Jorge Ben Jor (formerly Jorge Ben up until the late 80s) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist. One of the most important Brazilian composers and performers to appear in the 1960s, Jorge Ben Jor would prove to be successful with blending Afro-Brazilian Samba with Afro-American funk music.
Born Jorge Duilio Lima Menezes in the Rio Comprido borough of Rio de Janeiro, he lived in poverty and would only learn how to play an instrument at age 13, playing the pandeiro (basically, a Brazilian tambourine) in the blocos (Brazilian street bands) of Carnaval and began singing at his local church choir. At 16, he was already a member of the Matoso's Gang, a group made up of a bunch of friends who would later become famous musicians in their own rite, such as Erasmo Carlos, Robeto Carlos and Tim Maia and by 18, he had been playing guitar. He had influences from Brazilian and American music, Samba and Bossa Nova from João Gilberto's guitar and also by the rock form Little Richard and Ronnie Self, became known by the nickname "Babulina", in reference to "Bop-A-Lena, a rockabilly by Ronnie Self (Tim Maia also had the same nickname).
Soon, Ben started his musical career in 1961, as a pandeiro player with the Copa Trio, led by organist Zé Maria. He performed his early songs at Beco das Garrafas, one of the few places in Rio at the time that featured Brazilian jazz and bossa nova. Simultaneously, he was a rock singer at the Plaza nightclub (noted for putting on artists such as Johnny Alf
, pioneer of bossa nova). Although his sound would put him at odds with the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its fleet, airy sound and elaborate lyricism. In 1963, he had two of his songs recorded, "Mas, Que Nada" and "Por Causa de Você", which he interpreted on Zé Maria's Tudo Azul, it would be followed by an invitation from the Philips label to record his own single with the same songs, with backing from the samba jazz band Copa Cinco. The label's gamble proved a success at radio and on store shelves. The same year, they issued his debut album, Samba Esquema Novo. It would prove immensely popular, receiving great acclaim with the track "Mas, Que Nada" becoming popular outside of his native Brazil with musicians as varied as Dizzy Gillespie to Klaus Wunderlich covering and re-interpreting it.
This would lead his label to attempt to capitalize on the success with immediate follow-up albums. The label would soon pressure Ben to hastily record songs imitative of his debut, along with cover songs, resulting in the three albums within the span of 18 months. This would make him leave the label after his 1965 album Big Ben. In the late 60s and early 70s, Ben would become affiliated with the multidisciplinary Tropicália movement. With the backing band Trio Mocotó, his albums would experiment more with psychedelia and become more concerned with topics as varied as Afro-Brazilian identity, women and football.
He performed in two programs, at Jovem Guarda and O Fino da Bossa, the latter closer to traditional Brazilian music, at Jovem Guarda, he had his friends Roberto and Erasmo, even composing with Erasmo what they called "Jovem Samba" (Young Samba), a fusion of samba and rock.
Into the mid-70s, his work would become even more experimental, as on records such as A Tábua de Esmeralda and Solta o Pavão he would further entrench his sound with psychedelic influence and his lyricism would become enraptured by western esotericism (particularly Hermeticism). The following year, he released one of his most popular albums, África Brasil, a fusion of funk and samba which relied more on the electric guitar than previous efforts. This album also features a remake of a previously released song called "Taj Mahal". Which became somewhat infamous after its melody found its way onto Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy", leading to a plagiarism suit filed by Jorge.
In 1989, he would change his artistic name to Jorge Ben Jor, a move thought to have been made either because of his move to Warner. Or in response to an incident where some of his royalties accidentally went to African-American jazz and R&B guitarist George Benson. In 1991, his "W/Brasil (Chama o Síndico)" (a tribute to musician and friend Tim Maia) became a big dancefloor hit in Britain and in Europe as a new generation of young people discovered his work. And in November 1997, he was paid tribute to by 12 artists including Fernanda Abreu, Carlinhos Brown, Os Paralamas do Sucesso, Skank, and Skowa on Músicas Para Tocar em Elevador. Soon later in the 2000s, Ben would come back to recording with the records, Reactivus amor est (Turba Philosophorum) and Recuerdos de Asunción 443.
Considered one of the founders of samba rock (although I don't like the name samba rock, although I have no problems with samba pop), his music continues to be covered and rediscovered by younger generations and is still considered to be one of the most diverse musicians to come out of Brazil.
Discography
- Samba Esquema Novo (1963)
- Ben é Samba Bom (1964)
- Sacundin Ben Samba (1964)
- Big Ben (1965)
- O Bidú: Silêncio no Brooklin (1967)
- Jorge Ben (1969)
- Fôrça Bruta (1970)
- Negro é Lindo (1972)
- On Stage (live album) (1972)
- Ben (1972)
- 10 Anos Depois (1973)
- A Tábua de Esmeralda (1974)
- Solta o Pavão (1975)
- Jorge Ben à l'Olympia (live album) (1975)
- Ogum, Xangô (with Gilberto Gil as Gil e Jorge) (1975)
- África Brasil (1976)
- Tropical (1977)
- A Banda do Zé Pretinho (1978)
- Salve simpatia (1979)
- Alô, Alô, Como Vai? (1980)
- Bem Vinda Amizade (1981)
- Dádiva (1983)
- Sonsual (1984)
- Jorge Ben Brasil (1986)
- Ben Jor (1989)
- Live in Rio (live album) (1992)
- 23 (1994)
- Homo sapiens (1995)
- Musicas Para Tocar Em Elevador (tribute album) (1997)
- Reactivus amor est (Turba Philosophorum) (2004)
- Recuerdos de Asunción 443 (2007)
Notable Songs:
- "Mas Que Nada"
- "Chove Chuva"
- "Ive Brussel"
- "Balança Pema"
- "Crioula"
- "País Tropical"
- "Take It Easy My Brother Charles"
- "Charles, Anjo 45"
- "Oba, Lá Vem Ela"
- "Charles Jr."
- "Comanche"
- "Taj Mahal"
- "Os Alquimistas Estão Chegando os Alquimistas"
- "Zumbi"
- "Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)"
Tropes:
- Football Fight Song: "Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)", "Camisa 10 da Gávea", "Fio Maravilha", among others.
- Genre Mashup: He merged samba with rock, soul, funk, after all, everything's better with samba.
- Older Than They Look: The year of his birth is usually a reason for discussion, when alive, Tim Maia said he was older than he said.
- One-Woman Song: "Xica da Silva", "Cadê Tereza", "Domingas", "Domênica Domingava Num Domingo Toda De Branco", "Bebete Vãobora", "Carolina Carol Bela", among others.
- The Power of Rock: Several of his songs talk about the samba, since one of his first songs, "Mas Que Nada".
