Antônio José Santana Martins (born 11 October 1936), known professionally as Tom Zé (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil. After the peak of the Tropicália period, Zé went into relative obscurity: it was only in the 1990s, when musician and

Luaka Bop Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his fri ...

label head

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

discovered Zé's 1975 album ''Estudando o Samba'' and then released reissues of his work, that Zé returned to performing and releasing new material.

Early life and career

Tom Zé grew up in the small town of Irará, Bahia in the dry

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...

region of the country's Northeast. He would later claim that his hometown was "pre- Gutenbergian", as information was primarily transferred through oral communication. As a child, he was influenced by Brazilian musicians such as Luiz Gonzaga and

Jackson do Pandeiro José Gomes Filho (August 31, 1919 – July 10, 1982), more commonly known as Jackson do Pandeiro (), was a Brazilian percussionist and singer. He is described by Allmusic as a key promotor of Northeastern Brazilian music (along with Luiz Gonz ...

. Zé became interested in music by listening to the radio, and moved to the state capital of

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

to pursue a degree. He later relocated to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

and began his career in popular music there.

Career

Much of his early work involved his wry impressions of the massive

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

, coming as he did, from a small town in the relatively poor northeast. Influential in the Tropicália movement, Zé contributed, along with

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of popular music. She was one of the main figures of the tro ...

Os Mutantes Os Mutantes (meaning '' the mutants''; ) are an influential Brazilian rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement, a dissident musical movement during the Brazilian dictatorship of the late 1960s. The band is considered to be one ...

, and

Nara Leão Nara Lofego Leão (; January 19, 1942 – June 7, 1989) was a Brazilian bossa nova and MPB (popular Brazilian music) singer and occasional actress. Her husband was Carlos Diegues, director and writer of '' Bye Bye Brasil''. Life Leão was bor ...

, to the watershed Tropicália album/

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

'' Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses'' (1968). He also participated in a series of concerts with the musicians. After the

Brazilian military government The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...

of the 1960s began to crack down on the musicians of Tropicália, Zé moved out of the public eye and began to experiment with novel instruments and composition styles. While the other major figures of Tropicália would go on to great commercial and critical success in later decades, Zé slipped into obscurity in the 1970s and 1980s.

Re-emergence

In the early 1990s, Zé's work experienced a revival when American musician

discovered one of his albums, ''Estudando o Samba'' (1975), on a visit to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. Zé was the first artist signed to the

label and has so far released a compilation and two albums, all of which received positive reviews from critics in the United States. In 2011, he collaborated with

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the ...

on the song "Ogodô, Ano 2000" for the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

's most recent charitable album ''Red Hot+Rio 2''. The album is a follow-up to the 1996 ''

Red Hot + Rio ''Red Hot + Rio'' is a compilation album produced by Béco Dranoff and Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the bossa nova sound, especially the mus ...

''. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS, HIV and related health and social issues.

Style

Remaining true to the

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

and

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

impulses of Tropicália, Zé has been noted for both his unorthodox approach to

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

and

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

, employing various objects as instruments such as the

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

. He has collaborated with many of the concrete poets of São Paulo, including

Augusto de Campos Augusto de Campos (born 14 February 1931, São Paulo) is a Brazilian writer who (with his brother Haroldo de Campos) was a founder of the Concrete poetry movement in Brazil. He is also a translator, music critic and visual artist. Work In 19 ...

, and employed concrete techniques in his lyrics. Musically, his work appropriates

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

Bossa Nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovat ...

, Brazilian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, ''

forró The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...

'', and American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, among others. He has been praised by

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

composers for his use of dissonance,

polytonality Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key ...

, and unusual

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

s. Because of the experimental nature of many of his compositions, Zé has been compared with American musicians such as

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...

and

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

. One of his last efforts, though, has been a return to Bossa Nova, his ''Estudando a Bossa – Nordeste Plaza''. Says Zé: "That music has inhabited my psyche for 50 to 60 years. Familiar and profound, yet somehow extraterrestrial in my mind. It had to come out, to be dealt with."

Discography

*1968: ''Grande Liquidação'' *1970: ''Tom Zé (album) *1972: ''Se o Caso É Chorar'' *1973: ''Todos os Olhos'' *1976: '' Estudando o Samba'' *1978: ''Correio da Estação do Brás'' *1984: ''Nave Maria'' *1990: '' Brazil Classics, Vol. 4: The Best of Tom Zé - Massive Hits'' (Compilation) *1992: '' Brazil Classics, Vol. 5: The Hips of Tradition'' *1997: ''Parabelo'' (with Zé Miguel Wisnik) *1998: '' Com Defeito de Fabricação'' *1999: '' Postmodern Platos'' *1999: ''20 Preferidas'' (Compilation) *2000: ''Série Dois Momentos'' (vols. 1, 2, and 15) (Compilation) *2000: ''Jogos de Armar'' *2002: ''Santagustin'' (with Gilberto Assis) *2003: ''Imprensa Cantada'' *2005: '' Estudando o Pagode – Na Opereta Segregamulher e Amor'' *2006: ''Danç-Êh-Sá'' *2008: ''Danç-Êh-Sá Ao Vivo'' (live) *2008: ''Estudando a Bossa – Nordeste Plaza'' *2009: ''O Pirulito Da Ciência – Tom Zé & Banda Ao Vivo'' *2010: ''Studies of Tom Zé: Explaining Things So I Can Confuse You'' *2012: ''Tropicália Lixo Lógico'' *2014: ''Vira Lata na Via Láctea'' *2016: ''Canções Eróticas de Ninar'' *2017: ''Sem Você Não A'' *2022: ''Língua Brasileira''

References

External links

Official site

on the Luaka Bop label website

on Slipcue.com
Tom Zé interview
on ArtistInterviews.eu
Biography
on allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ze, Tom 1936 births Living people Brazilian people of Portuguese descent 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers People from Bahia Música Popular Brasileira musicians Brazilian multi-instrumentalists Luaka Bop artists Tropicália Latin music songwriters 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers