Jorge Ben by no means fairly match any of the Brazilian music traits of the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies. He was associates with seemingly everybody, although: Ben was a celebrated visitor on Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil’s avant-garde TV present Divino Maravilhoso. Across the similar time, he additionally appeared on O Fino da Bossa, offered by Elis Regina and Jair Rodrigues, which catered to a extra MPB-oriented viewers.
With 1974’s A Tábua de Esmeralda, Ben actually and figuratively mixed all of his pursuits into certainly one of Brazilian music’s most beloved albums. Closely influenced by the brand new wave of mysticism that was taking Brazilian music by storm (Raul Seixas’ Krig-Ha, Bandolo! and Tim Maia’s Racional Vols. 1 & 2 are different nice examples), A Tábua de Esmeralda drew inspiration from the world of hermeticism and alchemy, particularly the work of Nicolas Flamel: “I have much respect for the work of an alchemist,” Ben declared on the time of the album’s launch, “because he dedicates his life to studying and researching with unparalleled faith and perseverance.” Although Ben would later confess that his makes an attempt at deciphering historic texts might need resulted in lower than correct interpretations, his fascination with this universe could be noticed not solely within the album’s lyrics but additionally in its cowl, which was assembled from pictures present in a e book by Flamel.
Hearken to Jorge Ben’s A Tábua de Esmeralda now.
Jorge Ben’s flirting with the esoteric isn’t the album’s sole theme. His Afro-Brazilian id, which had already taken center-stage in a lot of his earlier compositions (“Negro É Lindo,” “Cassius Marcello Clay,” “Crioula”), can also be represented in A Tábua de Esmeralda, notably by way of the tune “Zumbi.” A direct reference to settlement chief Zumbi dos Palmares, the tune options quite a few allusions to colonialism and slavery, using robust visible motifs (“white cotton” picked by “black hands”) and geographical name-dropping (“Angola, Congo, Benguela”) to assemble a vivid image.
A Tábua de Esmeralda’s lyrical experimentation, allegorical references, and modern strategy to samba-rock are all causes that the album stays certainly one of Ben’s finest. The document additionally showcases a novel sensibility when it comes to id efficiency, prompting journalist Tiago Ferreira to call Jorge Ben “the most Brazilian of all musicians” whereas describing the album as “alchemist-samba.” Certainly, A Tábua de Esmeralda performed an essential ideological function in Black Rio, a motion usually considered the Brazilian response to Black Energy.
Rating sixth on Rolling Stone Brazil‘s list of the Best Brazilian Albums of All Time, A Tábua de Esmeralda‘s enduring legacy and pioneering contribution to Brazilian music are perhaps best summarized by Aramis Millarch’s 1974 evaluate of the album: “Very few artists managed not to follow any pop music trend, letting music trends follow them instead. [This record] demonstrates the extent and the integrity that Jorge Ben has managed to achieve with his work.” Or, as journalist Maris Clara Silva as soon as put it, this album is forty minutes of “peace, joy, and brotherhood.”
Hearken to Jorge Ben’s A Tábua de Esmeralda now.
