Jorge Ben Jor: where is the new MPB darling?
The favorite songwriter of Brazilian musicians hasn't made a solo album in a long while. The awaited CD with new compositions should come out in 2001 on Universal Music
Tom Cardoso
12/01/2001
Where has Jorge Ben Jor been? Unanimously acclaimed by Brazilian musicians, from Gilberto Gil to the rap group Racionais MCs, the composer from the suburbs of Rio has been away from the spotlight ever since the release of the album Músicas Para Tocar em Elevador, three years ago. His scattered appearances along 2000 included guest performances in the latest albums by the pagode groups Só Pra Contrariar (in the track Balada da Noite 
and Art Popular (Quero Meu Dinheiro and Agamamou and in the rap group Doctor MC's disc (in O Céu é o Limite, which features a Ive Brussel sample). Not enough for someone who is recorded, re-recorded and sampled by countless MPB artists.
If copyright and royalties were a guarantee of income in Brazil, Jorge Ben Jor would be a millionaire, by now. In this country, last year alone, a dozen musicians recorded Ben's songs: Caetano Veloso (Zumbi,
Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento (Xica da Silva , Marisa Monte (Cinco Minutos), Forroçacana (Menina Mulher da Pele Preta), Maurício Manieri (País Tropical ,
Sonic Junior (O Telefone Tocou Novamente ,
Wanda Sá and Bossa Três (Zazueira ,
Mundo Livre S/A (the new Mexe Mexe and Wilson Simoninha (Mas Que Nada and Bebete Vãobora).
The assorted list of fans is not surprising, since Ben has always circulated through different MPB segments. He joined the bossa nova and jovem guarda artists, in a time when doing both things at once seemed nearly impossible. Jor was also adored by the tropicalists. He invented the samba rock and helped promoting soul and funk in Brazil, which explains why he is so dear to the rappers.
Worldwide release
Tiquinho has been a back up musician for Ben Jor for three years, and also plays the trombone for the band Funk Como Le Gusta. He reveals that Jorge might put out a new album in 2001, which hasn't occurred since 1995, when the disc Homo Sapiens was released. According to Tiquinho, a multinational label (reportedly Universal Music) is interested in establishing intense promotion of the songwriter outside of Brazil, alleging that Ben enjoys more prestige abroad than in his country. "The idea is to release the CD in The U.S., Europe and Japan", says Tiquinho.
The deal that Ben has apparently signed up caught some of his friends by surprise, for they believed that he would be starting his own label. The musician faced a lot of problems with his old label, Sony Music, and ended up breaking the contract after a few misunderstandings with Sony's artistic directors. "Músicas Pra Tocar em Elevador is an irregular album, badly recorded and produced", claims Eduardo Bidlovski, a.k.a. BiD, who produced the track Charles Jr.,
, featuring the band Nação Zumbi. "The idea was fantastic: to reunite Jorge and his guests, like Paralamas, Barão Vermelho, Skank, performing a non-obvious selection of hits. But it all went wrong".
According to BiD, the album began flopping after Marisa Monte backed off, since she was supposed to sing in two tracks. "Marisa set a date to meet Jorge in the studio, but he did not show up. As a result, to keep things smooth with her, Jorge chose not to record live with the other guests and the CD lost its magic. Each person recorded their parts and Ben completed with his voice, afterwards", recalls the producer, who does not hide his disappointment with how Charles Jr. came out. "Nação Zumbi had just lost Chico Science (the band's vocalist and main writer died in a car crash, in 1997) and Jorge Du Peixe was still a bit insecure to take over the microphone. We decided that he should record only to let Ben get used to the tempo of the song. Inexplicably, though, Ben loved Du Peixe's voice and decided to keep it as it was, without our approval".
Jorge Ben x Jorge Ben Jor
A big fan of Jorge Ben's early days, way before he would change his name to Ben Jor (in 1989), BiD has dreamed of producing an album with his idol playing only the acoustic guitar. The project, sketched along with Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr., was almost turned real, but the guys were forced to adjourn it after the currency crisis that happened in Brazil in 1999. "It's more of a fan's wish. I understand that Jorge is in a place in his life where he can do whatever he pleases", says BiD, who has already listened to some of the master's new songs. "The album was taken to different recording companies, last year. I listened to it, but few tracks raised my curiosity, among which Mexe Mexe, recorded in the latest Mundo Livre album that I produced. It sounds too close to what he has been doing for the past few years, such as W/Brazil and Alcohol. I don't see him giving up this Joe Satriani thing and going back to playing his acoustic guitar", BiD regrets.
Leandro Lehart, leader of the pagode group Art Popular, claims to have heard Ben Jor's own explanation of why he traded the acoustic for the electric guitar. "Ben told me that he made the option during a time when he was playing way too many shows and could hardly ever hear his own guitar. Then, he got used to the electric and never traded back", he says. Trio Mocotó's João Parahyba, who backed up Jorge Ben in the 60s and 70s (and should soon be releasing an album on YBrazil) is sure that the author of Mas Que Nada is going to return to his old instrument. "Even his wife, Domingas, has bugged him to do it", jokes Parahyba. "That's the side of him that everybody loves the most, both in Brazil and abroad. An album like Força Bruta (1970) is pretty hard to forget".
Wilson Simoninha, in his turn, along with his brother Max de Castro, is working on a new version of País Tropical, and reckons that this kind of discussion is foolish. "To me, whatever Jorge Ben does is fine. I like everything he did and does. He is a permanent source of good music and that's it". To which Leandro Lehart subscribes: "He can't be left out of the market, 'cause he represents too much for the music in Brazil. For a lot of people in the suburbs, he is God. Ben Jor is Tom Jobim for these people", he states.
and Art Popular (Quero Meu Dinheiro and Agamamou and in the rap group Doctor MC's disc (in O Céu é o Limite, which features a Ive Brussel sample). Not enough for someone who is recorded, re-recorded and sampled by countless MPB artists.
If copyright and royalties were a guarantee of income in Brazil, Jorge Ben Jor would be a millionaire, by now. In this country, last year alone, a dozen musicians recorded Ben's songs: Caetano Veloso (Zumbi
,
Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento (Xica da Silva , Marisa Monte (Cinco Minutos), Forroçacana (Menina Mulher da Pele Preta), Maurício Manieri (País Tropical ,
Sonic Junior (O Telefone Tocou Novamente ,
Wanda Sá and Bossa Três (Zazueira ,
Mundo Livre S/A (the new Mexe Mexe and Wilson Simoninha (Mas Que Nada and Bebete Vãobora).
The assorted list of fans is not surprising, since Ben has always circulated through different MPB segments. He joined the bossa nova and jovem guarda artists, in a time when doing both things at once seemed nearly impossible. Jor was also adored by the tropicalists. He invented the samba rock and helped promoting soul and funk in Brazil, which explains why he is so dear to the rappers.
Worldwide release
Tiquinho has been a back up musician for Ben Jor for three years, and also plays the trombone for the band Funk Como Le Gusta. He reveals that Jorge might put out a new album in 2001, which hasn't occurred since 1995, when the disc Homo Sapiens was released. According to Tiquinho, a multinational label (reportedly Universal Music) is interested in establishing intense promotion of the songwriter outside of Brazil, alleging that Ben enjoys more prestige abroad than in his country. "The idea is to release the CD in The U.S., Europe and Japan", says Tiquinho.
The deal that Ben has apparently signed up caught some of his friends by surprise, for they believed that he would be starting his own label. The musician faced a lot of problems with his old label, Sony Music, and ended up breaking the contract after a few misunderstandings with Sony's artistic directors. "Músicas Pra Tocar em Elevador is an irregular album, badly recorded and produced", claims Eduardo Bidlovski, a.k.a. BiD, who produced the track Charles Jr.
,
, featuring the band Nação Zumbi. "The idea was fantastic: to reunite Jorge and his guests, like Paralamas, Barão Vermelho, Skank, performing a non-obvious selection of hits. But it all went wrong".
According to BiD, the album began flopping after Marisa Monte backed off, since she was supposed to sing in two tracks. "Marisa set a date to meet Jorge in the studio, but he did not show up. As a result, to keep things smooth with her, Jorge chose not to record live with the other guests and the CD lost its magic. Each person recorded their parts and Ben completed with his voice, afterwards", recalls the producer, who does not hide his disappointment with how Charles Jr. came out. "Nação Zumbi had just lost Chico Science (the band's vocalist and main writer died in a car crash, in 1997) and Jorge Du Peixe was still a bit insecure to take over the microphone. We decided that he should record only to let Ben get used to the tempo of the song. Inexplicably, though, Ben loved Du Peixe's voice and decided to keep it as it was, without our approval".
Jorge Ben x Jorge Ben Jor
A big fan of Jorge Ben's early days, way before he would change his name to Ben Jor (in 1989), BiD has dreamed of producing an album with his idol playing only the acoustic guitar. The project, sketched along with Beastie Boys producer Mario Caldato Jr., was almost turned real, but the guys were forced to adjourn it after the currency crisis that happened in Brazil in 1999. "It's more of a fan's wish. I understand that Jorge is in a place in his life where he can do whatever he pleases", says BiD, who has already listened to some of the master's new songs. "The album was taken to different recording companies, last year. I listened to it, but few tracks raised my curiosity, among which Mexe Mexe, recorded in the latest Mundo Livre album that I produced. It sounds too close to what he has been doing for the past few years, such as W/Brazil and Alcohol. I don't see him giving up this Joe Satriani thing and going back to playing his acoustic guitar", BiD regrets.
Leandro Lehart, leader of the pagode group Art Popular, claims to have heard Ben Jor's own explanation of why he traded the acoustic for the electric guitar. "Ben told me that he made the option during a time when he was playing way too many shows and could hardly ever hear his own guitar. Then, he got used to the electric and never traded back", he says. Trio Mocotó's João Parahyba, who backed up Jorge Ben in the 60s and 70s (and should soon be releasing an album on YBrazil) is sure that the author of Mas Que Nada is going to return to his old instrument. "Even his wife, Domingas, has bugged him to do it", jokes Parahyba. "That's the side of him that everybody loves the most, both in Brazil and abroad. An album like Força Bruta (1970) is pretty hard to forget".
Wilson Simoninha, in his turn, along with his brother Max de Castro, is working on a new version of País Tropical, and reckons that this kind of discussion is foolish. "To me, whatever Jorge Ben does is fine. I like everything he did and does. He is a permanent source of good music and that's it". To which Leandro Lehart subscribes: "He can't be left out of the market, 'cause he represents too much for the music in Brazil. For a lot of people in the suburbs, he is God. Ben Jor is Tom Jobim for these people", he states.