| Gilberto Gil & Vusi Mahlasela — The South African Meeting Of Viramundo (2013) |
Gilberto Gil & Vusi Mahlasela — The South African Meeting Of Viramundo 
♦♦ Recorded in Johannesburg in May 12th and 13th, 2011 and in Switzerland during the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2012.
♦♦ South African singer–songwriter Vusi Mahlasela was a crucial artistic voice during the fight against apartheid, and now in the new modern–day nation. Blending traditional African music with soul and blues, his music showcases powerful vocals and poetic lyrics.
Gilberto born: June 29, 1942 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Vusi location: Mamelodi township, just outside of Pretoria, South Africa
Album release: April 17, 2013
Record Label: Naxos/Dreampixies
Duration: 50:34
Tracks:
01. Tempo Rei 6:09
02. La Renaissance Africaine 4:12
03. When You Come Back Nakupenda Africa 7:19
04. A Raça Humana 4:23
05. Estrela 5:17
06. The Beauty Of Our Land Ubuhle Bomhlaba 4:57
07. Kaô 5:56
08. Piece Of Ground 4:18
09. Oraçao Pela Libertacao Da Africa Do Sul 3:57
10. Viramundo 4:06
℗ 2013 Dreampixies
Personnel:
• Gilberto Gil, chant, guitares
• Vusi Mahlasela, chant, guitare
• Paul Hanmer, piano, piano électrique, arrangements
• Jaques Morelenbaum, violoncelle
• Nicolas Krassik, violon
• Bem Gil, guitares
Description 1:
♦♦ The album The South African Meeting of Viramundo is the outcome of Gilberto Gil’s and Vusi Mahlasela’s encounter during the shooting of the documentary film Viramundo.
♦♦ Some songs were recorded during the two concerts given at the Market Theatre during the shooting, in Johannesburg, in May 12th and 13th 2011. Other titles were recorded a year later at Dinemec Studios, on the shore of Lac Léman, before a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival. All arrangements for strings and winds — performed by the MIAGI Youth Orchestra (South Africa) and the Sinfonietta de Lausanne (Switzerland) — were written by South African pianist, arranger and composer Paul Hanmer.
♦♦ I would like to thank everybody who made this musical encounter possible, particularly Robert Brooks in South Africa.
♦♦ This album is dedicated to Claude Nobs, who inspired me for so many years and invited us at the montreux Jazz Festival.
♦♦ Emmanuel Gétaz, producer
Description 2:
♦♦ This album was born from the meeting of Gilberto Gil and Vusi Mahlasela during the filming of the documentary Viramundo. Some titles are from concerts which took place during the filming in Johannesburg in May 2011 and others were recorded a year later in Switzerland during the Montreux Jazz Festival. Gil carries out a fundamental role in the constant modernization process of Brazilian popular music. For 46 years, he has developed one of the most relevant and renown careers in this field.
_______________________________________________________________
GILBERTO GIL
Biography
♦♦ A leader of the tropicalia movement in Brazil in 1967 and 1968, along with artists like Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and other musicians mixed native styles with rock and folk instruments. Because Gil fused samba, salsa, and bossa nova with rock and folk music, he's recognized today as one of the pioneers in world music. A multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, Gil joined his first group, the Desafinados, in the mid–'50s and by the beginning of the 1960s was earning a living as a jingle composer. Although known mostly as a guitarist, he also holds his own with drums, trumpet, and accordion.
♦♦ He began playing the accordion when he was eight, and he listened to street singers in the marketplace around Salvador. By the end of the 1950s, Gil was studying business administration at Salvador's Federal University and playing with a group called Os Desafinados. At this time he heard singer and guitarist João Gilberto on the radio and was so impressed that he immediately bought a guitar and learned to play and sing the bossa nova. He spent the early '60s composing songs for TV ads, and in 1964, he was in Nos Por Exemplo, a show of bossa nova and traditional Brazilian songs directed by Caetano Veloso. In 1965, he moved to São Paulo, and after singing and playing in various shows, he had his first hit when singer Elis Regina recorded his song "Louvacao." He began to establish himself as a singer of protest songs, and he became very popular with Brazilians involved in the Tropicalia movement, which opened up native Brazilian folk music to other kinds of influences. The success of the single "Louvacao" inspired Gil to record an album of his own material with the same title.
♦♦ Gil made his first self-titled recording in 1966, but his first hit single didn't come about until 1969, with "Aquele Abraco." His musical fusion of bossa nova, samba, and other styles was so revolutionary it frightened the country's military dictatorship into arresting him, and that's when he headed to Great Britain. (He and Caetano Veloso were placed in solitary confinement while authorities figured out what they wanted to do with the pair.) After three years in England, where he had the chance to work with groups like Pink Floyd, Yes, the Incredible String Band, and Rod Stewart's band in London clubs, he returned to Brazil in 1972. He recorded Expresso 2222, which spurred two hit singles in Brazil, "Back in Bahia" and "Oriente." After playing at the Midem Festival in France in 1973, Gil recorded Ao Vivo in 1974. A year later, he recorded with Jorge Ben for the album Gil & Jorge. In 1976, he toured with Veloso, Gal Costa, and Maria Bethânia and released the Doces Báraros album.
♦♦ For most of the rest of the 1970s, he recorded for a variety of Brazilian record companies until signing an international deal with the WEA group of labels in 1977. He toured U.S. colleges in 1978 and firmly established his place in the international jazz world with his albums Nightingale (1978) and Realce (1979) . He also released a double live album in 1978, Gilberto Gil ao Vivo em Montreux, recorded during his performances at the jazz and blues festival in Switzerland. In 1980, Gil teamed up with reggae musician Jimmy Cliff. The pair toured Brazil, and Gil's cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" climbed to number one, selling 700,000 copies. Gil followed up in 1981 with Luar (A Gente Precisa Ver o Luar), one of his most acclaimed recordings. In 1982, he performed again at the Montreux festival, but this time with Jimmy Cliff. He followed up with Um Banda Um (1982), Extra (1983), and Raça Humana (1984), the last recorded with Bob Marley's Wailers.
♦♦ In the late '70s, Gil became a prominent spokesman for the black consciousness movement then taking place in Brazil. In 1982, he had huge crossover success with "Palco," which became popular in dance clubs and led to stadium tours of Europe. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., he would play mid–sized jazz clubs in New York City and Los Angeles. Gil celebrated his then two–decade career in 1985 with the album Dia Dorim Noite Neon (released in the U.S.), and released Gilberto Gil em Concerto, recorded live in Rio, in 1987. The early '90s saw Gil continuing his involvement in social and political causes in his native country, finding widespread support for his political stances, and he was elected to office in the port city of Salvador (aka the Black Rome), his hometown. In 2003, Gil began serving as Brazil's Minister of Culture, and two years later, he received Sweden's Polar Music Prize and a Légion d'Honneur from the French government. Gil continued to maintain a recording career throughout the '90s and 2000s, including the 2008 release Banda Larga Cordel. In 2008, Gil stepped down from his position as Minister of Culture for health reasons. Two years later, he returned to music, releasing Fé Na Festa in 2010.
VUSI MAHLASELA
Birth name: Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane
Born 1965 in Pretoria, South Africa
Occupations: Singer–songwriter, musician
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
♦♦ His music is generally described as "African folk" and he is often dubbed as "The Voice" of South Africa. His work was an inspiration to many in the anti–apartheid movement. His themes include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies. Vusi has released seven studio albums on Sony in South Africa and was signed to Dave Matthews' ATO Records in 2003. Vusi can also be heard performing on Warren Haynes' Live at Bonnaroo release during the song "Soulshine", and the Dave Matthews Band song, "Everyday", from the album of the same name as well as a live version of the song with him which appears on the album The Best of What's Around Vol. 1. Vusi was also one of the performers at the Live 8 concerts and at Live Earth. Vusi performed at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994 and has subsequently performed at Mandela's 90th Birthday 46664 celebration in Hyde Park, London in 2008 and at Mandela Day at Radio City Music Hall July 2009. His song "When You Come Back" was used at ITV's theme song for their World Cup coverage in 2010 and Vusi performed at the FIFA World Cup Kick Off concert at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa. In 2012, the SAMA Awards honored Vusi with a lifetime achievement award.
Studio albums:
♦♦ When You Come Back 1992
♦♦ Wisdom of Forgiveness 1994
♦♦ Silang Mabele 1997
♦♦ Miyela Afrika 2000
♦♦ Jungle of Questions (with the Proud Peoples Band)
♦♦ Naledi Ya Tsela (Guiding Star) 2007
♦♦ Say Africa 2010
Live albums:
♦♦ Live at the Bassline 1999
♦♦ Sing To The People (Live at the Lyric Theatre, Johannesburg 25 March, 2012) 2013
♦♦ In his home country of South Africa, singer/songwriter Vusi Mahlasela is fondly known as "The Voice." His fellow countrywoman, the writer Nadine Gordimer, once said about him: "Vusi Mahlasela sings as a bird does: in total response to being alive." Apart from his remarkable songwriting talent, Mahlasela is in fact blessed with one of the most remarkable voices in contemporary popular music.
♦♦ Vusi Mahlasela grew up listening to people singing in his grandmother's shebeen (an informal pub in South African townships) and taught himself while playing the guitar. As a teenager, he started writing his own songs with lyrics of social significance. In 1981, he joined the poetry group Ancestors of Africa, who were on the watch list of the Apartheid regime. His joining of the Congress of South African Writers in 1988 marks a new quality in his artistical maturing process. Besides starting a collaboration with South African dub poet Lesego Rampolokeng, he explored South African jazz and traditional music as well as the work of Chilean songwriter Victor Jara, who — in his own opinion — was his strongest influence. His first international performance in London (1990) made him more popular overseas than back home. Consequently, his debut album, When You Come Back (1992), a tribute to the political exiles of South Africa, catapulted him to instant fame in Europe and North America. Nowadays, it is considered a South African classic. Wisdom of Forgiveness, the 1994 successor, was an equally strong effort. The album title nicely summarized the political approach taken by the new democratic South African government: not revenge, but forgiveness was the strategy of the new era. Extensive touring was the reason that Mahlasela's next album, Silang Mabele, was only released at the end of 1997. The message of this album was clear: the time of singing praise songs is over, now let's make this new country work. The live set, Vusi Mahlasela & Louis Mhlanga Live at the Bassline (1999) captured a sizzling performance with one of his longterm collaborators and friends, guitarist Louis Mhlanga, stripped down to two guitars. In 2002, Vusi Mahlasela also appeared in Lee Hirsch's acclaimed documentary Amandla! A Revolution in Four–Part Harmony which examined the role of music in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. The compilation The Voice (2003) which Mahlasela himself handpicked for listeners in North America, marked his official record debut in the U.S.. To celebrate the twenty year anniversary of When You Come Back, the album that brought him onto a world stage in 1992, Vusi assembled his band and threw a concert at the Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg in 2012, performing several of his signature songs in front of an enthusiastic and very involved audience, and the whole affair was recorded and released as a live set, Sing to the People, early in 2013. ~ Frank Eisenhuth
_______________________________________________________________
Link: http://www.viramundo-film.com/en/music/
Booklet in pdf: http://www.viramundo-film.com/wp-content/uploads/VIRAMUNDO_Booklet-8-p_distrib-num%C3%A9rique_d%C3%A9f_12_04_13.pdf
Website Vusi: http://vusimahlasela.com/
MySpace Vusi: https://myspace.com/vusimahlasela
Facebook Vusi: https://www.facebook.com/vusimahlasela
_______________________________________________________________
| Gilberto Gil & Vusi Mahlasela — The South African Meeting Of Viramundo (2013) |
Gilberto Gil & Vusi Mahlasela — The South African Meeting Of Viramundo
♦♦ Recorded in Johannesburg in May 12th and 13th, 2011 and in Switzerland during the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2012.
♦♦ South African singer–songwriter Vusi Mahlasela was a crucial artistic voice during the fight against apartheid, and now in the new modern–day nation. Blending traditional African music with soul and blues, his music showcases powerful vocals and poetic lyrics.
Gilberto born: June 29, 1942 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Vusi location: Mamelodi township, just outside of Pretoria, South Africa
Album release: April 17, 2013
Record Label: Naxos/Dreampixies
Duration: 50:34
Tracks:
01. Tempo Rei 6:09
02. La Renaissance Africaine 4:12
03. When You Come Back Nakupenda Africa 7:19
04. A Raça Humana 4:23
05. Estrela 5:17
06. The Beauty Of Our Land Ubuhle Bomhlaba 4:57
07. Kaô 5:56
08. Piece Of Ground 4:18
09. Oraçao Pela Libertacao Da Africa Do Sul 3:57
10. Viramundo 4:06
℗ 2013 Dreampixies
Personnel:
• Gilberto Gil, chant, guitares
• Vusi Mahlasela, chant, guitare
• Paul Hanmer, piano, piano électrique, arrangements
• Jaques Morelenbaum, violoncelle
• Nicolas Krassik, violon
• Bem Gil, guitares
Description 1:
♦♦ The album The South African Meeting of Viramundo is the outcome of Gilberto Gil’s and Vusi Mahlasela’s encounter during the shooting of the documentary film Viramundo.
♦♦ Some songs were recorded during the two concerts given at the Market Theatre during the shooting, in Johannesburg, in May 12th and 13th 2011. Other titles were recorded a year later at Dinemec Studios, on the shore of Lac Léman, before a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival. All arrangements for strings and winds — performed by the MIAGI Youth Orchestra (South Africa) and the Sinfonietta de Lausanne (Switzerland) — were written by South African pianist, arranger and composer Paul Hanmer.
♦♦ I would like to thank everybody who made this musical encounter possible, particularly Robert Brooks in South Africa.
♦♦ This album is dedicated to Claude Nobs, who inspired me for so many years and invited us at the montreux Jazz Festival.
♦♦ Emmanuel Gétaz, producer
Description 2:
♦♦ This album was born from the meeting of Gilberto Gil and Vusi Mahlasela during the filming of the documentary Viramundo. Some titles are from concerts which took place during the filming in Johannesburg in May 2011 and others were recorded a year later in Switzerland during the Montreux Jazz Festival. Gil carries out a fundamental role in the constant modernization process of Brazilian popular music. For 46 years, he has developed one of the most relevant and renown careers in this field.
_______________________________________________________________
GILBERTO GIL
Biography
♦♦ A leader of the tropicalia movement in Brazil in 1967 and 1968, along with artists like Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and other musicians mixed native styles with rock and folk instruments. Because Gil fused samba, salsa, and bossa nova with rock and folk music, he's recognized today as one of the pioneers in world music. A multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter, Gil joined his first group, the Desafinados, in the mid–'50s and by the beginning of the 1960s was earning a living as a jingle composer. Although known mostly as a guitarist, he also holds his own with drums, trumpet, and accordion.
♦♦ He began playing the accordion when he was eight, and he listened to street singers in the marketplace around Salvador. By the end of the 1950s, Gil was studying business administration at Salvador's Federal University and playing with a group called Os Desafinados. At this time he heard singer and guitarist João Gilberto on the radio and was so impressed that he immediately bought a guitar and learned to play and sing the bossa nova. He spent the early '60s composing songs for TV ads, and in 1964, he was in Nos Por Exemplo, a show of bossa nova and traditional Brazilian songs directed by Caetano Veloso. In 1965, he moved to São Paulo, and after singing and playing in various shows, he had his first hit when singer Elis Regina recorded his song "Louvacao." He began to establish himself as a singer of protest songs, and he became very popular with Brazilians involved in the Tropicalia movement, which opened up native Brazilian folk music to other kinds of influences. The success of the single "Louvacao" inspired Gil to record an album of his own material with the same title.
♦♦ Gil made his first self-titled recording in 1966, but his first hit single didn't come about until 1969, with "Aquele Abraco." His musical fusion of bossa nova, samba, and other styles was so revolutionary it frightened the country's military dictatorship into arresting him, and that's when he headed to Great Britain. (He and Caetano Veloso were placed in solitary confinement while authorities figured out what they wanted to do with the pair.) After three years in England, where he had the chance to work with groups like Pink Floyd, Yes, the Incredible String Band, and Rod Stewart's band in London clubs, he returned to Brazil in 1972. He recorded Expresso 2222, which spurred two hit singles in Brazil, "Back in Bahia" and "Oriente." After playing at the Midem Festival in France in 1973, Gil recorded Ao Vivo in 1974. A year later, he recorded with Jorge Ben for the album Gil & Jorge. In 1976, he toured with Veloso, Gal Costa, and Maria Bethânia and released the Doces Báraros album.
♦♦ For most of the rest of the 1970s, he recorded for a variety of Brazilian record companies until signing an international deal with the WEA group of labels in 1977. He toured U.S. colleges in 1978 and firmly established his place in the international jazz world with his albums Nightingale (1978) and Realce (1979) . He also released a double live album in 1978, Gilberto Gil ao Vivo em Montreux, recorded during his performances at the jazz and blues festival in Switzerland. In 1980, Gil teamed up with reggae musician Jimmy Cliff. The pair toured Brazil, and Gil's cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" climbed to number one, selling 700,000 copies. Gil followed up in 1981 with Luar (A Gente Precisa Ver o Luar), one of his most acclaimed recordings. In 1982, he performed again at the Montreux festival, but this time with Jimmy Cliff. He followed up with Um Banda Um (1982), Extra (1983), and Raça Humana (1984), the last recorded with Bob Marley's Wailers.
♦♦ In the late '70s, Gil became a prominent spokesman for the black consciousness movement then taking place in Brazil. In 1982, he had huge crossover success with "Palco," which became popular in dance clubs and led to stadium tours of Europe. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., he would play mid–sized jazz clubs in New York City and Los Angeles. Gil celebrated his then two–decade career in 1985 with the album Dia Dorim Noite Neon (released in the U.S.), and released Gilberto Gil em Concerto, recorded live in Rio, in 1987. The early '90s saw Gil continuing his involvement in social and political causes in his native country, finding widespread support for his political stances, and he was elected to office in the port city of Salvador (aka the Black Rome), his hometown. In 2003, Gil began serving as Brazil's Minister of Culture, and two years later, he received Sweden's Polar Music Prize and a Légion d'Honneur from the French government. Gil continued to maintain a recording career throughout the '90s and 2000s, including the 2008 release Banda Larga Cordel. In 2008, Gil stepped down from his position as Minister of Culture for health reasons. Two years later, he returned to music, releasing Fé Na Festa in 2010.
VUSI MAHLASELA
Birth name: Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane
Born 1965 in Pretoria, South Africa
Occupations: Singer–songwriter, musician
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
♦♦ His music is generally described as "African folk" and he is often dubbed as "The Voice" of South Africa. His work was an inspiration to many in the anti–apartheid movement. His themes include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies. Vusi has released seven studio albums on Sony in South Africa and was signed to Dave Matthews' ATO Records in 2003. Vusi can also be heard performing on Warren Haynes' Live at Bonnaroo release during the song "Soulshine", and the Dave Matthews Band song, "Everyday", from the album of the same name as well as a live version of the song with him which appears on the album The Best of What's Around Vol. 1. Vusi was also one of the performers at the Live 8 concerts and at Live Earth. Vusi performed at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994 and has subsequently performed at Mandela's 90th Birthday 46664 celebration in Hyde Park, London in 2008 and at Mandela Day at Radio City Music Hall July 2009. His song "When You Come Back" was used at ITV's theme song for their World Cup coverage in 2010 and Vusi performed at the FIFA World Cup Kick Off concert at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, South Africa. In 2012, the SAMA Awards honored Vusi with a lifetime achievement award.
Studio albums:
♦♦ When You Come Back 1992
♦♦ Wisdom of Forgiveness 1994
♦♦ Silang Mabele 1997
♦♦ Miyela Afrika 2000
♦♦ Jungle of Questions (with the Proud Peoples Band)
♦♦ Naledi Ya Tsela (Guiding Star) 2007
♦♦ Say Africa 2010
Live albums:
♦♦ Live at the Bassline 1999
♦♦ Sing To The People (Live at the Lyric Theatre, Johannesburg 25 March, 2012) 2013
♦♦ In his home country of South Africa, singer/songwriter Vusi Mahlasela is fondly known as "The Voice." His fellow countrywoman, the writer Nadine Gordimer, once said about him: "Vusi Mahlasela sings as a bird does: in total response to being alive." Apart from his remarkable songwriting talent, Mahlasela is in fact blessed with one of the most remarkable voices in contemporary popular music.
♦♦ Vusi Mahlasela grew up listening to people singing in his grandmother's shebeen (an informal pub in South African townships) and taught himself while playing the guitar. As a teenager, he started writing his own songs with lyrics of social significance. In 1981, he joined the poetry group Ancestors of Africa, who were on the watch list of the Apartheid regime. His joining of the Congress of South African Writers in 1988 marks a new quality in his artistical maturing process. Besides starting a collaboration with South African dub poet Lesego Rampolokeng, he explored South African jazz and traditional music as well as the work of Chilean songwriter Victor Jara, who — in his own opinion — was his strongest influence. His first international performance in London (1990) made him more popular overseas than back home. Consequently, his debut album, When You Come Back (1992), a tribute to the political exiles of South Africa, catapulted him to instant fame in Europe and North America. Nowadays, it is considered a South African classic. Wisdom of Forgiveness, the 1994 successor, was an equally strong effort. The album title nicely summarized the political approach taken by the new democratic South African government: not revenge, but forgiveness was the strategy of the new era. Extensive touring was the reason that Mahlasela's next album, Silang Mabele, was only released at the end of 1997. The message of this album was clear: the time of singing praise songs is over, now let's make this new country work. The live set, Vusi Mahlasela & Louis Mhlanga Live at the Bassline (1999) captured a sizzling performance with one of his longterm collaborators and friends, guitarist Louis Mhlanga, stripped down to two guitars. In 2002, Vusi Mahlasela also appeared in Lee Hirsch's acclaimed documentary Amandla! A Revolution in Four–Part Harmony which examined the role of music in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. The compilation The Voice (2003) which Mahlasela himself handpicked for listeners in North America, marked his official record debut in the U.S.. To celebrate the twenty year anniversary of When You Come Back, the album that brought him onto a world stage in 1992, Vusi assembled his band and threw a concert at the Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg in 2012, performing several of his signature songs in front of an enthusiastic and very involved audience, and the whole affair was recorded and released as a live set, Sing to the People, early in 2013. ~ Frank Eisenhuth
_______________________________________________________________
Link: http://www.viramundo-film.com/en/music/
Booklet in pdf: http://www.viramundo-film.com/wp-content/uploads/VIRAMUNDO_Booklet-8-p_distrib-num%C3%A9rique_d%C3%A9f_12_04_13.pdf
Website Vusi: http://vusimahlasela.com/
MySpace Vusi: https://myspace.com/vusimahlasela
Facebook Vusi: https://www.facebook.com/vusimahlasela
_______________________________________________________________