Gilberto Gil, Royal Albert Hall: rambunctious rebel music from the 81-year-old Brazilian
The carnival came to Kensington at Brazilian Gilberto Gil’s “farewell to London” concert. The 81-year-old, who was imprisoned in his home country by the military junta in the Sixties before becoming Minister of Culture under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for five years from 2003, is one of world music’s towering figures and a cultural icon back home. Gil brought his unique blend of music – a genre he pioneered called Tropicália – to a packed Royal Albert Hall. Mixing samba with psychedelic rock and reggae, this was the most rambunctious rebel music you could imagine.
The concert marked a homecoming of sorts. Gil lived in London as an exile for three years after prison, arriving in the city the week The Beatles released Abbey Road in 1969. It was a place he “learned to love”, he told the audience after exuberant opener Expresso 2222. But he clearly relished the memories. As the evening progressed, he reminisced about eating “Jamaican food at the Mangrove”, the renowned Notting Hill café just up the road, and writing songs in Hampton Court about home. It was in the UK where he played with Pink Floyd, discovered reggae and Jimi Hendrix, and helped to organise the first Glastonbury Festival in 1971 (“He was buzzing with ideas,” according to the late Bill Harkin, who designed the pyramid stage.)
And London was present in Gil’s music, from the reggae-meets-bossa-nova version of Girl from Ipanema to the lightning-quick Hendrix-style guitar in Back in Bahia. But the energy was all Brazilian. Looking supremely relaxed – sockless in sandals, with a winningly kind smile and grey hair – Gil whipped up elaborate musical tapestries that it was impossible to sit still to.
It was a family affair too. His prodigiously talented four-piece backing band comprised his sons Bem, Jose and Jo?o and his keyboardist granddaughter Flor, whose sultry vocals on a breezy Moon River made it a highlight. While Jose’s drumming interspersed complex shuffles with satisfying pops from a wood block, Bem and Jo?o swapped bass and rhythm or lead guitar roles with alacrity. It was all bound together by Gil and his dextrous (largely) acoustic guitar. Christmases round the Gils’ gaff must be a hoot.
But the most impressive instrument on display was Gil’s voice. He used it as percussion, creating counterrhythms with a sort of proto-rap on songs such as é Luxo Só. Not bad for a man in his ninth decade. This was a no-frills show; the bare stage could at times have done with some production pizzazz to match the music. But for the last five tracks it was pure party, with everyone on their feet. Aquele Abra?o and Toda Menina Baiana heralded mass singalongs. On a wet October night, it – briefly – allowed 5,300 people to forget the miserable world outside.
No further performances