Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes (born March 22, 1939) is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben. His characteristic style fuses samba, funk, rock and bossa nova with lyrics that blend humor and satire with often esoteric subject matter. His hits include "Chove Chuva", "Mas, que Nada!", "Ive Brussel" and "Balança Pema", and have been interpreted by artists such as Caetano Veloso, Sérgio Mendes, Miriam Makeba, Soulfly and Marisa Monte. Ben's broad-minded and original approach to samba led him through participation in some of Brazilian popular music's most important musical movements, such as bossa nova, Jovem Guarda, and Tropicália, with the latter period defined by his albums Jorge Ben (1969) and Fôrça Bruta (1970). He has been called "the father of samba rock", by Billboard magazine. According to American music critic Robert Christgau, Ben and his contemporary Gilberto Gil were "always ready to go further out on a beat than the other samba/bossa geniuses".

Born Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes in Rio de Janeiro, he first took the stage name Jorge Ben after his mother's name (Sílvia Saint Ben Lima, Brazilian-born of Ethiopian origin) but in the 1980s changed it to Jorge Ben Jor (commonly written Benjor).

Jorge Ben obtained his first pandeiro (Brazil's most popular type of tambourine) when he was thirteen, and two years later, was singing in a church choir. He also took part as a pandeiro player in the blocos of Carnaval, and from eighteen years of age, he began performing at parties and nightclubs with the guitar given to him by his mother. He was given the nickname "Babulina" after his enthusiastic pronunciation of rockabilly singer Ronnie Self's song "Bop-A-Lena". Was introduced to Tim Maia by Erasmo Carlos. It was in 1963 at one of those clubs in which he performed that Jorge's musical career took off; he came on stage and sang "Mas, que Nada!" to a small crowd that happened to include an executive from the recording company, Philips. One week later, Jorge Ben's first single was released.

The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics. However, as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed and bossa nova became better known throughout the world, Ben rose to prominence.

Holdings both television programs O Fino da Bossa and Jovem Guarda from Rede Record, after being reprimanded by the production of "O Fino da Bossa", chose to participate in the Jovem Guarda, soon after, joined the program Divino, Maravilhoso from TV Tupi, presented by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. ...

Source: Article "Jorge Ben" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Jorge Duilio Lima Menezes, dit Jorge Ben Jor, né le 22 mars 1942 à Rio de Janeiro, est un chanteur et musicien brésilien.

Jorge Duilio Lima Menezes est né dans une favela de Rio de Janeiro. Son père, Augusto Menezes, jouait dans un groupe nommé «Cometas de Rio». Dans sa jeunesse, Jorge se passionne pour le football, et intègre même l'équipe junior du Flamengo. Son premier disque Samba Esquema Novo, publié par Philips, sort en 1963 (avec déjà les chansons Mas que nada qui sera reprise par Sérgio Mendes et Por causa de você), et rencontre un grand succès. Il sort ensuite deux nouveaux disques entre 1963 et 1964.

À la suite du coup d'État militaire de 1964, la carrière de Jorge ralentit, et ses nouveaux disques suscitent moins d'enthousiasme.

En 1968, sa carrière est relancée par une émission enregistrée à la télévision avec Caetano Veloso et Gilberto Gil. Il intègre des rythmes modernes à ses compositions et séduit alors à nouveau le public.

Il prit initialement comme nom de scène Jorge Ben, en mémoire du nom de sa mère (d'origine éthiopienne). Ultérieurement, il le modifia en Jorge Ben Jor à cause de la confusion qu'il y avait avec le nom du guitariste George Benson. C'est essentiellement à cause d'un changement de maison de disques qu'il change de nom.

Son style distinctif, le samba-rock mêle la samba, le funk, le rock avec des paroles humoristiques, satiriques et parfois aux thèmes ésotériques.

«A tábua de esmeralda (1974)» est souvent considéré comme son meilleur album et traite des thématiques alchimistes. Il marque une rupture réussie avec son style habituel et inaugure sa période «ésotérique» qui se conclut avec Africa-Brasil (1976).

Jorge Ben Jor a composé des titres devenus de grands classiques brésiliens comme Mas que Nada (1963), Taj Mahal (1969) (copiée par Rod Stewart pour Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, affaire qui se finira par un arrangement empêchant Stewart de toucher de l'argent sur ce qui est finalement son plus gros succès), Pais Tropical (1972) ou encore Fio Maravilha (1972, repris par Nicoletta).

Il a sorti en 2006 une compilation de chansons sur le thème du football, Foot & Samba groove association, regroupant ses chansons inspirées par le football.

Il habite à l'année une chambre du célèbre hôtel Copacabana Palace sur la plage du même nom à Rio de Janeiro.

Source: Article "Jorge Ben Jor" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.