it back in New York, I was shocked. The record, Estudando o Samba, was more akin to some New
Yorkdowntownexperimental work than the lilting melodies and sexy rhythms of the more well-known Brazilian artists, or of the popular
sambarecordings.Who was this guy? Where did this record come from, and how did it come about? [...] What was unique about Tom’s music
is that,whileradical, it was also rooted in popular music. This wasn’t noise or intentionally difficult music. [...] I received some complaints
fromBraziliansasking why my North American label was releasing Tom Zé of all people, and why didn’t I pick some more beautiful and
popularartistinstead of this half-forgotten weirdo? Well, after a while, a mainly younger generation of Brazilians came to know Tom’s music
andhisincredibly innovative performances that sometimes incorporated grinders and floor polishers as instruments!" (Interview
excerptfromhttp://www.believermag.com/issues/201107/?read=interview_byrne_ze)
Then, Zé was the first artist signed to the Luaka Bop label and has so far released a compilation and two albums, all of whichreceivedpositive
reviews from critics in the United States.
He has received much praise by avant-garde composers for his use of dissonance, polytonality, and unusual time signatures;
butwithoutleaving his MPB (Brazilian Folk Music) influences behind. The eclecticism of his discography is laudable, going from samba-
bossanova-MPB-oriented "Estudando o Samba" to the avantgarde-ish crazyness of "Santagustin" to his brilliant (and somewhat uneasy)
mockery ofpop musicin "Danç-Êh-Sá". « hide |
Similar Bands: Talking Heads, Os Mutantes, Tom Waits, Various Artists (Tropicalia) Contributors: Zig, danielmoreno, SandwichBubble, danielmoreno,
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