Gilberto Gil (guitar, vocals), Toninho Ferragutti (accordion), Sergio Chiavazzoli (guitar), Arthur Maia (bass), Jorge Gomes (zabumba), Gustavo Di Dalva (percussion), Nicholas Krassik (violin, rabeca)

Gilberto Gil is probably the most famous ambassador of the rich musical traditions of Brazil. His career spans over four decades and includes numerous musical styles. He was for several years minister of Culture in the government of Lula da Silva. Two years ago he decided to focus fully on music.

During the mid 60s Gilberto Gil often played with Caetano Veloso. Their lyrics reflected a major social commitment and they were  standard-bearers of the Tropicália movement. There was innovative music combined with pop influences and with traditional Brazilian music he grew up with, like the samba and bossa nova. Above all, the lyrics shone with great commitment. Because of these socially critical lyrics Gil and Veloso clashed with the military regime that came to power in 1964 in Brazil. Veloso and Gil ended up in jail for a while and decided to emigrate to London. Gilberto Gil’s musical development while in London was a blessing. He came into contact with many new musical influences and recorded some songs in English and played with bands such as Pink Floyd.

With more than 50 albums recorded, several platinum records, Grammy Awards and almost every accolade there is, Gilberto Gil is still one of the most important faces in Brazilian music.

In “For All” he reinvents old classics, and presents new songs like ‘Fé na Festa’, or ‘Livre Atirador e a Pegadora’, from the new album, all dedicated to Baião. Baião is a music genre from northeast Brazil, partly developed from European classic styles of folk music and influenced by Asian, African and Indian music. Consisting primarily of tambourine, triangle and accordion, Baião expresses northeastern lifestyle and miscegenation.