The Case of the Fio Maravilha: Jorge Ben of Brazil

The DJ returns... after a 2 week break, I am stormin' back with a big Brazil show dedicated to the World Cup celebrations this year!

For Encyclopedia Sound, there is no better way to celebrate Brazil than with my main man, Jorge Ben. This is the music that really started my love affair with Brazil... I played my first Jorge Ben greatest hits album until the grooves fell off.

Jorge Ben is one of the very, very few artists who can command a full 2 hour set in my booth. We will hear his development over 3 decades:  he started in 1961 doing a new flavor of up-tempo bossa samba. As Bossa Nova was the dominant popular music of the day, Jorge Ben followed suit with a tight jazz combo for backing. But the difference, aside from his wonderful compositions, was his choppy tropicalismo guitar that always led the way. This folk-jazz sound immediately became hugely popular in Brazil, and it is a musical style that many Brazilian artists still follow today.

Like Stevie Wonder, Jorge Ben matured into a golden era for his songwriting in the late 60's/early 70's. The middle of today's set will be long album cuts from his best years... magnificent.

In the late 70's/early 80's, Jorge Ben did what almost every other popular artist of his age was also doing... dabbling in disco, and generally softening into a mature easy listening career as the decade wore on. We will wind up the set today with some Jorge Ben disco years output with teeth, including 3 tracks from his classic LP "Africa Brasil."