Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto’s voice has the lush but breezy lilt we’ve come to expect from
the Bossa Nova tradition. And that’s exactly the tradition she
comes out of, thanks to her parents, who happen to be two of Brazil’s
best-loved musicians, Joao Gilberto and Miucha. It was with her
mother that Bebel made her first appearance, at the age of nine,
when Miucha was sharing the stage with Stan Getz at Carnegie Hall.
Having such illustrious parents was "both an inspiration and an
obstacle. There were good sides and bad sides. It meant that from
an early age, I was growing up in an incredible musical surrounding.
It was like having a music school at home. On the negative side,
it has meant that people have preconceived ideas about me as a
musician. They are ready to compare me to other artists. That’s
hard because I’m making music for myself and for today, not for
the past."
Bebel eventually did what most people do who are trying to escape
the past: she went to America, settling in New York in 1991. "I
loved it there. I had no English, nobody knew my parents; I felt
truly free. I spent all my time going to the clubs, listening
to all the different types of music they were playing. It was
amazing! But, although I consider myself a party girl, New York
was too much even for me!" Thanks to contacts from her uncle,
Chico Buarque, Bebel began getting gigs with artists such as Arto
Lindsay, Nana Vasconcelos and David Byrne. She started tapping
into the city’s contemporary musical tendencies, experimenting
with techno DJ Towa Tei on his albums, "Sound Museum" and "Future
Listening." She also worked extensively with The Thievery Corporation
and won raves for her work on the AIDS fund-raising CD, "Red Hot
+ Rio."
But she found that as her reputation grew, and bookings increased,
more and more club owners wanted her to perform Bossa Nova exclusively.
"That was surprising to me, to find out that people got labeled
even in New York. I love that repertoire — it’s my family’s life
— but I got bored singing it all the time. I think, at the moment
at least, that the music scene in London is much more open to
experimentation and innovation than New York." Bebel figured that
if she really was going to make her own mark, she had to put out
a CD. “I always dreamed of doing it, but at the same time it always
frightened me.” The result is "Tanto Tempo" (Crammed Discs- Warner),
a record which mixes old Bossa Nova classics with original compositions,
and utilizes a nicely-layered musical structure that incorporates
elements of techno and trip-hop. So was it worth being frightened
about? She laughs. "I’m just glad the reaction has been so positive.
I was afraid people just wanted the old stuff..."
Bebel Gilberto will be performing in Paris in the Fall. Watch
out for details.
