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Jorge Ben Jor

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Wikimp3 information about the music of Jorge Ben Jor. On our website we have 45 albums and 59 collections of artist Jorge Ben Jor. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist.

Biography

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While many of the performers during the heyday of Tropicalia and the rise of MPB (música popular brasileira) opted for a more radical stance in their challenge to Brazil's political and cultural authorities, artists like Jorge Ben took a more understated approach. Rather than use overly theatrical performance to shock the audience or write songs loaded with political content, Ben became known as one of the country's great musical alchemists, a furiously eclectic songwriter who combined elements of indigenous Brazilian music with a groove from the west coast of Africa. Never a controversial figure in the manner of the tropicalistas like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Ben became one of the most respected and resilient figures in Brazilian pop.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1940, Ben took up bossa nova guitar playing after hearing João Gilberto but found the style too complex to execute. This led to his developing his own approach to the bossa nova that focused on playing the guitar as one would a bass — his early recordings are in fact bass-less. His first big hit as a singer/songwriter came at the age of 23 with "Mas, Que Nada." The song's subtle bossa nova groove proved so seductive that it was quickly covered by a number of Brazilian artists, most successfully by Sergio Mendes. During the military dictatorship's cultural crackdown in the late '60s Ben, whose music wasn't scrutinized as rigorously as that of tropicalistas like Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, was able to perform without too much trouble into the early '70s. Still, he felt the long arm of Brazilian censorship when a 1971 performance was stopped in midsong because censors felt as though Ben's backup singers were dancing too suggestively.

It was from the late '60s to mid-'70s that Ben established himself as a songwriting force within Brazil. Over the next ten to 15 years he expanded his reach, with varying success, to Europe and America (he's more popular in Europe than America). In 1989 he released the album Benjor, simultaneously announcing that he was changing his last name to Benjor. During that same time period Ben realized his dream of working with prominent African musicians when he collaborated with Nigeria's King Sunny Ade, and also was represented on an anthology of Brazilian music compiled by former Talking Head David Byrne. Although not as politically radical as many of his contemporaries, Ben proved that in certain contexts and under unusually repressive restraint, music takes on a radical political dimension.

Title: Hidden Insights

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Bird Of Prey

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Sonsual

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Switch Off

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Be With Me

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Sexy Lady

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Jazz

Title: The Plan

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Look At

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Fellow

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Silhouettes

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: Salve Jorge

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Popular Culture

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Colorful Fruit

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Rosa, Menina Rosa

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Title: Leopard Lady

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: World Music

Title: In The Middle

Artist: Jorge Ben Jor

Genre: Latin

Collections

Title: Samba Rock, Vol. 1

Genre: Latin

Title: Red Hot + Riot

Genre: Jazz

Title: Chill Brazil Sun

Genre: Latin, Pop

Title: Top MPB

Genre: Latin, Pop, Bossanova

Title: Carnaval MPB

Genre: Latin, Bossanova

Title: MPB Vibes

Genre: Latin, Bossanova

Title: Baladas MPB

Genre: Latin, Pop

Title: Nação MPB

Genre: Pop, Bossanova

Title: Jazz Bar 2023

Genre: Jazz

Featuring albums

Title: Pir Lim Pim Pim

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Sambabook (CD1)

Artist: Zeca Pagodinho

Genre: Samba, Latin

Title: Balança Pema

Artist: Jorge Ben

Genre: Latin

Title: Vem, Morena, Vem

Artist: Jorge Ben

Genre: Latin

Title: Tim, Dom, Dom

Artist: Jorge Ben

Genre: Latin

Title: Rosa, Menina Rosa

Artist: Jorge Ben

Genre: Latin

Title: A Tamba

Artist: Jorge Ben

Genre: Latin

Title: Rio Soul

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: World Music

Title: Rio Hits

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: World Music

Title: Latin Pop Fun

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Brazil 80s

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Brazil Pop Stars

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Vozes do Brasil

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Sentimento Black

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin

Title: Pop up Brasil

Artist: Various Artists

Genre: Latin