Salvador Bahia Matrix
  • Sign in
  • Join Everybody Here
    Loading ...
View All Updates Mark All Read
  • Matrix Home
  • Categories are Here!
  • Showcase Music
  • Add Videos/SC
  • Add Photos
  • (Bahia)
  • Questions?
  • From Brazil with love →
  • @ Ground Zero
  • El Aleph
  • If You Can't Stand the Heat
  • Harlem to Bahia to the Planet
  • Why a "Matrix"?

From Brazil with love →

@ Ground Zero

 

Have you, dear friend, ever noticed how different places scattered across the face of the globe seem almost to exist in different universes? As if they were permeated throughout with something akin to 19th century luminiferous aether, unique, determined by that place's history? It's like a trick of the mind's light (I suppose), but standing on beach or escarpment in Salvador and looking out across the Baía de Todos os Santos to the great Recôncavo, and mindful of what happened there, one must be led to the inevitable conclusion that one is in a place unique to history, and to the present*.

 

 

"Chegou a hora dessa gente bronzeada mostrar seu valor / The time has come for these bronzed people to show their value..."Música: Assis Valente of Santo Amaro, Bahia. Vídeo: Betão Aguiar.

 

*More enslaved human beings entered the Bay of All Saints and the Recôncavo than any other final port-of-call throughout all of mankind's history.

 

These people and their descendants created some of the most uplifting music ever made, the foundation of Brazil's national art. We wanted their music to be accessible to the world (it's not even accessible here in Brazil) so we created a platform by which everybody's creativity is mutually accessible, including theirs.

 

El Aleph

 

The network was built in an obscure record shop (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar found it) in a shimmering Brazilian port city...

 

...inspired in (the kabbalah-inspired fiction of) Borges' (short story) El Aleph, that in the pillar in Cairo's Mosque of Amr, where the universe in its entirety throughout all time is perceivable as an infinite hum from deep within the stone.

 

It "works" by virtue of the "small-world" phenomenon...the same responsible for the fact that most of us 7 billion or so beings are within 6 or fewer degrees of each other.

 

It was described (to some degree) and can be accessed via this article in British journal The Guardian (which named our radio of matrixed artists as one of ten best in the world):

 

www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/17/10-best-music-radio-station-around-world

 

With David Dye for U.S. National Public Radio: www.npr.org/2013/07/16/202634814/roots-of-samba-exploring-historic-pelourinho-in-salvador-brazil

 

All is more connected than we know.

 

Per the "spirit" above, our logo is a cortador de cana, a cane-cutter. It was designed by Walter Mariano, professor of design at the Federal University of Bahia to reflect the origins of the music the shop specialized in. The Brazilian "aleph" doesn't hum... it dances and sings.

 

If You Can't Stand the Heat

 

Image above is from the base of the cross in front of the church of São Francisco do Paraguaçu in the Bahian Recôncavo

 

Sprawled across broad equatorial latitudes, stoked and steamed and sensual in the widest sense of the word, limned in cadenced song, Brazil is a conundrum wrapped in a smile inside an irony...

 

It is not a European nation. It is not a North American nation. It is not an East Asian nation. It straddles — jungle and desert and dense urban centers — both the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. Brazil absorbed over ten times the number of enslaved Africans taken to the United States of America, and is a repository of African deities (and their music) now largely forgotten in their lands of origin. It was a refuge (of sorts) for Sephardim fleeing an Inquisition which followed them across the Atlantic (that unofficial symbol of Brazil's national music — the pandeiro — was almost certainly brought to Brazil by these people). Across the parched savannas of the interior of Brazil's culturally fecund nordeste/northeast, where wizard Hermeto Pascoal was born in Lagoa da Canoa (Lagoon of the Canoe) and raised in Olho d'Águia (Eye of the Eagle), much of Brazil's aboriginal population was absorbed into a caboclo/quilombola culture punctuated by the Star of David. Three cultures — from three continents — running for their lives, their confluence forming an unprecedented fourth. Pandeirista on the roof. Nowhere else but here.

 

Oligarchy, plutocracy, dictatorships and massive corruption — elements of these are still strongly entrenched — have defined, delineated, and limited Brazil.

 

But strictured & bound as it has been and is, Brazil has buzz...not the shallow buzz of a fashionable moment...but the deep buzz of a population which in spite of — or perhaps because of — the tough slog through life they've been allotted by humanity's dregs-in-fine-linen, have chosen not to simply pull themselves along but to lift their voices in song and their bodies in dance...to eat well and converse well and much and to wring the joy out of the day-to-day happenings and small pleasures of life which are so often set aside or ignored in the European, North American, and East Asian nations.

 

For this Brazil has a genius perhaps unparalleled in all other countries and societies, a genius which thrives alongside peeling paint and holes in the streets and roads, under bad organization by the powers-that-be, both civil and governmental, under a constant rain of societal indignities...

 

Which is all to say that if you don't know Brazil and you're expecting any semblance of order, progress and light, you will certainly find the light! And the buzz of a people who for generations have responded to privation at many different levels by somehow rising above it all.

 

"Onde tem miséria, tem música!"* - Raymundo Sodré

 

And it's not just music. And it's not just Brazil.

 

Welcome to the kitchen!

 

* "Where there is misery, there is music!" Remarked during a conversation arcing from Bahia to Haiti and Cuba to New Orleans and the south side of Chicago and Harlem to the villages of Ireland and the gypsy camps and shtetls of Eastern Europe...

 

Harlem to Bahia to the Planet



Why a "Matrix"?

 

I was explaining the ideas behind this nascent network to (João) Teoria (trumpet player above) over cervejas at Xique Xique (a bar named for a town in Bahia) in the Salvador neighborhood of Barris...

 

Like this (but in Portuguese): "It's kind of like Facebook if it didn't spy on you, but reversed... more about who you don't know than who you do know. And who doesn't know you but would be glad if they did. It's kind of like old Myspace Music but instead of having "friends" it has a list on your page of people you recommend. Not just musicians but writers, painters, filmmakers, dancers, chefs... anybody in the creative economy. It has a list of people who recommend you, or through whom you are recommended. It deals with arts which aren't recommendable by algorithm but need human intelligence behind recommendations. And the people who are recommended can recommend, creating a network of recommendations wherein by the small world phenomenon most people in the creative economy are within several steps of everybody else in the creative economy, no matter where they are in the world..."

 

And João said (in Portuguese): "A matrix where you can move from one artist to another..."

 

A matrix! That was it! The ORIGINAL meaning of matrix is "source", from "mater", Latin for "mother". So the term would help congeal the concept in the minds of people the network was being introduced to, while giving us a motto: "We're a real mother for ya!" (you know, Johnny "Guitar" Watson?)

 

The original idea was that musicians would recommend musicians, the network thus formed being "small world" (commonly called "six degrees of separation"). In the real world, the number of degrees of separation in such a network can vary, but while a given network might have billions of nodes (people, for example), the average number of steps between any two nodes will usually be minuscule.

 

Thus somebody unaware of the magnificent music of Bahia, Brazil will be able to conceivably move from almost any musician in this matrix to Bahia in just a few steps...

 

By the same logic that might move one from Bahia or anywhere else to any musician anywhere.

 

And there's no reason to limit this system to musicians. To the contrary, while there are algorithms written to recommend music (which, although they are limited, can be useful), there are no algorithms capable of recommending journalism, novels & short stories, painting, dance, film, chefery...

 

...a vast chasm that this network — or as Teoria put it, "matrix" — is capable of filling.

 

  • Jorge Ben
    I RECOMMEND

CURATION

  • from this node by: Criador acima/Creator above

This is the Universe of

  • Name: Jorge Ben
  • City/Place: Rio de Janeiro
  • Country: Brazil

Life & Work

  • Bio: When bossa nova was in full commercial flower a kid came roaring out of Rio de Janeiro with his own way of playing guitar and his own way of writing songs.

    Half Ethiopian and all Brazilian, Jorge Ben (as Jorge Duílio Lima Meneses was calling himself, the "Ben" coming from his African mother's maiden name) had a way -- even by Brazilian standards! -- of making people move.

    He still does.

Contact Information

  • Management/Booking: BOOKING
    +55 11 99605.4584
    [email protected]

Media | Markets

  • ▶ Twitter: jorgebenjor
  • ▶ Instagram: jorgebenjoroficial
  • ▶ YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpJpUf7dBHx76ebfU3AgNg
  • ▶ YouTube Music: http://music.youtube.com/channel/UCprFt4Sn4rnLyXUnXFX9ksQ
  • ▶ Spotify 2: http://open.spotify.com/album/3xWp6y0HGsHZlXljNs7VRy
  • ▶ Spotify 3: http://open.spotify.com/album/5rcMJNWebtl2r2S18Je1A0
  • ▶ Spotify 4: http://open.spotify.com/album/3V3XJ3Sh62jPUYUMSQ1Tsf

Clips (more may be added)

  • Projeto Evoé - Zambia - Umbabarauma.
    By Jorge Ben
    816 views
Previous
Next

YOU RECOMMEND

Imagine the world's creative economy at your fingertips. Imagine 10 doors side-by-side. Beyond each, 10 more, each opening to a "creative" somewhere around the planet. After passing through 8 such doorways you will have followed 1 pathway out of 100 million possible (2 sets of doorways yield 10 x 10 = 100 pathways). This is a simplified version of the metamathematics that makes it possible to reach everybody in the global creative economy in just a few steps It doesn't mean that everybody will be reached by everybody. It does mean that everybody can  be reached by everybody.


Appear below by recommending Jorge Ben:

  • 6 Brazil
  • 6 Rio de Janeiro
  • 6 Sambalanço
  • 6 Singer-Songwriter
  • Colm Tóibín Short Stories
  • Weedie Braimah Djembefola
  • Nêgah Santos Pandeiro
  • Daniel Owoseni Ajala Ballet School Owner
  • Carlos Malta Clarinet
  • Rotem Sivan New York City
  • Mulatu Astatke Percussion
  • John Zorn Record Label Owner
  • Pedro Aznar Jazz
  • André Muato Rio de Janeiro
  • Joatan Nascimento Federal University of Bahia Faculty
  • Dadá do Trombone Trombone
  • Edu Lobo Singer-Songwriter
  • A-KILL Street Artist
  • Nelson Cerqueira Escritor, Writer
  • Garvia Bailey Arts Journalist
  • Arto Tunçboyacıyan New York City
  • Aindrias de Staic Storyteller
  • Amilton Godoy São Paulo
  • Joel Ross Brooklyn, NY
  • Jovino Santos Neto Brazilian Jazz
  • Angelique Kidjo Singer-Songwriter
  • Patricia Janečková Czech Republic
  • Stephen Guerra Author
  • Jeremy Danneman Singer-Songwriter
  • Chris McQueen Austin, Texas
  • Arthur Jafa Cinematographer
  • Gonzalo Rubalcaba Piano
  • Guto Wirtti Brazilian Jazz
  • Richie Stearns Americana
  • Filhos de Nagô Bahia
  • Shuya Okino Kyoto
  • Amilton Godoy MPB
  • Zachary Richard Accordion
  • Áurea Martins MPB
  • Ann Hallenberg Mezzo-Soprano
  • James Andrews Trumpet
  • Mariana Zwarg Universal Music
  • Melanie Charles Flute
  • Cristovão Bastos Rio de Janeiro
  • Gord Sheard Composer
  • Astrig Akseralian Painter
  • Nora Fischer Classical Music
  • Béco Dranoff Record Producer
  • Luiz Brasil Samba
  • Luiz Santos Latin Jazz
  • Ivo Perelman Brazilian Jazz
  • Munyungo Jackson Composer
  • Seckou Keita Kora
  • Nigel Hall New Orleans
  • Babau Santana Partido Alto
  • Will Holshouser Folk & Traditional
  • Luciana Souza New York City
  • Tony Trischka Americana
  • Joanna Majoko Zimbabwe
  • John McLaughlin Jazz Fusion
  • Oteil Burbridge Jazz
  • Kaveh Rastegar Record Producer
  • Carl Allen Record Producer
  • Richie Pena New York City
  • Cassie Kinoshi Theater Composer
  • Capitão Corisco Pife
  • Yvette Holzwarth Violin
  • Gab Ferruz Cantora-Compositora, Singer-Songwriter
  • Lionel Loueke Singer
  • Mestre Nenel Salvador
  • Jupiter Bokondji African Music
  • Frank Negrão Blues
  • Joshua Abrams Bass
  • Gui Duvignau Composer
  • Jim Farber Music Critic
  • Woody Mann Americana
  • Rema Namakula Singer
  • Arturo O'Farrill Bandleader
  • Rachael Price Singer-Songwriter
  • Sheryl Bailey Composer
  • Kurt Andersen Short Stories
  • Bill T. Jones Writer
  • Pat Metheny Composer
  • Ben Okri Poet
  • Reuben Rogers Caribbean Music
  • Edsel Gomez Latin Jazz
  • Shalom Adonai Samba Rural
  • Matt Glaser Berklee College of Music Faculty
  • Dermot Hussey Broadcaster
  • Michael Kiwanuka Record Producer
  • Glória Bomfim Candomblé
  • Alana Gabriela Cantora, Singer
  • Nate Smith Music Producer
  • Trombone Shorty Jazz
  • Júlio Lemos San Francisco
  • Corey Henry New Orleans
  • Ricardo Bacelar Piano
  • Jussara Silveira MPB
  • Gab Ferruz MPB
  • Jane Ira Bloom New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Faculty
  • John Zorn Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Robert Randolph Singer-Songwriter
  • Dale Farmer Old-Time Music
  • Maria Drell Produção Cultural, Cultural Production
  • Dan Moretti Berklee College of Music Faculty
  • Mateus Alves Composer
  • Don Byron Blue Note Records
  • Tiganá Santana Violão, Guitar
  • Intisar Abioto Photographer
  • Edsel Gomez Puerto Rico
  • Paulo Aragão Samba
  • Benoit Fader Keita Singer-Songwriter
  • Leci Brandão Brazil
  • Marília Sodré Instrução de Violão, Guitar Instruction
  • Yunior Terry Afro-Cuban Jazz
  • Celsinho Silva Choro
  • Lucía Fumero Piano
  • Diedrich Diederichsen Academy of Fine Arts Vienna Faculty
  • Diosmar Filho Bahia
  • Peter Mulvey Singer-Songwriter
  • Toby Gough Writer
  • Brandon J. Acker Baroque Guitar
  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Writer
  • Bing Futch Singer-Songwriter
  • Mohini Dey Bass
  • Louis Michot Western Swingbilly Cajun Punk
  • Joe Newberry Old-Time Music
  • NIcholas Casey International Correspondent
  • Logan Richardson Kansas City, Missouri
  • Scotty Barnhart Florida State University College of Music Faculty
  • Alita Moses Singer-Songwriter
  • Isaac Julien England
  • Allen Morrison Jazz History Lecturer
  • Ruven Afanador New York City
  • Giba Conceição Brazil
  • Chubby Carrier Singer-Songwriter
  • Patrice Quinn Jazz
  • Bebê Kramer Jazz
  • Zé Katimba Singer-Songwriter
  • Gregory Hutchinson Drumming Instruction
  • Errollyn Wallen Contemporary Classical Music
  • John Harle Film Scores
  • Paquito D'Rivera Classical Music
  • Ron Mader Travel Specialist
  • Andra Day R&B
  • Mark Lettieri Ropeadope
  • Wolfgang Muthspiel Contemporary Classical Music
  • Miroslav Tadić Film, Theater, Dance Scores
  • Mona Lisa Saloy Dillard University Faculty
  • Elisa Goritzki Flute
  • Daru Jones Jazz
  • Dafnis Prieto Author
  • Malin Fezehai Photographer
  • Angel Deradoorian Los Angeles
  • Kehinde Wiley New York City
  • Elodie Bouny Classical Guitar
  • Teddy Swims Soul
  • Joey Baron Jazz
  • Gonzalo Rubalcaba University of Miami Frost School of Music Faculty
  • Cleber Augusto Samba
  • Henrique Cazes Cavaquinho
  • Ben Hazleton Composer
  • Ryuichi Sakamoto Multi-Cultural
  • Owen Williams Developer
  • Yelaine Rodriguez Wearable Art
  • Cristiano Nogueira Brazil
  • Nabihah Iqbal Electronic, Experimental, Alternative Music
  • Linda Sikhakhane Saxophone
  • João Callado Cavaquinho
  • Tia Fuller Jazz
  • Ivan Sacerdote Brazil
  • Maria Nunes Photographer
  • Billy O'Shea Denmark
  • Toby Gough Producer
  • Tigran Hamasyan Armenian Folk Music
  • Zakir Hussain Multi-Cultural
  • Guga Stroeter Record Producer
  • Sahba Aminikia Composer
  • Arthur Verocai Piano
  • Mauro Refosco Brasil, Brazil
  • Goran Krivokapić Montenegro
  • Dónal Lunny Irish Traditional Music
  • Chico Buarque Singer-Songwriter
  • Mário Pam Brazil
  • Zé Luíz Nascimento Barcelona
  • Dhafer Youssef ظافر يوسف Tunis
  • George Garzone Berklee College of Music Faculty
  • Brad Mehldau Film Scores
  • Marvin Dunn Documentary Filmmaker
  • Pallett Persian Music
  • Catherine Russell New York City
  • Gary Clark Jr. Singer-Songwriter
  • Michael Formanek Bass
  • Vinson Cunningham Sarah Lawrence College Faculty
  • Tomoko Omura Violin
  • Matt Ulery Composer
  • Ethan Iverson Composer
  • Brentano String Quartet Contemporary Classical Music
  • Jerry Douglas Dobro
  • Martin Koenig Balkan Dance
  • Dermot Hussey Jamaica
  • The Weeknd Singer-Songwriter
  • Jane Ira Bloom Composer
  • Marquis Hill Jazz
  • Oscar Bolão Photographer
  • Steve Cropper Songwriter
  • Amitava Kumar Journalist
  • Soweto Kinch Composer
  • Hugo Linns Recife
  • Roberta Sá Samba
  • Nicolas Krassik MPB
  • Chris Thile Mandolin
  • Gregory Hutchinson Soul
  • Alisa Weilerstein Contemporary Classical Music
  • ANNA Brazil
  • Ronald Bruner Jr. Singer
  • Dee Spencer Composer
  • Ray Angry Piano
  • Dorian Concept Keyboards
  • Terri Hinte Liner Notes
  • Ricky (Dirty Red) Gordon Second Line
  • Omer Avital Middle Eastern Music
  • Chris Acquavella Composer
  • Sam Dagher Journalist
  • Eddie Kadi Pan-African Culture
  • Del McCoury Country
  • Jeff Tweedy Singer-Songwriter
  • Hercules Gomes MPB
  • Mary Stallings San Francisco
  • Catherine Bent Choro
  • Nubya Garcia DJ
  • Mateus Aleluia Filho Brasil, Brazil
  • Nublu Multi-Cultural
  • Dafnis Prieto Cuba
  • Dónal Lunny Bouzouki
  • Mark Bingham Singer-Songwriter
  • Giba Conceição Salvador
  • Harish Raghavan Jazz
  • Liron Meyuhas Singer
  • Sarah Hanahan Juilliard Student
  • Stephen Kurczy Writer
  • Lynn Nottage Playwright
  • Brady Haran YouTuber
  • Victor Wooten Multi-Instrumentalist
  • Baiba Skride Violin
  • Siba Veloso Rabeca
  • Daru Jones Record Producer
  • Fabiana Cozza Singer
  • Jean-Paul Bourelly Guitar
  • Ricardo Herz MPB
  • Michael Formanek Composer
  • David Mattingly Artist
  • Ambrose Akinmusire Trumpet
  • Pierre Onassis Bahia
  • Gab Ferruz Salvador
  • Restaurante Axego Bahia
  • Bhi Bhiman Singer-Songwriter
  • Henrique Araújo Escola de Choro de São Paulo Faculty
  • Giovanni Russonello Jazz
  • Silas Farley Ballet
  • David Bruce Composer
  • Lavinia Meijer Contemporary Classical Music
  • Tom Oren Tel Aviv
  • Ben Azar Guitar Instruction
  • Kiko Souza R&B
  • André Becker MPB
  • Cassie Kinoshi London
  • Walmir Lima Bahia
  • Atlantic Brass Quintet Jazz
  • Asa Branca Bahia
  • Susana Baca Folklorist
  • Béco Dranoff DJ
  • Melanie Charles Soul
  • Ben Allison Composer
  • Chick Corea Jazz
  • Yuja Wang Classical Music
  • Anouar Brahem Oud
  • Sharita Towne Stereo Photography
  • Ron Carter Bass
  • Carlos Blanco Violão Clássico, Classical Guitar
  • Rodrigo Amarante Brazil
  • Laércio de Freitas Arranger
  • Leandro Afonso Film Editor
  • Tonynho dos Santos Teclado, Keyboards
  • Hopkinson Smith Vihuela
  • Eliane Elias Classical Music
  • Masao Fukuda Japan
  • Garvia Bailey Jamaica
  • John Waters Writer
  • João Bosco Samba
  • Tyler Gordon Writer
  • Tobias Meinhart Brooklyn, NY
  • João Rabello Guitar
  • Jahi Sundance DJ
  • Fred Hersch Jazz
  • Arthur L.A. Buckner Gospel
  • Rogê Samba
  • Steve Lehman CalArts Music Faculty
  • John Medeski Funk
  • Vânia Oliveira Salvador
  • Steve Cropper Soul
  • Masao Fukuda Yokahama
  • Ashley Page Record Label Owner
  • Yvette Holzwarth Film, Television Recording
  • Arifan Junior Rio de Janeiro
  • Ry Cooder Americana
  • Shamarr Allen Singer-Songwriter
  • Gabriel Grossi Samba
  • Gabriel Grossi Brazilian Jazz
  • Casey Benjamin Funk
  • Jerry Douglas Music Director
  • Pharoah Sanders Multi-Cultural
  • Kiko Loureiro Guitar
  • Dumpstaphunk New Orleans
  • Keita Ogawa Percussion Samples
  • Jakub Knera Poland
  • Kimmo Pohjonen Composer
  • Thiago Espírito Santo Guitarra, Guitar
  • Carlos Blanco Flamenco
  • Casa Preta Bahia
  • Diana Fuentes Havana
  • Dadá do Trombone MPB
  • Jack Talty Raelach Records
  • Rob Garland Guitar Instruction
  • Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Composer
  • Ramita Navai London
  • Marcel Powell Samba
  • Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh Violin
  • Alan Brain Journalist
  • Henry Cole Drums
  • Lula Moreira Brazil
  • Antonio García Jazz
  • Mavis Staples Gospel
  • George Porter Jr. Bass
  • Ned Sublette Cuba
  • Corey Harris Folk & Traditional
  • Nabihah Iqbal Guitar
  • Bob Bernotas Jazz
  • Dan Nimmer Jazz
  • David Fiuczynski Jazz
  • Mavis Staples R&B
  • Shanequa Gay Storyteller
  • Oded Lev-Ari Composer
  • Walter Pinheiro Frevo
  • Raynald Colom Jazz
  • Wayne Escoffery Composer
  • Yola England
  • Casey Benjamin DJ
  • Barney McAll Composer
  • Babau Santana Percussão, Percussion
  • Alicia Keys R&B
  • Zigaboo Modeliste Drums
  • Rodrigo Caçapa Composer
  • Renell Medrano Photographer

 'mātriks / "source" / from "mater", Latin for "mother"
We're a real mother for ya!

 

Copyright ©2022  -  Privacy  -  Terms of Service  -  Contact  - 

Open to members of the worldwide creative economy.

You'll use your email address to log in.

Passwords must be at least 6 characters in length.

Enter your password again for confirmation.

This will be the end of your profile link, for example:
http://www.matrixonline.net/profile/yourname

Please type the characters you see in the image. May take several tries. Sorry!!!

 

Matrix Sign In

Please enter your details below. If are a member of the global creative economy and don't have a page yet, please sign up first.

 
 
 
Forgot Password?
Share