Gal Costa was a flamboyant revolutionary in Brazilian music

As one of the founding artists of the Tropicália movement in the late 60s, she became known for her fearless voice, which captivated audiences for five decades Much has been said of how João Gilberto disrupted Brazillian music with his take on samba, which went on to become bossa nova. His whispering vocals and offbeat, percussion-laced guitar were a novelty to Brazil in the 1950s, when chested-voice crooners and sumptuous arrangements were nothing but the top-charters of the country’s radio. Few would dare saying the same of Gal Costa, who died this week aged 77 – even though she, too, sparked Brazilian musical revolution. Where Gilberto found minimalism, Gal found maximalism. Where Gilberto found dissonance, Gal found perfect pitch. Where Gilberto found shyness, Gal found a total flamboyance that reverberated through Tropicália and in the years that came after. Continue reading...