Tom Zé | Artist

Tom Zé is a Brazilian songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer born 1936 in Irará, Bahia. Zé was influential in the Tropicália movement of 1960s Brazil and made many excellent albums in the the period 1968-76. After the peak of the Tropicália period, Zé went into relative obscurity but when musician and label head David Byrne "discovered" one of his albums recorded many years earlier, Zé was brought once again into the spotlight and he returned to performing and releasing new material. Because of the experimental nature of many of his compositions, Zé has been compared with American musicians such as Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. From his early period the albums Tom Zé, Todos os olhos and Estudando o samba are superb. From his latter period, Fabrication Defect: Com defeito de fabricação and Jogos de armar are also outstanding.

Artist Website: tomze.com.br

Featured Albums: Tom Zé

Related Artists: Gal Costa, David Byrne