Gil Luminoso

Throughout his four-decades-plus career as one of Brazil's most popular singers, Gilberto Gil has restlessly sought new avenues of expression, from the heady and fiery psychedelic Tropicalia of the '60s to his 2002 album of Bob Marley covers, Kaya N'Gan Daya. But there was one thing Gil had never attempted until now, an album spotlighting nothing but his voice and guitar. Gil Luminoso is, by its very nature, one of the most intimate recordings he has ever made and, not surprisingly, one of the loveliest and most moving. Gil's tender, placid voice and understated guitar work project much warmth and soulfulness, and despite the lack of accompaniment it's as whole as any music he's made before. Gil, Brazil's Minister of Culture at the time of this recording, reached into his considerable songbook for 15 songs that would be apropos for solo presentation, and chose material from as far back as the late '60s: romantic, spiritual, political, philosophical. It's quintessential Gil, at his finest, sans help. This CD was nominated for a Grammy award in 2007 for Best Contemporary World Music Album.