2.001

There's a lot to love about Brazilian music. I've always been a huge fan of bossa nova, and have spent many long hours listening to the work of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, among others. From the perspective of a songwriter, if find there's very little out there that can match the classic bossa in terms of harmonic sophistication.

As much as I have always been impressed by the sheer musicality of bossa nova, it's Brazil's status as a musical melting pot that has kept me continually fascinated. At no time was this status more apparent than the late 60s. Artists fused elements of bossa, American and British psychedelic rock, African music, and Brazilian traditional folk to create something that was far greater than the sum of its parts. Most impressive: this free-spirited fusion was also actively political - and it was achieved during a period of rigid military dictatorship in the country. As American artists fancied themselves revolutionaries in their opposition to Vietnam, their contemporaries in Brazil were being imprisoned for anti-government activities.

Things have changed quite a bit for the key figures on the scene these days. Os Mutantes recently completed a successful reunion tour that brought them through the United States, among other places. 35+ years after their exile from Brazil, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are internationally recognized as two of the world's foremost songwriters and activists. Gil is now the Brazilian cultural minister, in fact.

As impressive as their achievements have been, the music still speaks loudest. It sounds radical and groundbreaking even by today's standards. Imagine how it would have sounded in 1969...

Here is Gilberto Gil's "2.001" (from his 1969 self-titled record) as an example:

2.001

Additionally, it is interesting to note that the scene was rather tightly-knit. Collaboration rather than competition was the norm among the nation's finest musicians. Here is evidence: Os Mutantes covering "2.001" live with Gilberto Gil (their recorded version can be found - sans Gil - on their second record, Mutantes).