Editing Gilberto Gil (section)

== Musical style and influences ==
{{Listen
|filename     = Gilberto_Gil_-_Oslodum_sample.ogg
|title        = "Oslodum"
|description  = Gil recorded "Oslodum" for the 2004 compilation album ''[[The Wired CD]]'', an album composed of songs licensed under the [[Creative Commons]]. The song is heavily influenced by [[samba reggae]], one of the many elements of Gil's style. The title is a play on the name [[Olodum]], a major [[samba reggae]] cultural group based in [[Salvador, Brazil|Salvador]], Bahia, Brazil.}}
Gil is a [[tenor]], but he sings in the [[baritone]] or [[falsetto]] register, with lyrics and/or scat syllables. His lyrics are on subjects that range from philosophy to religion, folktales, and [[word play]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Larry |last=Rohter |author-link=Larry Rohter |title=Gilberto Gil, Bahia's Most Beloved Export |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEFDB113AF93BA35752C1A964958260 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 8, 1992 |access-date=2008-03-24 }}</ref> Gil's musical style incorporates a broad range of influences. The first music he was exposed to included The Beatles and street performers in various metropolitan areas of Bahia. During his first years as a musician, Gil performed primarily in a blend of traditional Brazilian styles with [[two-step (dance move)|two-step]] rhythms, such as [[Baião (music)|baião]] and [[samba]].<ref name=quinn/> He states that "My first phase was one of traditional forms. Nothing experimental at all. Caetano [Veloso] and I followed in the tradition of [[Luiz Gonzaga]] and [[Jackson do Pandeiro]], combining samba with northeastern music."<ref name=quinn/> American music critic [[Robert Christgau]] said that along with [[Jorge Ben]], Gil was "always ready to go further out on a beat than the other samba/bossa geniuses".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=6 April 1993|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv393-93.php|title=Consumer Guide|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=12 August 2018}}</ref>

As one of the pioneers of tropicália, influences from genres such as rock and [[punk rock|punk]] have been pervasive in his recordings, as they have been in those of other stars of the period, including Caetano Veloso and Tom Zé. Gil's interest in the [[blues]]-based music of rock pioneer [[Jimi Hendrix]], in particular, has been described by Veloso as having "extremely important consequences for Brazilian music".<ref name=veloso>Veloso (2003), p. 191</ref> Veloso also noted the influence of Brazilian guitarist and singer [[Jorge Ben Jor|Jorge Ben]] on Gil's musical style, coupled with that of traditional music.<ref name=veloso/> After the height of tropicália in the 1960s, Gil became increasingly interested in black culture, particularly in the Jamaican musical genre of [[reggae]]. He described the genre as "a form of democratizing, internationalizing, speaking a new language, a [[Martin Heidegger|Heideggerian]] form of passing along fundamental messages".<ref name=behague>{{cite journal |last=Béhague |first=Gerard |author-link=Gerard Béhague |date= Spring–Summer 2006 |title=Rap, Reggae, Rock, or Samba: The Local and the Global in Brazilian Popular Music (1985–95) |journal= Latin American Music Review |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages= 79–90 |url= http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/latin_american_music_review/v027/27.1behague08.html |doi=10.1353/lat.2006.0021 |s2cid=191430137 }}</ref>

Visiting [[Lagos]], Nigeria, in 1976 for the Festival of African Culture (FESTAC), Gil met fellow musicians [[Fela Kuti]] and [[Stevie Wonder]].<ref name=katz/> He became inspired by African music and later integrated some of the styles he had heard in Africa, such as [[juju]] and [[highlife]], into his own recordings.<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title='Brazil has a new energy' |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2003/07/01/bmgil01.xml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041210094748/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=%2Farts%2F2003%2F07%2F01%2Fbmgil01.xml |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 10, 2004 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=July 1, 2003 |access-date= 2008-05-03 }}</ref> One of the most famous of these African-influenced records was the 1977 album ''Refavela'', which included "No Norte da Saudade" (''To the North of Sadness''), a song heavily influenced by reggae.<ref>Crook (2005), p. 82</ref> When Gil returned to Brazil after the visit, he focused on Afro-Brazilian culture, becoming a member of the Carnaval afoxé group Filhos de Gandhi.

Conversely, his 1980s musical repertoire presented an increased development of dance trends, such as [[disco]] and [[soul music|soul]], as well as the previous incorporation of rock and punk.<ref name=behague/> However, Gil says that his 1994 album ''Acoustic'' was not such a new direction, as he had previously performed unplugged with Caetano Veloso. He describes the method of playing as easier than other types of performance, as the energy of acoustic playing is simple and influenced by its roots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afropop.org/multi/interview/ID/6 |title=Interview: Gilberto Gil (1995) |access-date=2008-05-03 |last=Eyre |first=Banning |author2=Gil, Gilberto |date=June 3, 1995 |work=Afropop Worldwide |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513214850/http://www.afropop.org/multi/interview/ID/6 |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Gil has been criticized for a conflicting involvement in both authentic Brazilian music and the worldwide musical arena. He has had to walk a fine line, simultaneously remaining true to traditional Bahian styles and engaging with commercial markets. Listeners in Bahia have been much more accepting of his blend of music styles, while those in southeast Brazil felt at odds with it.<ref name=behague/>