MUSIC

Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), bringing the world’s best to Houston, presents  Gilberto Gil, as part of the SPA The Notables Series.  8pm, Friday, March 26, 2010, in Jones Hall. Brazil’s internationally acclaimed guitarist and vocalist and former Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil brings his unique sound, incorporating an eclectic range of influences—from reggae, samba and forró to rock and African music—to Houston for one night only.

Gilberto Gil has developed one of the most relevant and renowned careers as a singer, composer and guitar-player in both world and pop music. In a career that has spanned four decades with over 30 albums released, Gil has six gold records, four platinum singles and five million records sold. The Tropicalist genre he introduced, alongside Caetano Veloso, has secured his fame internationally as well as at home in Brazil. His extensive and prolific catalogue of work has been covered and recorded by João Gilberto, Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Sérgio Mendes, Ernie Watts, and Toots Thielmans.

Over the years, his political and environmental activism gained prominence alongside his musical career and reached a new height in 2002 when he was appointed minister of culture for Brazil. As a musician and as a diplomat, Gil possesses a key role in the constant modernization of Brazilian popular music and culture throughout the world. Gil has delved deeply into the vertiginous waters of the digital revolution and its accelerated information highway. He wants his music to use all of these means of communication including mobile phones, the internet, cable, digital TV, ringtones, truetones, downloads, etc.

Since the days of Tropicália, Gil has long demonstrated his interest and fascination with this subject. The most obvious example is the Grammy Award-winning double album Quanta (1997) in which he assembled a large part of his reflections on art/science and new technologies. The album was previewed by the pioneering launch of Gil’s website in April of 1996, and through the on-line broadcast, that same year of “Pela Internet,” the first Brazilian song to be officially released through the internet in real time. “BANDA LARGA” (Broad Band), the album and the tour, reaffirm Gil’s irreversible engagement with the new rules and compasses of the universe of bits and bytes, embracing all of the risks and challenges. This theme that has fascinated him for more than 30 years characterized a previous tour outside of North America, also called Banda Larga, in which Gil made available as much of his work as possible for webcasts, podcasts, cellcasts, etc.

This performance is followed by a NiteSPA party. Only $50 for both! Call 713.632.8113 to reserve your spot!