From Tom Jobim to Kurt Cobain: Caetano Veloso revealed world music

Caetano Veloso has always demonstrated the side of an excellent performer, capable of selecting the pearls of the collection of popular songs of the world and transforming them, highlighting the beauty of the song — a teaching of the master João Gilberto. This ability is intensely manifested in albums dedicated to reinterpretations of foreign songs.

In 1994, Caetano released “Fina Estampa,” fulfilling an old desire. The record company suggested he record the hits in Spanish, but Caetano preferred to select Spanish-American songs that had been in his emotional memory since the 1940s and 1950s.

The result was an anthology of tangos, rumbas, boleros and guarânias, performing by Cuban, Argentinian, Mexican and other authors.

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This international attack was repeated in “A Foreign Sound” (2004). The work, born from an idea aborted during his exile in London, presents Caetano as an interpreter of Anglo-American foreign songs. Producer Bob Hurwitz insisted that Caetano was the only person capable of recording Cole Porter and Bob Dylan on the same album.

The repertoire of “A Foreign Sound” is varied, including standards by George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder, as well as a surprising inclusion of Kurt Cobain.

At the time of release, Caetano pointed out that North Americans make the best songs in the world, but he interpreted them in his own way, “inserting bossa nova and tropicália into the mix.”

Caetano’s ability to appropriate songs from other authors is one of the great assets of his discography. On the album “Qualquer Coisa” (1975), for example, he reinterprets Beatles songs, showcasing the melodic power of three songs most associated with Paul McCartney, with the softness of delicate guitar arrangements.

Whether he performed Carlos Gardel’s tango “Cuesta Abajo” in “Totalmente Demais” (1986) or the unforgettable version of “Mano a Mano” in “Circuladô Vivo” (1992), Caetano has always shown that art transcends geographic and genre boundaries. At Estilo Brasil, the public will discover Caetano’s versatility on December 11.

Buy your ticket

The Estilo Brasil Festival is presented by Banco do Brasil Estilo, sponsored by the federal government and BB Visa Cards, and owned by Metropolisesproduced by Oh! Arts.