7/31/2019 Woman Today - Brazilian Beats

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7/31/2019 Woman Today - Brazilian Beats

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November201168

slugname

BRAZILIANBEATS INKATARA

JorGe Ben Jor

Watching Jorge Ben Jor take the

stage, one cannot help but stand

on ones feet and start swaying

to the funky rhythms and beats that Brazil is

famous for. The music of the samba and funk

has been, and still remains, a major inuence

among musicians around the world. Jorge, for

one, is very aware of this movement, as his

rst-ever composition, mas Que nada, shotto global recognition after being covered and

remixed rst by, Sergio Mendes and then the

cult dance outt Black Eyed Peas.

Even at this juncture of his career, Jorge

himself is still driving the movement, work-

ing on new projects set for release next year.

Im currently recording two new albums. One

is a remix of an old record, and the other is a

compilation of entirely new compositions. Im

also going to be working on a very special proj -

ect with a heavy metal band, combining the

sounds of samba and funk with rock.

Although Jorge considers himself a lyrical

poet who composes music to accompany the

written word, this legendary musician is one

of the few performers in the world who tran-

scends language in his musical reach.

It is truly a miracle! To this day, I am still

amazed and attered by how my music has

reached such a wide audience and touched

their hearts. The turning point in my careerwas when I travelled and performed at funk

and jazz festivals in Europe for the very rst

time. In spite of the language difference, my

music was so well received that it sparked

off the beginning of global recognition of my

work. Another memorable moment in my ca-

reer was, of course, when I was invited to play

at the Olympia Hall in Paris, one of the most

prestigious music venues in Europe.

Jorges charismatic performances go beyond

his music and words into his sense of style and

demeanour. A big fan of fashion, he professes

his love for brands like Calvin Klein and Adi-

das, which he often wears when he is perform-

ing. He also has a penchant for adopting an all-

white look when he is on stage. And of course,

who can miss Jorges signature sunglasses,

which he wears almost all the time on and off

stage. At the last count he owned about 87 pairsof sunglasses for different times of the day. For

his show at Katara, Jorge donned a pair of his

favourite Ray-Ban, a gift from his son.

When I was very young, I was diagnosed

with an eye condition which makes them very

sensitive to light so I had to wear sunglasses

to protect my eyesight. Eventually, it became

a trademark when people started to see me in

my sunglasses all the time.Jorges closing show for the Latin American

Cultural Festival 2011 at Katara Cultural Vil-

lage marked his rst performance in Qatar,

and he applauds the effort of the festival in

bringing the unique sounds of the continent

to this region. Doha is a very impressive city;

the city and the airport are very clean and the

people are extremely friendly and welcoming.

It has been such a great experience. I really do

hope that the festival will take place again next

year, and I look forward to being able to play in

Doha again.

WITH A CAreer sPAnnInG ALMosT HALf A CenTury,

BrAZILIAn suPersTAr jorGe Ben jor sHoWs no sIGn of

sLoWInG DoWn. dEbrina aliyahCAuGHT uP WITH jorGe

WHen He WAs DoWn In DoHA To CLose THe HIGHLy

suCCessfuL LATIn AMerICAn CuLTurAL fesTIvAL 2011 AT

kATArA CuLTurAL vILLAGe.