Marisa Monte

一直以来，巴西为我们带来许多迷人的歌声，Elis Regina、Maria Creuza、Maria Bethania、Gal Costa等传奇女伶皆是来自这个迷人的国度，而玛莉萨蒙特Marisa Monte则是少数几个能够同时游走多种不同风格的实力派唱将。玛莉萨蒙特被誉为「当今巴西流行乐坛的缪斯女神」，只要有她公开演唱的场合，总是挤满一望无际的壮大人潮。她是当代流行天后，却不时深掘巴西音乐的传统与根源，也是Arto Lindsay、阪本龙一、John Zorn及Nana Vasconcelos等世界一流乐手争相合作的对象。1967，玛莉萨蒙特出生于巴西里约热内卢，由于父亲的关系，她14岁起就开始接受十分专业严格的音乐训练，不论是歌唱、吉他或是打击乐器都包含在内。19岁时她前往意大利罗马学习古典声乐，同时她不时受邀与Djavan、Gilberto Gil、 Caetano Veloso与Milton Nascimento等巴西巨星同台献唱。当她回到巴西后，她先是靠着小型演出累积知名度，于1989正式发表首张同名专辑，一鸣惊人的她一跃成为当地最受瞩目的明日之星。此后，她每次发行新专辑作品时，都能够缔造话题与惊人的销售纪录，她不仅赋予巴西流行音乐更深刻的内涵，亦被国际专业音乐媒体公认是巴西当代乐坛的第一流行天后。玛莉萨不论到哪里进行演出，都能够成功引起当地听众对巴西音乐的好奇心，而她所创造的「玛莉萨蒙特效应」更早已席卷世界各地。
　　本张以CD+DVD型式问市的《Infinito Ao Meu Redor》，不仅是玛莉萨用来回顾个人歌唱事业的重要发行，也提供全球乐迷一个难得的机会，近距离接触这位巴西天后的过去与现在。其中DVD总共分成纪录片与现场演出纪实两部份，在同名纪录片中，玛莉萨利用超过一个小时的时间，以第一人称旁白细数40年来的人生际遇与重要音乐成就，回顾她如何从一个没没无闻的女歌手，成为一个足迹踏遍世界各地，并为无数听众带来感动的巴西天后。其中除了穿插精采的现场演出片段，还由她亲自为大家揭开音乐工业的神秘面纱，纪录她如何在音乐创作之外，面对专辑发行、媒体采访、巡回演出、唱片工业危机等众多议题。而最让人着迷的，则莫过于她与其它音乐人的真诚友谊与互动，本片完整纪录巡回演出前的众多筹备工作，历时整整18个月，行程遍及五大洲17个国家，共计140多场演场会，超过75万名观众共襄盛举。藉此我们不难发现玛莉萨对音乐与美学的独特坚持，然而一切的努力，最后也全都转化为舞台下热烈的掌声与如痴如醉的欢呼。而除了追加收录部份现场演出完整片段，本张作品还内含收录九首经典曲目的Live CD。不论你纯粹只想享受动人的音乐，或是想更进一步窥探当今音乐工业的运作模式，本张作品都是你千万不容错过的优质选择。
by Jason Birchmeier
The most acclaimed female vocalist to arise in Brazil during the 1990s, Marisa Monte is known best for her exquisite voice as well as her international popularity, yet shes also accomplished in other realms such as songwriting, production, and collaboration. Monte first rose to acclaim in 1989, when her debut album — a live theatrical performance incorporating an eclectic array of songs, past and present — became a sensation in Brazil. It was her subsequent studio albums, however, Mais (1991) and Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor de Rosa e Carvão (1994), that truly established her as a talented artist. For these albums, Monte formed creative partnerships with Arto Lindsay, Arnaldo Antunes, Nando Reis, and Carlinhos Brown, each of whom would work with her for years to come. Moreover, a 1997 double album, Barulhinho Bom, showcased her charismatic command of a concert stage. In 2000 she released Memórias, Crônicas, e Declaracões de Amor on her own Phonomotor Records label and enjoyed her highest level of success to date, notably winning her first Latin Grammy. Two years later she released Tribalistas (2002), a trio effort also featuring Antunes and Brown, on Phonomotor, and enjoyed yet more success. The supergroup recording sold well over a million copies, spun off chart-topping singles, found success in Europe, and was critically beloved all the same. Following such dizzy heights of success, Monte receded from the limelight, becoming a mother and focusing on more challenging music. Even if her popularity waned a bit with age, her credentials among critics only grew, especially internationally. While Monte generally is classified as an MPB artist, her music is fluid and ever-changing, to the point where such labels seem futile. Rather, its her voice that is her calling card. One of the most perfect in the world is how Carlinhos Brown once described it to Larry Rohter of The New York Times. Its like the wind: soft, gentle, and caressing, but it messes with everything in its path.Born Marisa de Azevedo Monte on July 1, 1967, in Rio de Janeiro, she grew up in a nurturing musical environment, for her father, Carlos Monte, an economist, was a cultural director at the Portela samba school and immersed her in Rios time-honored samba tradition. At age 14, Marisa took the entrance exam for the National Music School; she wanted to become an opera singer. She studied lyric singing, and at age 19, she moved to Rome, where she hoped to further her studies and make contacts in the opera world. It wasnt long, however, before Monte returned to Brazil, now harboring hopes of becoming a pop singer. While living in Italy, shed befriended Nelson Motta, a journalist of some renown, among other capacities, whose sister was a friend of Marisas mother; associated with the likes of Elis Regina and Joyce, he had played a role in Brazils popular music scene of the late 60s and early 70s, as both a writer and producer. Back in Brazil, Monte reunited with Motta, who returned in March 1987, not long after she did. Monte had lined up a producer, Lula Buarque de Hollanda, and looked to Motta for help with compiling a repertoire, since he was so knowledgeable about popular music. Motta gladly complied. The performance was titled Veludo Azul (presumably named after David Lynchs film Blue Velvet [1986]) and debuted at Rios Jazzmania. These performances, which showcased her singing an eclectic array of songs, past and present, were well received critically, and a buzz began to grow, to the point where Monte was selling out shows regularly.These early theater performances were captured for a TV special and album, MM (aka Ao Vivo), 1989. The TV special was directed by Walter Salles, who himself would go on to much success, directing films including Central Station (1998) and The Motorcycle Diaries (2003) and co-producing others including City of God (2002) and The House of Sand (2005). Motta produced the accompanying album, released in January 1989 by EMI; it showcases Monte performing the same range of songs that had made her show such a crossover hit in the first place: Comida, originally performed by Titãs, a popular Brazilian rock band of the 1980s featuring Arnaldo Antunes and Nando Reis, the co-writers of the song and, more importantly, key songwriters with whom Monte subsequently would develop fruitful creative partnerships; Bem Que Se Quis, a song originally written and performed by Italian pop/rock artist Pino Daniele in 1982 as E Po Che Fà, in turn adapted to Portuguese by Motta; Chocolate, by Brazilian soul renegade Tim Maia; Ando Meio Desligado, by tropicalia favorites Os Mutantes; Preciso Me Encontrar, a decades-old samba song by singer/composer Candeia (born Antônio Candeia Filho, died 1978); O Xote das Meninas, a Brazilian standard from the 1950s; Negro Gato, another old Brazilian song, this one written in the 1960s by Getúlio Côrtes and recorded by various performers, including Renato & Seus Blue Caps and Luís Melodia; Lenda das Sereias, Rainha do Mar, an old samba song; South American Way, a song originally written by Al Dubin and Jimmy McHugh for the 1939 musical The Streets of Paris that was shortly thereafter recorded by, and henceforth associated with, Carmen Miranda; I Heard It Through the Grapevine, a Motown classic written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield and performed most famously by Marvin Gaye; Bess, You Is My Woman Now, a Gershwin standard; and Speak Low, a Kurt Weill standard.MM became a sensation in Brazil, with Bem Que Se Quis emerging as a big hit, and the album went on to sell half a million copies. Then her follow-up album, Mais (1991), sold even more. Recorded in New York City with Arto Lindsay in the producers seat, Mais reflected Montes own personal style. She co-wrote many of the songs herself and recruited the aforementioned Titãs bandmembers Antunes and Reis to contribute their own writing. Plus, Monte added a few covers, including songs by Caetano Veloso (De Noite Na Cama) and Pixinguinha (Rosa). Thanks to the involvement of Lindsay, Antunes, and Reis, not to mention musical contributions from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bernie Worrell, Naná Vasconcelos, and John Zorn, Mais is a thoroughly contemporary MPB album, and indeed it registered with the Brazilian public. Beija Eu, a songwriting collaboration between Antunes and Monte, became a significant hit, as did Ainda Lembro, one of the Reis collaborations, and a promotional tour of Brazil commenced. In the wake of the albums success, as well as that of the national tour, Monte traveled to the United States and Europe to drum up the attention of critics. She debuted internationally in New York City at the Knitting Factory, where she was greeted warmly, a bellwether of the critical adoration that would accompany her efforts in the years that followed.For her second studio album, Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor de Rosa e Carvão (1994), Monte returned to New York to work with Lindsay. Part of the album was recorded in Rio, however, as Monte assumed a co-production role and continued to assert more control over her music. Antunes and Reis also returned, contributing a few songs (Alta Noite was written by the former, Au Meu Redor and O Céu by the latter), while Monte wrote a few of her own (Na Estrada, De Mais Ninguém, Bem Leve, and Enquanto Isso) and chose a few covers (Lou Reeds Pale Blue Eyes, Paulinho da Violas Dança da Solidão, and Jorge Bens Balança Pema, as well as a traditional samba, Esta Melodia). Most notable, however, was a new partnership fostered by Monte, one with Carlinhos Brown, who was at that time the leader of the group Timbalada. Brown contributed a pair of songs, Maria de Verdade and Segue o Seco, that became album standouts; a promotional video was filmed for the latter. Numerous musicians contributed to the album, among them Gilberto Gil, Laurie Anderson, and Celso Fonseca. Moreover, Brown sang and performed on his songs. Like Mais before it, Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor de Rosa e Carvão was commercially successful, and it was repackaged for English-language release as Green, Blue, Yellow, Rose and Charcoal (aka Rose and Charcoal). Monte toured in support, more extensively than before, and some live recordings from the tour were released as part of a double album, Barulhinho Bom (1996). The other part of the album is comprised of studio recordings, three of which are songs written by Brown. Barulhinho Bom was repackaged for stateside release as A Great Noise (1997), for there was some controversy over the albums porno artwork. A full-length video was issued as well, later reissued on DVD.Before Monte recorded her next album, Memórias, Crônicas, e Declaracões de Amor (2000), she spread the wealth of her success. Among the contributions she made to the work of others, she performed alongside Antunes on some of his songs, as compiled on Focus: O Essencial de Arnaldo Antunes (1999), and produced Browns second solo album, Omelete Man (1999). Monte also negotiated her own vanity label, Phonomotor Records, on which she would release albums by Argemiro Patrocínio and Jair do Cavaquinho, in addition to Memórias, Crônicas e Declaracões de Amor, repackaged for English-language markets as Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love. The album features many of the same collaborators as before, namely Lindsay, Brown, and Antunes, with a few covers thrown in. Far and away her most commercially successful album to date, if not her most revered, Memórias, Crônicas e Declaracões de Amor won a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Album. Montes supporting tour was sweeping, accounting for 150 shows; a three-night stand in Rio at the ATL Hall in June 2001 was summarized on DVD later that year. The following year, Monte released Tribalistas (2002) on Phonomotor; the albums success would top even that of Memórias, Crônicas e Declaracões de Amor. Comprised of songs written by Monte, Antunes, and Brown in tandem off and on over the previous couple years, Tribalistas was billed as a group effort, that is, Os Tribalistas, and its supergroup qualities made its release an event. The album was a chart-topper in Brazil and sold well in Europe as well, particularly Portugal, Italy, and France. Já Sei Namorar and Velha Infância were number one hits, and there were other singles released as well. In addition, a making-of DVD was issued in 2003. Tribalistas earned five Latin Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year (Jé Sei Namorar) and Album of the Year; an award for Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album was brought home.Monte spent the next few years away from the public eye, as shed become a mother, and when she returned in 2006, she did so with a pair of albums. Universo ao Meu Redor (2006) is a samba album comprised of songs by classic and contemporary composers, whereas Infinito Particular (2006) is a more personal affair, featuring songs written in collaboration with her many creative partners, a stable whose ranks now included Seu Jorge and Adriana Calcanhotto. Both albums are subdued in their tone and feature a laundry list of instrumentation: Monte alone plays acoustic guitar, bass guitar, autoharp, ukulele, viola, xylophone, melodica, kalimba, metaphone, cajon, vocoder, and baixo, not to mention cymbals, bells, shakers, and various sound effects. Some listeners complained that the albums were too understated; however, critics responded well, as did most existing fans, in addition to a legion of new ones who learned about the albums via their myriad write-ups and Montes international touring, which stretched on into 2007. The albums spun off a few singles — O Bonde do Dom, Vilarejo, and Pra Ser Sincero, all Top Ten hits in Brazil — and earned three Latin Grammy nominations, winning one for Best Samba/Pagode Album.