Tom Ze : Rolling Stone

From the Archives

May 21, 1999

Tom Ze Brings Eccentricity to the Stage in New York

Tom Ze Brings Eccentricity to the Stage in New York
May 20, 1999

Tom Ze with Tortoise

Irving Plaza, New York, May 19, 1999

Recordings and Reviews

Fabrication Defect...

Long before the advent of samplers, Brazilian avant-Tropicalist Tom Zé was uniting seemingly opposed styles and constructing instruments from found objects – blenders, typewriters, floor polishers, doorbells. Inspired by Schönberg and samba and São Paulo's skyscrapers and slums,...

1998 RS: 4of 5 Stars

Biography

Tom Zé was a legend in Brazil years before he was introduced to North American audiences on David Byrne's eclectic world-music label Luaka Bop. Born Antônio José Santana Martins, Zé was a pioneer of the late-'60s tropicália movement, which blended Brazilian folk and dance traditions including bossa nova and samba with the metaphorical politics of a Bob Dylan or George Clinton, and the experiment...

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