Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil

Book Description

Inadequately described as the John Lennon or the Bob Dylan of his country, Caetano Veloso has virtually personified Brazilian music for thirty-five years. Now, in his long-awaited memoir, he tells the heroic story of how, in the late sixties, he and a group of friends from the Northeastern state of Bahia created tropicalismo, the movement that shook Brazilian culture--and civic order--to its foundations and pushed a nation then on the margins of world politics and economics into the pop avant-garde.

Tropical Truth begins with a childhood in the Bahian hinterland, where Caetano (as Brazilians of all ages now call him) first heard not only the musical traditions of his own country and her Latin neighbors, but also the giants of postwar American song: Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Chet Baker, to name but a few. While teenagers in America would soon be enthralled by the primal (and commercial) beat of rock’n’roll, in Brazil it was bossa nova, that sublimely sophisticated music, that was to become the soundtrack of a generation. Inspired above all by bossa nova’s supreme master, João Gilberto, Caetano and his crew would set about creating a totally new sound. Tropicalismo would aim to “cannibalize” the extraordinary beauty and richness of Brazil’s musical past but at the same time to assimilate eclectically the most original elements of Anglo-American pop, an influence many rejected as yet another form of imperialism corrupting Brazil’s “authentic” character.

The birth of tropicalismo coincided with the wave of counterculture sweeping Western nations, but in Brazil that wave would hit the breakwaters of a brutal military junta. While supporting resistance to right-wing oppression (and the terrible social inequities it perpetuated) the tropicalistas nevertheless rejected the automatic connection to the Left and its unreflective nationalism, then the politics de rigueur of the artistic class. Their third way foresaw a Brazil open to free markets but likewise free in itself. It was a vision so subversive of both the political and musical status quo that before long Caetano faced imprisonment and was then forced into exile until the early seventies. But when he returned, it was in triumph: Brazil, no less than the state of her popular music, would never be the same.

Rich with the satisfactions of a novel, weaving the story of a country with that of its most idealistic generation, Tropical Truth recounts the odyssey of a brilliant constellation of artists: Caetano and his sister Maria Bethânia, the queen of Brazilian song; the black musical genius Gilberto Gil, Caetano's closest collaborator, with whom he was jailed and then banished; the great diva Gal Costa; the revolutionary filmmaker Glauber Rocha; the brothers de Campos, those luminaries of concrete poetry, who were among the tropicalistas’ learned mentors. Here is an unparalleled confluence of highbrow and pop, and with it the genesis of what has become one of the most wildly successful cultural exports ever produced by a nation other than the United States.
By turns erudite and playful, dreamlike and confessional, Tropical Truth is an utterly unexpected revelation of Brazil's most famous artist, one of the greatest popular composers of the past century.

Customer Reviews:

Difficult to read in English.......2006-06-30

The problem is the translation. Not knowing Portuguese though, I can only assume that Caetano writes eloquently in his native language. I base this on having watched the DVD Outros Doces Barbaros, the 25th reunion of Doces Barbaros (w/ Gil, Gal, and Bethania). Here, based on the English subtitles, he articulates his ideas very clearly.
BUT, this book is very tedious to read: long complex sentences that I suspect are a result of literal equivalencies i.e. word for word--instead of conceptual ones. I had to start the book 3 times before I could finally finish it. I am a musician who is a great admirer of Brazilian pop music and this book is a great resource and reference tool. If you can wade through the verbiage, it is a very rewarding read. All in all, kudos to Caetano. Just next time, he should hire a better translator.

The wrong writer gives us a much needed book.......2006-05-04

This is a book that needed to be written. I am disappointed both in Caetano Veloso and in the English translation, however.

First, the translation of this book is incredibly annoying because the translator randomly decides to translate the names of some works of art into English and leaves other names in the original Portuguese. For example, I was confused by references to a movie called "Land in Anguish" until I realized Caetano was talking about Glauber Rocha's movie "Terra em Transe." Who in the world knows the movie as "Land in Anguish"? In other cases, song names were left in their originial Portuguese. Why the different treatment?

Besides the unpredictable translation, I admit that I read this book with bias. I have become disappointed and bored with the artistic directions in which Caetano has travelled since the mid-1980s. He has become increasingly self-indulgent, arrogant, and at times down-right condescending and snobby in his media presence and artistic performances, especially through the 1990s.

And so much of that sense of self-importance permeates Caetano's narrative memoir of his 50 year encounter with the Brazilian music industry... first as a fan and then as a music maker. So many events, stories, people, and performances are refracted through the lense of a narrator who feels no modesty at all. What kind of narrator would brag about having great philosophical and metaphysical insights as seven year old? Caetano does. It is interesting how Caetano remembers the origin of the name "Gal Costa." Apparently it was entirely a decision arrived by Guilherme Araujo over Caetano's objections. Over Caetano's Objections? Why does Caetano even think he had the authority to object or to speak for Maria da Gra?a Penna Burgos, either then or now. It is funny that nowhere in the account of the name does Caetano once mention how Gal Costa herself felt about her stage name. Did she like it quickly or was she uncomfortable at first? We don't know. Caetano doesn't care and apparently he doesn't think we should either... although he tells us how HE feels about it... that he now likes it even though it has taken him many years to get used to it... Please!!!

My judgment of Caetano was sealed by his accounts of his marriage to and relationship with his ex-wife. "Poor girl" was all I could think as Caetano describes how reluctantly he walked down the aisle - apparently just to make his future in-laws happy - and with what veiled contempt he holds for his ex-wife and his marriage to her: he subtly calls her "naive" at one point, and never talks about her as having been an intelligent woman or an intellectual, but rather as being "attracted to the literary and artistic milieu". Caetano sums up his wife when he says that his marriage gave him a "youthful happiness of social success (to have a girlfriend!)" and then adds that his wife "Ded? was the right person for that experience." From a historian's point of view, this book - or something like it - needs to have been written. Too much of the history of Brazilian pop music and pop culture from the 1960s is about to become forgotten. BUt it was very painful to wade through Caetano's arrogant, narcissistic dirty laundry just to learn about the history of pop music in Brazil.

best if you know brazil well .......2005-11-19

I read this book in portuguese, when it first came out in Brazil, and i absolutely loved it. This book is not only about Caetano Veloso and his music. Caetano Veloso has a very unique way to see people and to write about them, and in his life he had the privilege to meet some of the most important people in Brazil's cultural scene. In his book he tells us many precious stories about Chico Buarque de Hollanda, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Paulinho da Viola and so many others. Some important moments of his life and also of Brazilian history are also told from a very personal point of view: stories of Caetano and Gil's prison and exile during brazilian dictatorship were specially moving to me. And then there are some fabulous stories about the beginnings of Caetano's carreer, how it all started. Caetano has such an insteresting point of view about everything, it's awesome to be able to get inside his mind, and that's how i felt reading his book. I actually ended up reading it twice. I think though, that this book can be better appreciated by people who really know brazilian music and culture well. Another reviewer mentioned that Caetano talks about lots of "obscure artists", but i don't think this is a true statement. He talks about very important people in brazilian culture, including writers, film directors and musicians. The people he mentions are very known in Brazil,and he also talks about important european and american artists. The people he mentions in his book are not obscure at all. Probably, if you know who he is talking about it makes for a much better reading experience. So, if you have a curious mind and are interested in art, music, and Brazil, this is certainly a wonderful book to read. And, like me, you may want to read it more than once...

An entirely Excellent Book.......2005-05-11

Despite another reviewer's shallow "Gas Attacks" about this work, this is an excellent book that depicts the realities of the revolution intertwined with the cosmos of Brazilian music. Kudos to the writer!

An unusual and fascinating memoir........2005-03-27

If one were to compare "Tropical Truth" with critical writings on Tropicália, it would seem unusual that Caetano Veloso writes more as an observer rather than a central figure in the development of an artistic movement that impacted contemporary Brazilian music. Veloso approaches the subject with remarkable erudition, surprising detachment, and subtle humor; and the result is as much a historical record as it is a meditation on the people, places and events of the time.

My only complaint would be regarding the editing. Veloso writes using long sentences--unwittingly imitating Saramago, perhaps?--and the translation could have used a bit more polish. Otherwise, it is an excellent work from an equally excellent artist.

Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music

Average customer rating:

Essential !
Skewed perspective on the avante garde
good info and stories--could do without the rhetoric

Black Nationalism and the Revolution in Music
Frank Kofsky
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0873481291

Customer Reviews:

Essential !.......2004-02-20

Kofsky has filled a serious gap in Jazz criticism with this exciting book. This book helps understand some of the processes that took place in Jazz since the 40's, with an emphasis on the sixties.

The book never pretends to be "purely objective", as if there is such a thing. Kofsky holds Marxist views and is not ashamed to express them. He does not say that the musicians he discusses necessarily share his views, but he does try to prove that their condition validates his theories.

Kofsky is furious at those who control the business of jazz for preventing some the most creative artists from getting the exposure they deserve. He believes that the creative forces in jazz have always responded to the oppression blacks, and especially black musicians, have had to endure. He criticizing jazz critics for ignoring the social aspects of the music and for being unable to understand some of the basic processes in Jazz. He credits Amiri Baraka for his valuable contribution to the understanding of the music.

The book is never a substitute for the music itself - no book ever is. Still, I am now reading it for the second time, appreciating it even more, and finding new insights into the art of some of my favorite musicians.

Skewed perspective on the avante garde.......2000-02-05

Let's give Kofsky some credit for writing this book. There were then (mid-'60s) and are now precious few serious analyses of avant garde jazz. Kofsky's book is nothing if not serious, and therein lies one of its many flaws. Its overbearing, scholarly tone draws all the passion out of the music, thereby defeating its presumed purpose: to draw attention to great American music.

A more serious defect is its avowedly Marxist analysis. Kofsky is so intent on advancing his thesis -- that black musicians and their music were being strangled in the '60s by a capitalist economy -- that he neglects to listen to his own sources, most notably John Coltrane, who refuse to confirm his thesis, no matter how many leading questions Kofsky asks.

Speaking of Coltrane, Kofsky's adamant love for the great musician permeates nearly every sentence in the book. Unfortunately, in focusing so intently on Coltrane's contributions -- which were undeniable -- he slights egregiously numerous other major contributors to the music of the era. For example, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman get rather short shrift from Kofsky. This shortcoming is worsened by Kofsky's corresponding attention to lesser lights such as Archie Shepp and Albert Ayler: good musicians, but not deserving, in my opinion, of extended analysis.

Worst of all, Kofsky treats the avant garde as if it existed in a vacuum. After all, the mid-'60s abounded with terrific players and composers who may not have satisfied Kofsky's radical litmus test, but who contributed mightily to the big universe that is jazz: Joe Henderson, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Roland Kirk, Lee Morgan...Charles Mingus, for crying out loud! (By the way, don't look for Miles Davis's name very often in the book either.)

There's a rule of thumb that every freshman composition student worth his or her salt learns: never let your thesis get in the way of gathering evidence. Kofsky's book is a classic of deductive reasoning gone bad: he formulated his thesis and then let nothing, and I mean nothing, get in the way of proving it.

good info and stories--could do without the rhetoric.......1999-01-15

Several great first person stories about some of the new Jazz greats--esp. Coltrane. Personally I am sympathetic with the politics of the book, but the language seems very stilted and dated at times. Great critique of the white dominated music business and critical intillectual snobbery.

John Coltrane and the Jazz Revolution of the 1960's

Average customer rating:

Well-intentioned but misdirected
Required reading for an understanding of...
Read, study and be inspired!
The Politics of Jazz
A powerful but frustrating read

John Coltrane and the Jazz Revolution of the 1960's
KOFSKY
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Press (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0873488571

Book Description

John Coltrane's role in spearheading innovations in jazz that were an expression of the new cultural and political ferment that marked the rise of the mass struggle for Black rights.

Customer Reviews:

Well-intentioned but misdirected.......2003-04-16

Kofsky's effort in this book is to tie the avant-garde jazz music that emerged in the sixties to the politics of black nationalism that were boiling up at the same time. His essential thesis is that jazz is an African American art form that is and always has been by its very nature a form of protest against the physical and ideological shackles placed on black people by an oppressive society. He asserts that the musical freedom that black jazz artists searched for in the '60s went hand-in-hand with the efforts of Malcolm X and others to create a new, Afrocentric society that would presumably free black people to nurture their cultural identity.

As the title suggests, Kofsky saw John Coltrane as the key figure in this movement. He is unstinting in his praise of Coltrane's music, so much so that even I, a hard-core fan of Trane's for more than 30 years, found myself yearning for a more leavened approach. Kofsky certainly knows Coltrane's music well. But he makes, in my opinion, a fatal error in investing that music with a political consciousness and aim that Coltrane himself never professed. In fact, in an interview included in the book that Kofsky conducted with the saxophonist, he (Coltrane) makes clear that he does not subscribe to Kofsky's thesis, despite the writer's repeated attempts to put words in his mouth. Some years ago, I secured a tape of this interview, and it's startling to hear how insistent Kofsky becomes in attempting to lead his subject where he clearly doesn't want to go.

Another key weakness of the book is that it gives short shrift to so many fine musicians of the period. Charles Mingus, for example, a key influence on the avant-garde, is barely mentioned. If you read the book and had never heard of Miles Davis, you'd come away thinking that he was just another planet circling the Coltrane star instead of one of the formative influences on the saxophonist himself. And of course solid and influential musicians who made incremental contributions to the music -- Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Lee Morgan, Jaki Byard, Herbie Hancock (the list could go on and on) -- receive nary a word. Meanwhile, Archie Shepp is lionized, first and foremost because of his radical politics.

Lest anyone think I'm taking a shot at Archie, I hasten to add that I think he's made a number of fine albums, and I own quite a few of them. The point is that one realizes early on that Kofsky is less interested in understanding the creative process and analyzing the relative musical merits of jazz musicians than he is in developing a social critique and applying his political litmus tests to the musicians of the era. Viewed in this light, the book is not very informative. A long critique of the "cockroach capitalism" practiced by jazz club owners 40 years ago doesn't carry much weight today. And alas, the socialist revolution that Kofsky proclaimed was imminent has somehow failed to come to pass, yet jazz has endured. Is there a lesson there?

In the end, Kofsky manages to minimize the artistry of the musicians and make them appear to be guided inexorably by Marxist ideology. That's pretty flimsy and it certainly in my mind is a disservice to the many great musicians of the '60s who could never be pinned down to one influence. In fact, their stubborn resistance to being pinned down, and to be endlessly open to new ideas, is precisely what made them jazz musicians.

For a much better insight into the life of the jazz musician, I would suggest A.B. Spellman's "Four Lives in the Bebop Business," and for a balanced analysis of Coltrane's music, Eric Nisenson's "Ascension."

Required reading for an understanding of..........2003-01-10

sixties jazz culture. I'm not going to add much to the above reviews as there's already a pretty good balance of opinion, and a lot depends on how you wish to view things. Understand that there was a great political undercurrent to the music at that time and many of the struggles as depicted here paved the way for the opportunities that are available to jazz musicians today. If you can get your hands on it - better still if someone could reprint it - try to find Rob Backus' 'Fire Music - A Political History of Jazz' and AB Spellman's wonderful 'Four Lives in the Bebop Business.' There's a lot more to the music than just the music, and I believe that a fuller understanding makes the listening that much more enjoyable.

Read, study and be inspired!.......2002-04-17

Although I am not particularly familiar with jazz, I found this book a fascinating.

Kofsky's work takes on the white-owned big-business music establishment, debunking their myths and prejudices. He explains the evolution of jazz in the context of the changing social conditions of Afro-Americans-- not least of which are the social struggles they waged, from the battles to unionize industry in the 1930s to the civil rights and Black power movements of the 1960s. He details the use and abuse of human beings-- the actual musicians-- by the recording industry and club owners in their relentless pursuit of profits from the labor of others.

Kofsky has extensive chapters on the rhythms and other musical innovations of Coltrane and those he worked with, material I found particularly challenging to work through, but which help to understand the real, complex questions Coltrane took on as an artist and why his contributions were so important and inspiring to others. Of particular interest is his discussion of the interrelations between Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Elvin Jones and other artists-- of the collective social process that makes artistic creation possible.

The Politics of Jazz.......2002-04-11

There are a lot of books on jazz and plenty on the subject of Black liberation. What makes this book special is how it combines a serious musical analysis of jazz-as in the chapter on Elvin Jones' drumming-with an understanding of the social and political dimensions of the music-as in the piece on jazz as a weapon of the Cold War. Kofsky takes on a range of music critics to argue the case for considering jazz as distinctively Black music. And he shows how John Coltrane and his collaborators had to fight to maintain their musical integrity in a business dominated by white critics, promoters, club owners and the like. Occasionally, the book reads like a personal vendetta by Kofsky against particular jazz critics, which is distracting. But for anyone who wants to understand better the connections between jazz music and the politics of the 1960s, this is a very useful book.

A powerful but frustrating read.......2001-11-16

This is an essential book for Coltrane lovers, especially because of the interviews with Coltrane, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones. As for the rest of the book, it is at times illuminating but too often frustrating. Kofsky's dogmatic Marxism does not help his overall points about the role of racial issues in the Jazz revolution. His anecdotes about the musicians are great, but his analyses of them are too one-sided. He doesn't consider the possibility that for some of them, the revolution was more about art than politics (not that the two can't be related). The interviews with Tyner and Jones show this as well -- Kofsky keeps trying to get them to say that their artistic decisions were politically motivated, but this doesn't seem to be the case.

Book Description

Born of African rhythms, the spiritual "call and response," and other American musical traditions, jazz was by the 1920s the dominant influence on this country's popular music. Writers of the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Zora Neale Hurston) and the "Lost Generation"
(Malcolm Cowley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein), along with many other Americans celebrated it--both as an expression of black culture and as a symbol of rebellion against American society. But an equal number railed against it. Whites were shocked by its raw emotion and sexuality, and
blacks considered it "devil's music" and criticized it for casting a negative light on the black community.
In this illuminating work, Kathy Ogren places this controversy in the social and cultural context of 1920s America and sheds new light on jazz's impact on the nation as she traces its dissemination from the honky-tonks of New Orleans, New York, and Chicago, to the clubs and cabarets of such
places as Kansas City and Los Angeles, and further to the airwaves. Ogren argues that certain characteristics of jazz, notably the participatory nature of the music, its unusual rhythms and emphasis, gave it a special resonance for a society undergoing rapid change. Those who resisted the changes
criticized the new music; those who accepted them embraced jazz. In the words of conductor Leopold Stowkowski, "Jazz [had] come to stay because it [was] an expression of the times, of the breathless, energetic, superactive times in which we [were] living, it [was] useless to fight against it."
Numerous other factors contributed to the growth of jazz as a popular music during the 1920s. The closing of the Storyville section of New Orleans in 1917 was a signal to many jazz greats to move north and west in search of new homes for their music. Ogren follows them to such places as
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, and, using the musicians' own words as often as possible, tells of their experiences in the clubs and cabarets. Prohibition, ushered in by the Volstead Act of 1919, sent people out in droves to gang-controlled speak-easies, many of which provided jazz
entertainment. And the 1920s economic boom, which made music readily available through radio and the phonograph record, created an even larger audience for the new music. But Ogren maintains that jazz itself, through its syncopated beat, improvisation, and blue tonalities, spoke to millions.
Based on print media, secondary sources, biographies and autobiographies, and making extensive use of oral histories, The Jazz Revolution offers provocative insights into both early jazz and American culture.

Dizzy Gillespie and the Be-Bop Revolution

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Dizzy Gillespie and the Be-Bop Revolution
Raymond Horricks
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0882549081

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Jazz in Revolution
John Dankworth
Manufacturer: Constable and Robinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0094775702

Book Description

One of the most acclaimed British jazz musicians of all time, John Dankworth worked with and befriended many of the all time greats, including Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Corea, Benny Goodman, and Nat "King" Cole. A performer, composer, arranger, and conductor, Dankworth still plays to packed audiences around the world, and his life has spanned virtually the entire history of jazz. Jazz in Revolution is his story—a flood of memory, anecdote, and encounter. With total candor, Dankworth's reminiscences range from the purchase of his first, somewhat suspect, clarinet to his triumphant American concerts with his wife, Dame Cleo Laine. A delightful memoir and a fascinating insight into the talented figures who left an indelible mark on jazz's first century.

The King of All, Sir Duke Ellington and the Artistic Revolution: Ellington and the Artistic Revolution

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The King of All, Sir Duke Ellington and the Artistic Revolution: Ellington and the Artistic Revolution
Peter Lavezzoli
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0826413285

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The rock revolution
Arnold Shaw
Manufacturer: Paperback Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Benchmark Biographies (No 2): Rough Riding Reformer,Heroic Sioux Warrior, Partner in Revolution, Jazz Is the Word

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Benchmark Biographies (No 2): Rough Riding Reformer,Heroic Sioux Warrior, Partner in Revolution, Jazz Is the Word
Sue Muller Hacking
Manufacturer: Benchmark Books (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0761405186

Funky;: The advance guard of the Black revolution encapsulated in a word (Americanisms; content and continuum)

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Funky;: The advance guard of the Black revolution encapsulated in a word (Americanisms; content and continuum)
Peter Tamony
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007HGZNM

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