domingo, setembro 03, 2023

Hoje é dia de ler e ouvir Poesia...

 

Serenidade És Minha (À Memória de Fernando Pessoa)


Vem, serenidade!
Vem cobrir a longa
fadiga dos homens,
este antigo desejo de nunca ser feliz
a não ser pela dupla humidade das bocas.


Vem, serenidade!
Faz com que os beijos cheguem à altura dos ombros
e com que os ombros subam à altura dos lábios,
faz com que os lábios cheguem à altura dos beijos.
Carrega para a cama dos desempregados
todas as coisas verdes, todas as coisas vis
fechadas no cofre das águas:
os corais, as anémonas, os monstros sublunares,
as algas, porque um fio de prata lhes enfeita os cabelos.


Vem, serenidade,
com o país veloz e virginal das ondas,
com o martírio leve dos amantes sem Deus,
com o cheiro sensual das pernas no cinema,
com o vinho e as uvas e o frémito das virgens,
com o macio ventre das mulheres violadas,
com os filhos que os pais amaldiçoam,
com as lanternas postas à beira dos abismos,
e os segredos e os ninhos e o feno
e as procissões sem padre, sem anjos e, contudo
com Deus molhando os olhos
e as esperanças dos pobres.


Vem, serenidade,
com a paz e a guerra
derrubar as selvagens
florestas do instinto.


Vem, e levanta
palácios na sombra.
Tem a paciência de quem deixa entre os lábios
um espaço absoluto.


Vem, e desponta,
oriunda dos mares,
orquídea fresca das noites vagabundas,
serena espécie de contentamento,
surpresa, plenitude.


Vem dos prédios sem almas e sem luzes,
dos números irreais de todas as semanas,
dos caixeiros sem cor e sem família,
das flores que rebentam nas mãos dos namorados
dos bancos que os jardins afogam no silêncio,
das jarras que os marujos trazem sempre da China,
dos aventais vermelhos com que as mulheres esperam
a chegada da força e da vertigem.


Vem, serenidade,
e põe no peito sujo dos ladrões
a cruz dos crimes sem cadeia,
põe na boca dos pobres o pão que eles precisam,
põe nos olhos dos cegos a luz que lhes pertence.


Vem nos bicos dos pés para junto dos berços,
para junto das campas dos jovens que morreram,
para junto das artérias que servem
de campo para o trigo, de mar para os navios.


Vem, serenidade!
E do salgado bojo das tuas naus felizes
despeja a confiança,
a grande confiança.
Grande como os teus braços,
grande serenidade!


E põe teus pés na terra,
e deixa que outras vozes
se comovam contigo
no Outono, no Inverno,
no Verão, na Primavera.


Vem, serenidade,
para que se não fale
nem da paz nem da guerra nem de Deus,
porque foi tudo junto
e guardado e levado
para a casa dos homens.


Vem, serenidade,
vem com a madrugada,
vem com os anjos de ouro que fugiram da Lua,
com as nuvens que proíbem o céu,
vem com o nevoeiro.


Vem com as meretrizes que chamam da janela,
o volume dos corpos saciados na cama,
as mil aparições do amor nas esquinas,
as dívidas que os pais nos pagam em segredo,
as costas que os marinheiros levantam
quando arrastam o mar pelas ruas.


Vem, serenidade,
e lembra-te de nós,
que te esperamos há séculos sempre no mesmo sítio,
um sítio aonde a morte tem todos os direitos.


Lembra-te da miséria dourada dos meus versos,
desta roupa de imagens que me cobre
o corpo silencioso,
das noites que passei perseguindo uma estrela,
do hálito, da fome, da doença, do crime,
com que dou vida e morte
a mim próprio e aos outros.


Vem, serenidade,
e acaba com o vício
de plantar roseiras no duro chão dos dias,
vicio de beber água
com o copo do vinho milagroso do sangue.


Vem, serenidade,
não apagues ainda
a lâmpada que forra
os cantos do meu quarto,
o papel com que embrulho meus rios de aventura
em que vai navegando o futuro.


Vem, serenidade!
E pousa, mais serena que as mãos de minha Mãe,
mais húmida que a pele marítima do cais,
mais branca que o soluço, o silêncio, a origem,
mais livre que uma ave em seu vôo,
mais branda que a grávida brandura do papel em que escrevo,
mais humana e alegre que o sorriso das noivas,
do que a voz dos amigos, do que o sol nas searas.


Vem, serenidade,
para perto de mim e para nunca.


....................................... ................


De manhã, quando as carroças de hortaliça
chiam por dentro da lisa e sonolenta
tarefa terminada,
quando um ramo de flores matinais
é uma ofensa ao nosso limitado horizonte,
quando os astros entregam ao carteiro surpreendido
mais um postal da esperança enigmática,
quando os tacões furados pelos relógios podres,
pelas tardes por trás das grades e dos muros,
pelas convencionais visitas aos enfermos,
formam, em densos ângulos de humano desespero,
uma nuvem que aumenta a vã periferia
que rodeia a cidade,
é então que eu te peço como quem pede amor:
Vem, serenidade!


Com a medalha, os gestos e os teus olhos azuis,
vem, serenidade!


Com as horas maiúsculas do cio,
com os músculos inchados da preguiça,
vem, serenidade!


Vem, com o perturbante mistério dos cabelos,
o riso que não é da boca nem dos dentes
mas que se espalha, inteiro,
num corpo alucinado de bandeira.


Vem, serenidade,
antes que os passos da noite vigilante
arranquem as primeiras unhas da madrugada,
antes que as ruas cheias de corações de gás
se percam no fantástico cenário da cidade,
antes que, nos pés dormentes dos pedintes,
a cólera lhes acenda brasas nos cinco dedos,
a revolta semeie florestas de gritos
e a raiva vá partir as amarras diárias.


Vem, serenidade,
leva-me num vagão de mercadorias,
num convés de algodão e borracha e madeira,
na hélice emigrante, na tábua azul dos peixes,
na carnívora concha do sono.


Leva-me para longe
deste bíblico espaço,
desta confusão abúlica dos mitos,
deste enorme pulmão de silêncio e vergonha.
Longe das sentinelas de mármore
que exigem passaporte a quem passa.


A bordo, no porão,
conversando com velhos tripulantes descalços,
crianças criminosas fugidas à policia,
moços contrabandistas, negociantes mouros,
emigrados políticos que vão
em busca da perdida liberdade,
Vem, serenidade,
e leva-me contigo.
Com ciganos comendo amoras e limões,
e música de harmônio, e ciúme, e vinganças,
e subindo nos ares o livre e musical
facho rubro que une os seios da terra ao Sol.


Vem, serenidade!
Os comboios nos esperam.
Há famílias inteiras com o jantar na mesa,
aguardando que batam, que empurrem, que irrompam
pela porta levíssima,
e que a porta se abra e por ela se entornem
os frutos e a justiça.


Serenidade, eu rezo:
Acorda minha Mãe quando ela dorme,
quando ela tem no rosto a solidão completa
de quem passou a noite perguntando por mim,
de quem perdeu de vista o meu destino.


Ajuda-me a cumprir a missão de poeta,
a confundir, numa só e lúcida claridade,
a palavra esquecida no coração do homem.


Vem, serenidade,
e absolve os vencidos,
regulariza o trânsito cardíaco dos sonhos
e dá-lhes nomes novos,
novos ventos, novos portos, novos pulsos.


E recorda comigo o barulho das ondas,
as mentiras da fé, os amigos medrosos,
os assombros daÍndia imaginada,
o espanto aprendiz da nossa fala,
ainda nossa, ainda bela, ainda livre
destes montes altíssimos que tapam
as veias ao Oceano.


Vem, serenidade,
e faz que não fiquemos doentes, só de ver
que a beleza não nasce dia a dia na terra.


E reúne os pedaços dos espelhos partidos,
e não cedas demais ao vislumbre de vermos
a nossa idade exacta
outra vez paralela ao percurso dos pássaros.


E dá asas ao peso
da melancolia,
e põe ordem no caos e carne nos espectros,
e ensina aos suicidas a volúpia do baile,
e enfeitiça os dois corpos quando eles se apertarem,
e não apagues nunca o fogo que os consome.
o impulso que os coloca, nus e iluminados,
no topo das montanhas, no extremo dos mastros
na chaminé do sangue.


Serenidade, assiste
à multiplicação original do Mundo:
Um manto terníssimo de espuma,
um ninho de corais, de limos, de cabelos,
um universo de algas despidas e retrácteis,
um polvo de ternura deliciosa e fresca.


Vem, e compartilha
das mais simples paixões,
do jogo que jogamos sem parceiro,
dos humilhantes nós que a garganta irradia,
da suspeita violenta, do inesperado abrigo.


Vem, com teu frio de esquecimento,
com tua alucinante e alucinada mão,
e põe, no religioso ofício do poema,
a alegria, a fé, os milagres, a luz!


Vem, e defende-me
da traição dos encontros,
do engano na presença de Aquele
cuja palavra é silêncio,
cujo corpo é de ar,
cujo amor é demais
absoluto e eterno
para ser meu, que o amo.


Para sempre irreal,
para sempre obscena,
para sempre inocente,
Serenidade, és minha. 
   


Raul de Carvalho

 

Poesia para recordar um dia triste...


 

beslan. canção das crianças mortas



o que mais dilacera
é que mate crianças
o abutre cego e surdo.
devora tudo em sangue,
com sangue escreve a morte,
com morte escreve a noite,

com noite, só com noite
os nomes dilacera
e dá o seu nome à morte
e a morte é com crianças
que suja tudo em sangue
que faz seu jogo absurdo

vil jogo a rogos surdo
turvo rumor da noite
só empapado em sangue,
que esmaga, dilacera
os corpos das crianças
e dá vivas à morte

e se nutre da morte
da mesma que o faz surdo.
não sabem as crianças
que vão entrar na noite
que a noite as dilacera
em carne viva e sangue,

e a carne viva e o sangue
a ave negra da morte
ávida os dilacera,
assim rasgando o surdo,
denso estertor da noite,
com nomes de crianças.

ah, braços de crianças
nadando em mar de sangue
à torpe luz da noite
assim tornada morte,
assim tornada um surdo
uivar que as dilacera.

noite sem dó, crianças
que dilacera um sangue
de morte espesso e surdo 

  

in
Poesia 2001/2005 - Vasco Graça Moura

Irene Papas nasceu há 94 anos...

  

Irene Papas or Irene Pappas; born Eirini Lelekou (Greek: Ειρήνη Λελέκου, romanized: Eiríni Lelékou); Chiliomodi, Corinthia, 3 September 1929 – Chiliomodi, Corinthia, 14 September 2022) was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films in a career spanning more than 50 years. She gained international recognition through such popular award-winning films as The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969). She was a powerful protagonist in films including The Trojan Women (1971) and Iphigenia (1977). She played the title roles in Antigone (1961) and Electra (1962). She had a fine singing voice, on display in the 1968 recording Songs of Theodorakis.

Papas won Best Actress awards at the Berlin International Film Festival for Antigone and from the National Board of Review for The Trojan Women. Her career awards include the Golden Arrow Award in 1993 at Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Golden Lion Award in 2009 at the Venice Biennale.

 
Career
Papas began her early career in Greece (she was discovered by Elia Kazan), achieving widespread fame there, before starring in internationally renowned films such as The Guns of Navarone and Zorba the Greek, and critically acclaimed films such as Z and Electra. She is a leading figure in cinematic transcriptions of ancient tragedy since she has portrayed Helen in The Trojan Women, Clytemnestra in Iphigenia, and the eponymous parts in Electra and Antigone. She appeared as Catherine of Aragon in the film Anne of the Thousand Days, opposite Richard Burton and Geneviève Bujold in 1969. She co-starred in The Trojan Women with Katharine Hepburn, who once said that Papas was "one of the best actresses in the history of cinema".
In 1976, she starred in the film Mohammad, Messenger of God (also known as The Message) about the origin of Islam, and the message of Mohammad. One of her last film appearances was in Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
In 1978, Papas collaborated with composer Vangelis in an electronic rendition of eight Greek folk songs, issued as a record called "Odes". They collaborated again in 1986 for "Rhapsodies", an electronic rendition of seven Byzantine liturgical hymns.
In 1982, she appeared in the film Lion of the Desert, together with Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, and Sir John Gielgud.

Singer
In 1969 on the RCA label a vinyl LP (INTS 1033) "Irene Papas Songs of Theodorakis" This has eleven songs all sung in Greek but with sleeve notes written in English by Michael Cacoyannis.
One of the more unusual moments in Papas' career came in 1970, when she guested on the album 666 by Greek rock group Aphrodite's Child on the track "∞" (infinity). She chants "I was, I am, I am to come" repeatedly and wildly over a percussive backing. The track was considered lewd by record company executives, and resulted in the album being withheld from release for two years by Polydor Records. Upon its release in 1972, the song caused some furor in Greece and was again accused of lewdness and indecency by Greek religious figures and government authorities.
In 1979, Polydor released her solo album entitled Odes, with music performed (and partly composed) by Vangelis Papathanassiou (also previously a member of Aphrodite's Child). The words for the album were co-written by Arianna Stassinopoulos (Arianna Huffington).
In 1986 Papas released a further album in collaboration with Vangelis, entitled Rhapsodies.
A further CD Irene Pappas sings Mikis Theodorakis was officially released only in 2006 on the FM label, but a wider selection of the songs, all sung in Greek, had been circulating as bootleg tapes for many years. Papas was known to Mikis Theodorakis as early as 1964 from working with him on Zorba the Greek. Some of the songs, performed with passion and skill by Papas, have a Zorba-like quality, e.g. Αρνηση (Denial, on the CD) and Πεντε Πεντε Δεκα (Five Five Ten, not on the CD), so it seems likely they date from soon after 1964. The Theodorakis songs sound more like traditional Greek Bouzouki music than the Vangelis works.
 
Personal life

In 1947 she married the film director Alkis Papas; they divorced in 1951. In 1954 she met the actor Marlon Brando and they had a long love affair, which they kept secret at the time. Fifty years later, when Brando died, she recalled that "I have never since loved a man as I loved Marlon. He was the great passion of my life, absolutely the man I cared about the most and also the one I esteemed most, two things that generally are difficult to reconcile". Her second marriage was to the film producer José Kohn in 1957; that marriage was later annulled. She was the aunt of the film director Manousos Manousakis and the actor Aias Manthopoulos.

In 2003 she served on the board of directors of the Anna-Marie Foundation, a fund which provided assistance to people in rural areas of Greece. In 2013 she began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Papas spent her final years in Chiliomodi. She died there on 14 September 2022, at the age of 93.

   

Saudades...

Eduardo Galeano nasceu há 83 anos


Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (Montevideo, 3 de septiembre de 1940 - Montevideo, 13 de abril de 2015) fue un periodista y escritor uruguayo, considerado uno de los escritores más influyentes de la izquierda latinoamericana.

Sus libros más conocidos, Las venas abiertas de América Latina (1971) y Memoria del fuego (1986), han sido traducidos a veinte idiomas. Sus trabajos trascienden géneros ortodoxos y combinan documental, ficción, periodismo, análisis político e historia.

 

in Wikipédia


Na parede de uma taberna de Madrid, um cartaz avisa: Proibido cantar. Na parede do aeroporto do Rio de Janeiro, um aviso informa: É proibido brincar com os carrinhos porta-bagagem. Ou seja: ainda existe gente que canta, ainda existe gente que brinca.

Eduardo Galeano

Al Jardine, dos Beach Boys, nasceu há 81 anos

  
Alan Charles "Al" Jardine (Lima, 3 de setembro de 1942) é um dos membros fundadores, guitarrista e um dos vocalistas da banda norte-americana The Beach Boys.
A sua família mudou-se de Ohio para San Francisco e mais tarde para Hawthorne, onde, na escola, o então colega de turma Brian Wilson o convidou para participar da banda The Beach Boys.
Após a sua saída precoce da banda, em 1962, trabalhou na indústria na aérea de Los Angeles e foi substituído por David Marks. Jardine regressou à banda em 1963 apenas como substituto, depois voltou a ser membro oficial da banda, com a saída de Marks.
Jardine cantou canções como "Help Me, Rhonda" "Vegetables" "Then I Kissed Her" e "Transcendental Meditation" e dividia os vocais com os outros membros noutras.
Começando com o LP "Friends", Jardine também escreveu ou co-escreveu uma série de músicas para a banda. A mais notável provavelmente foi "California Saga: California" do álbum Holland.
A canção "Lady Lynda", que foi uma versão de "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", foi um dos maiores hits da banda fora dos EUA.
Jardine deixou de fazer shows com os The Beach Boys em 1998, quando Carl Wilson morreu de cancro do pulmão.
Em 2006, por ocasião do 40º aniversário do álbum Pet Sounds, ele apresentou-se com o grupo em turnê comemorativa. Em 2008, ele teve uma queixa na justiça por Mike Love, pelo uso não autorizado do nome Beach Boys, já que havia formado um grupo chamado Beach Boys Family & Friends, em seguida renomeado como Al Jardine, Family & Friends.
   

 


Freddie King nasceu há 89 anos...

  
Freddie King (Chicago, 3 de setembro de 1934 – Dallas, 28 de dezembro de 1976) foi um músico, cantor e guitarrista de blues, mais conhecido por suas músicas "Hide Away", "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" e "Going Down". Foi considerado o 15º melhor guitarrista do mundo pela revista norte-americana Rolling Stone.
King nasceu como Frederick Christian em Gilmer, Texas. A sua mãe era Ella May King e o seu pai J.T. Christian. A sua mãe e o seu tio começaram a ensiná-lo a tocar guitarra aos seis anos. Ele gostou e imitou a música de Lightnin' Hopkins e do saxofonista Louis Jordan.
Em 1950, Freddie foi, com a sua família, para o sul de Chicago. Lá, aos 16 anos, costumava frequentar bares locais e ouvia músicos como Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, e Sonny Boy Williamson.
King tocava com uma palheta plástica de polegar e uma palheta de metal para o indicador. Ele atribuiu a Eddie Taylor os ensinamentos sobre o uso das palhetas. A maneira de King usar a alça da guitarra no ombro direito, sendo dextro, era única para sua época. Freddie King era um dos artistas principais da cena do chamado Chicago blues dos anos 50 e 60, que era o local e época principal no desenvolvimento do chamado blues elétrico.
Em 1976 Freddie King morre, de problemas cardíacos, em Dallas, aos 42 anos. Primeiro entre os três grandes "Kings" do blues a nos deixar, os outros dois sendo Albert King (falecido em 1992) e BB King (falecido em 2015). Eric Clapton, que fez um tour com ele entre 1974 e 1975, chegou a declarar: "Freddie King foi quem me ensinou como fazer amor com uma guitarra". 
 

 


Perry Bamonte faz hoje 63 anos


Perry Archangelo Bamonte (born 3 September 1960) is an English musician and illustrator, best known as a member of the rock band The Cure from 1990 to 2005, and again since 2022. 

 

Biography

Born in London, England, Bamonte became a guitar tech for The Cure in 1984. He joined the band as keyboardist in 1990, replacing Roger O'Donnell who abruptly quit after a tour, and Bamonte played both guitar and keyboards on the band's 1992 album Wish. Following the departure of Porl Thompson in 1993, Bamonte took on additional lead guitar duties, O'Donnell rejoined in 1995 to fill the keyboardist position. Bamonte appeared on the subsequent albums Wild Mood Swings, Bloodflowers, and The Cure. He has been credited for writing the music for the songs "Trust" from Wish, "This Is a Lie" from Wild Mood Swings, and "Anniversary" from The Cure. He also appeared on the live albums Paris and Show as well as Trilogy.

In 2005, it was reported that Bamonte and Roger O'Donnell were let go by the Cure's leader Robert Smith, who wanted to make some changes to the group. Smith reportedly wanted to make the band a three-piece. The news was officially announced on May 27, 2005 on The Cure's website. On June 18, 2005, The Cure announced the return of former guitarist Porl Thompson. The seemingly abrupt changes in the band brought about rumors and speculation, while no official statement was given by Smith as to why Bamonte and O'Donnell were let go. While it was a surprise to both, both Bamonte and O'Donnell remained on amicable terms with Smith.

In September 2012, Bamonte was revealed as the bassist for London band Love Amongst Ruin to help them tour their second album Lose Your Way.

In March, 2019, Bamonte joined fellow members of The Cure, past and present, for their induction into the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Bamonte rejoined The Cure in 2022 onstage as a guitarist/keyboardist, performing on the first night of the band’s “Lost World Tour” in Riga, Latvia.

 

in Wikipédia

 


e. e. cummings morreu há 61 anos...

   
Edward Estlin Cummings, usualmente abreviado como e. e. cummings, em minúsculas, como o poeta assinava e publicava, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 14 de outubro de 1894 - North Conway, Nova Hampshire, 3 de setembro de 1962) foi poeta, pintor, ensaísta e dramaturgo norte-americano. Tendo sido, principalmente, poeta, é considerado um dos principais inovadores da linguagem da poesia e da literatura no século XX.

   
  

I Like My Body When It Is With Your

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite new a thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body.  i like what it does,
i like its hows.  i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones,and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the,shocking fuzz
of your electric furr,and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh….And eyes big love-crumbs,

and possibly i like the thrill

of under me you so quite new

Steve Jones, guitarrista dos Sex Pistols, nasceu há 68 anos


Stephen Philip Jones (Shepherd's Bush, London, 3 September 1955) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the punk band Sex Pistols. Following the split of the Sex Pistols, he formed the Professionals with former bandmate Paul Cook. He has released two solo albums, and worked with Johnny Thunders, Iggy Pop, Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan and Thin Lizzy. In 1995, he formed the short-lived supergroup Neurotic Outsiders with members of Guns N' Roses and Duran Duran. Jones was ranked #97 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

 

Jones (right) with the Sex Pistols in 1977

 

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O músico Walter Becker morreu há seis anos...


Walter Carl Becker (Queens, New York, February 20, 1950 – Manhattan, New York, September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.

Becker met future songwriting partner Donald Fagen while they were students at Bard College. After a brief period of activity in New York City, the two moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and formed the nucleus of Steely Dan, which enjoyed a critically and commercially successful ten-year career. Following the group's dissolution, Becker moved to Hawaii and reduced his musical activity, working primarily as a record producer. In 1985, he briefly became a member of the English band China Crisis, producing and playing synthesizer on their album Flaunt the Imperfection.

Becker and Fagen reformed Steely Dan in 1993 and remained active, recording Two Against Nature (2000), which won four Grammy Awards. Becker released two solo albums, 11 Tracks of Whack (1994) and Circus Money (2008). Following a brief battle with esophageal cancer, he died on September 3, 2017. 

 

in Wikipédia

 


Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson morreu há 53 anos...


Alan Christie Wilson (Arlington, Massachusetts, July 4, 1943 – Topanga, California, September 3, 1970), nicknamed "Blind Owl", was an American musician, best known as the co-founder, leader, co-lead singer, and primary composer of the blues band Canned Heat. He sang and played harmonica and guitar with the group live and on recordings. Wilson was the lead singer for the group's two biggest U.S. hit singles: "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country". 

 

Early years

Alan Christie Wilson was born to John (Jack) Wilson (1914–2000), a bricklayer, and Shirley Bingham (1922–2011), an artist on July 4, 1943, and grew up in the Boston suburb of Arlington, Massachusetts. He had an older sister Darrell and was of English, Scottish, and German descent. His parents divorced when he was 3 and both later remarried. Wilson was highly intelligent, setting him apart from his peers. As a result, he was often bullied by his schoolmates. His father Jack enjoyed ham radio operation. Alan became involved as a child but soon turned his interest to music after his stepmother Barbara bought him a jazz record. Some of Wilson's first efforts at performing music publicly came during his teen years when he learned trombone, teaching himself the instrumental parts from the aforementioned jazz record. Later he formed a jazz ensemble with other musically oriented friends from school called Crescent City Hot Five.

Wilson was into traditional New Orleans music, and later, classical European and Indian music. He was also on the high school tennis team. Eventually, Wilson quit trombone. Around the same time Wilson developed a fascination with blues music after a friend played a Muddy Waters record for him, The Best of Muddy Waters. Inspired by Little Walter, he took up harmonica, and soon after the acoustic guitar after hearing a John Lee Hooker record. Some of Wilson's other major influences included Skip James, Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, Tommy Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and Bukka White. After graduating from Arlington High School in 1961, he majored in music at Boston University. His academics earned him a National Merit Scholarship and the F.E. Thompson Scholarship Fund from the Town of Arlington. Wilson developed into a dedicated student of early blues, writing a number of articles for the Broadside of Boston newspaper and the folk-revival magazine Little Sandy Review, including a piece on bluesman Robert Pete Williams. Anxious to play music rather than study it, Wilson quit school after only a year and a half. To make ends meet, Wilson worked with his father as a bricklayer, and occasionally gave harmonica and guitar lessons.

 

Career

In 1962, Wilson met Harvard student and fellow blues enthusiast David Evans in a record store, and the two began playing as a team around the Cambridge coffeehouse folk-blues circuit, with Evans on vocals and guitar, Wilson on harmonica and occasionally second guitar. The two played a repertoire of mostly classic-era blues covers. Heavily influenced by Skip James, eventually Wilson began singing in a way similar way to James' high pitch. In high school, Wilson studied James' 1931 recordings with great ardor. Some of his first singing attempts took place behind a closed bedroom door; and when a family member overheard him, he was embarrassed. Wilson eventually perfected the high tenor for which he would become known.

The early 1960s saw a "rediscovery" of pre-war blues artists by young, white blues enthusiasts, including Mississippi John Hurt, Booker White, Skip James and Son House. In 1964, blues enthusiast Tom Hoskins located John Hurt, who at the time had been working on a local farm in his native Mississippi. Hoskins persuaded Hurt to come north to Cambridge for a gig. Wilson was invited to accompany Hurt on harmonica. Said Hoskins, "He was brilliant."

Son House, considered by Wilson to be one of the most impressive harmonica players in blues history, was located in Rochester, NY in 1964, but it was evident that House had forgotten his songs due to his long absence from music. Wilson played House's old recordings from 1930 and 1943 for him. and demonstrated them on guitar to revive House's memory. House recorded Father of Folk Blues for Columbia Records in 1965. Two of the selections on the set featured Wilson on harmonica and guitar. In a letter to Jazz Journal published in the September 1965 issue, Son House's manager Dick Waterman remarked the following about the project, and Wilson:

It is a solo album, except for backing on two cuts by a 21-year-old White boy from Cambridge by the name of Al Wilson. Al plays second guitar on "Empire State Express" and harp on "Levee Camp Moan." Al never recorded before, but he has backed John Hurt, Skip James, Sleepy John Estes, Bukka White and many others. He is good, and the record will prove it.
Al Wilson taught Son House how to play Son House. I can tell you, flatly, that without Al invigorating and revitalizing Son, there would have been no Son House rediscovery. All of Son’s successful concert appearances, recordings and him being remembered as having a great second career — all that was because of Al rejuvenating his music.

 

Canned Heat

During his time performing in Cambridge, Wilson met American guitarist John Fahey, the "Father of American Primitive Guitar." With Fahey's encouragement, Wilson moved with Fahey to Los Angeles in 1965 with the aim of having Wilson assist with his UCLA master's thesis on Charley Patton. Because Wilson forgot his glasses during the trip, Fahey gave him the nickname "Blind Owl" owing to his extreme nearsightedness, roundish facial features and scholarly nature. In one instance when he was playing at a wedding, he laid his guitar on the wedding cake because he did not see it. As Canned Heat's drummer Fito de la Parra wrote in his book: "Without the glasses, Alan literally could not recognize the people he played with at two feet, that's how blind the 'Blind Owl' was."

Once in Los Angeles, Fahey released The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death. Wilson provided the liner notes under the pseudonym Charles Holloway, Esq. In 1966, Wilson recorded a series of traditional Indian ragas on Fahey's Takoma label but was never issued. Four of Wilson's ragas later appeared as the nine-part soundscape "Pathenogenesis" on Canned Heat's third album, Living the Blues. A portion of "Raga Kafi" is performed on the chromatic harmonica. Fahey's 1992 album Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories features more of "Raga Kafi" in "Fear & Loathing at 4th & Butternut," although Wilson was not credited.[11] In Los Angeles Wilson met fellow blues enthusiast and record collector, Bob "The Bear" Hite at a record store. Together they founded Canned Heat in 1965. The band's name was taken from Tommy Johnson's 1928 song "Canned Heat Blues," about an alcoholic who turned to drinking the cooking fuel Sterno. Originally beginning as a jug band, Canned Heat initially consisted of Hite on vocals, Wilson on bottleneck guitar, Mike Perlowin on lead guitar, Stu Brotman on bass and Keith Sawyer on drums. The group landed gigs at the Ash Grove in Hollywood, and after Perlowin dropped out, Hite invited his friend Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, from Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention to join on guitar. Johnny Otis produced the group's first full-length album in 1966. It featured Hite, Wilson, Vestine, Brotman, and new drummer Frank Cook in his studio just off Vine Street in Los Angeles. The record was not released until 1970; and Vintage, as it was titled, has since become the most re-packaged and bootlegged record in Canned Heat's discography. Over a Summer hiatus, Brotman left Canned Heat and was replaced by Larry "The Mole" Taylor, an experienced session musician who played with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees.

Canned Heat's first year was marked by infrequent gigs and public indifference. Wilson later told Melody Maker, “The first year we were together, we worked for three weeks. We’d get a gig, play three days and get fired … because we refused to be a human jukebox.”  After a particularly disastrous engagement the group disbanded in August 1966. During this period, Wilson and Vestine moved on to join the Electric Beavers, an ensemble featuring a full horn section. The band lasted for a short time on a rehearsal basis only. Eventually, Canned Heat re-formed in November 1966. During a gig at the Ash Grove, Canned Heat earned the attention of singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon, who was married to the head of A&R at Liberty Records, Bud Dain.

The band released their first album, Canned Heat, featuring reworkings of older blues songs for Liberty Records in July 1967. Their first big live performance was at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 17, 1967, where they performed renditions of "Rollin and Tumblin," "Bullfrog Blues," and "Dust My Broom." Downbeat Magazine praised the band's performance: “Technically, Vestine and Wilson are quite possibly the best two-guitar team in the world and Wilson has certainly become our finest white blues harmonica man." Wilson wrote and sang the band's break out hit "On the Road Again," an updated version of a 1950s composition by Floyd Jones, on the band's second release, Boogie with Canned Heat. In an interview with Downbeat Magazine he remarked, "...on 'On the Road Again' I appear in six different capacities – three tamboura parts, harmonica, vocal, and guitar, all recorded at different times." "On the Road Again" peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, and at number 8 on the Uk singles charts earning the band immense popularity in Europe. Drummer Frank Cook left the band in December 1967 and was replaced by Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra. Canned Heat's third album included the band's best-known song, also sung by Wilson, "Going Up the Country." The song, an incarnation of Henry Thomas' "Bull-Doze Blues" was rewritten by Wilson and caught the "back to nature" attitude of the late 1960s. The tune was a hit in numerous countries around the world, peaking at number 11 in the US. The "rural hippie anthem" became the unofficial theme song for the Woodstock Festival where Canned Heat performed at sunset on August 16, 1969. Although Canned Heat's live performance was cut from the original theatrical release of the Woodstock film, they were featured in the 25th anniversary "Director's Cut." The studio version of "Going Up the Country" was featured in the Woodstock film; and in recent years has been heard in television commercials for Geico Insurance, Subaru, and Pepsi. Around this time, Wilson became disillusioned with Canned Heat and considered quitting on several occasions. Upset over Vestine's departure and becoming more averse to touring, Wilson expressed the possibility of still recording but not touring with the band. Wilson arranged to join Vestine's new band Sunn, and Frank Cook's group Pacific Gas and Electric, however both options fell through. Eventually Wilson ended up quitting Canned Heat for about 2 weeks in late 1969, and again shortly before his death in 1970. But each time, he felt guilty and decided to go on tour again. His increasing isolation became obvious, as footage of the band at this time showed Wilson standing apart from his bandmates, and often hiding behind rows of amps.[16]

Canned Heat's fifth album, Future Blues was released in August 1970 and featured the Wilbert Harrison cover of "Let's Work Together." It became their biggest hit in the UK, reaching number 2 on the Singles Chart for 15 weeks. The cover features the band dressed as astronauts on the Moon, mocking the flag raising at Iwo Jima. The upside-down American flag was Wilson's idea in response to the country's social distress at the time, and his concern over the Moon landing a year before. However, retailers like Sears and K-Mart found the cover offensive and refused to stock the album.

In May 1970, Canned Heat teamed up with John Lee Hooker, fulfilling a dream for Wilson of recording with one of his musical idols. It would be his last recording. The resulting double album Hooker 'N' Heat was the first in Hooker's career to make the charts. On the album, Hooker is heard wondering how Wilson was capable of following his guitar playing so well. Hooker was known to be a difficult performer to accompany, partly because of his disregard of song form, yet Wilson seemed to have no trouble at all following him on this album. Hooker states that "you [Wilson] musta been listenin' to my records all your life" and also stated that Wilson was the "greatest harmonica player ever." Released after Wilson's death, the album cover features a framed photo of Wilson on the wall behind the rest of Canned Heat.

On a night off in Britain on June 30, 1970, Wilson went to see his old friend Son House, who was performing at the 100 Club in London. He sat in for “Between Midnight and Day” and “I Want to Go Home on the Morning Train." The show was recorded and originally released as John The Revelator on Liberty in 1970. The session was a concept album with House narrating through his last European performance in a biblical format. It was reissued in 1995 with extensive liner notes by David Evans as Delta Blues and Spirituals on Capitol Records and was posthumously dedicated to Wilson.

The last live footage of Wilson was taken at Canned Heat's performance at the Kralingen Music Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands on June 26, 1970.

Wilson appeared with Canned Heat performing "One Kind Favor" during a party scene in the drama The Naked Zoo released in 1971.

 

Personal life

Wilson suffered from anxiety and depression, rooted in his personal issues and in his despair over the environment. According to some, he had a couple of suicide attempts. Some sources say he never actually said he tried to commit suicide and these were simply assumptions some who knew him made after his death. As a child, Wilson experienced sleep paralysis, but later suffered from insomnia as an adult. To resolve his insomnia, Wilson started using the barbiturates Secobarbital, or "reds" as they were known on the street. He had a nervous habit of pulling and twisting his hair. In the summer of 1969, Wilson was hospitalized for depression. During this time, he wrote the song "Poor Moon," expressing his concern for pollution from the Moon landing that same year. In order to be released, however, Wilson was placed under Bob Hite's care in a legal custody agreement. Wilson was hospitalized again in the spring of 1970, as Canned Heat was scheduled to record an album with John Lee Hooker. Wilson reportedly attempted to drive his car off a freeway in Los Angeles, sustaining an injury to the top of his head. There are conflicting stories of this as some say it was an accident due to his poor eyesight and lack of driving experience. Wilson was permitted to attend recording sessions, but would return to the hospital at the conclusion of each session. His song "Human Condition," reflects an encounter with his psychiatrist at one of his hospital stays. Because Wilson was highly sensitive, introverted and struggled with social situations, some believe he was on the autism spectrum. With his talent and intellect, most dismissed him as brilliant but a little odd, as autism was not well understood at the time. There are no actual diagnoses indicating he was autistic. Others who knew him disagree that he was autistic. Some who knew him also say that he was not introverted but introspective. Despite his success, he was not very successful with women, failing to relate to them or maintain long-term relationships. However, he did have some girlfriends over the years, though these relationships did not last long.

Due to his poor vision, Wilson did not learn how to drive until 1969, when Bob Hite gave him a camper van which doubled as a home. He had no interest in purchasing a home, and whenever Canned Heat was not on tour, Wilson would go camping to Yosemite or Sequoia National Park in his van at every opportunity.

 

Death

On September 2, 1970, Canned Heat was scheduled to leave for Germany to begin a European tour. Partly due to the inconveniences preventing him from spending time outdoors, Wilson despised touring and travelling by plane. He often missed flights and the band would fly without him while he caught a later flight. When he missed his September 2 flight, this did not raise any alarms, and Bob Hite assumed he was doing laundry to prepare for the tour. On September 3, 1970, Wilson was found dead in his sleeping bag on the hillside behind Hite's Topanga Canyon home where he often slept. He was 27 years old. An autopsy identified his manner and cause of death as accidental acute barbiturate intoxication. Although his death is sometimes reported as a suicide, this is not clearly established as he left no note, and there were four pills left in his pants found next to his body.

Wilson's death came fourteen months after the death of Brian Jones, just two weeks before the death of Jimi Hendrix, four weeks before the death of Janis Joplin, and ten months before the death of Jim Morrison, four artists who also died at the same age. Wilson was cremated, and on September 13, 1970, a memorial service was held at Menotomy Rocks Park in his hometown of Arlington. The service was led by Reverend Wilbur Canaday who said, "We are using the sky as a roof, and the ground as a floor, because he himself used nature’s great wonders as his home.”  Wilson's ashes were later scattered in Sequoia National Park amongst the redwoods he deeply loved.

 

Conservationism

Wilson was a passionate conservationist who loved reading books on botany and ecology. He often slept outdoors to be closer to nature, and amassed a large collection of pinecones. Wilson communicated with trees and plants better than he did with people. He believed that trees were sentient beings that could experience pain. In 1969, he wrote and recorded a song, "Poor Moon", which expressed concern over potential pollution of the Moon. His clothes were often dirty and disheveled from collecting leaf and soil samples outdoors. For this reason, Wilson avoided arrest in a drug sting in 1967, when authorities raided Canned Heat's hotel room. In 1970 Wilson established a conservation fund called Music Mountain Foundation in the Skunk Cabbage Creek area of California to purchase a grove to be added to Redwood National Park. The purpose of this organization was to raise money for the preservation of the coastal redwood, which Wilson saw increasingly endangered by pollution, and urban sprawl. Canned Heat along with their manager agreed to donate proceeds from major concerts after Wilson's death, however the donations were later misappropriated. He wrote an essay called 'Grim Harvest', expressing his concern for the logging of redwoods, which was printed as the liner notes to Future Blues. It begins, "The redwoods of California are the tallest living things on Earth, nearly the oldest, and among the most beautiful to boot." It ends with a plea to "prevent Future Blues" by making a donation to his organization.

Wilson briefly worked as an ecological consultant for the United States Forest Service in 1969. He was appointed to perform a study on how rising levels of pollution would affect plant life on Earth, and then to determine which species could survive if pollution levels continued to rise at the rates at the time. During his studies, Wilson was even credited as discovering two new species of trees in the Pacific Northwest. When Wilson finished the study, he concluded that nothing could survive.

In order to support his dream, Wilson's family purchased a "grove naming" in his memory through the Save the Redwoods League of California. The money donated to create this memorial would be used by the League to support redwood reforestation, research, education, and land acquisition of both new and old growth redwoods.

Legacy

Wilson is widely remembered as a pioneer of blues-rock during its crucial development period of the 1960s who also promoted the revival of early Delta Blues. Wilson was considered by many of his musical peers to be an expert on the blues musicians who came before him; many considered him as possessing an exceptional ability for connecting musically with the elder bluesmen. He was a gifted slide guitarist, harmonica player, songwriter and vocalist. His recording career spanned only three years. Despite this, he left behind a rich legacy of inspiration to fellow artists, music scholars, and listeners alike. Mike Bloomfield of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band introduced him to Charlie Musselwhite as “the best goddamn harp player there is. He can do things that you’ve never heard before.”  Wilson's friend John Fahey has said that he was "among the most significant influences on my musicianship," and that his work "must be appreciated for its immortal, spellbinding beauty." Wilson is also noteworthy for being one of the first environmentalists during the rise of the 1960s "New Environmentalism" Movement and was highly dedicated to protecting and preserving the California redwoods.

Stephen Stills' song "Blues Man" from the album Manassas is dedicated to Wilson, along with Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.

 

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Frank Capra morreu há 32 anos...

   

Francesco Rosario Capra, mais conhecido como Frank Capra (Bisacquino, 18 de maio de 1897La Quinta, 3 de setembro de 1991) foi um diretor de cinema italiano naturalizado norte-americano. Foi o mais popular e reverenciado cineasta da sua época, sendo o vencedor 3 Óscares de Melhor Diretor em 1934, 1936 e 1938, 2 Óscares de Melhor Filme em 1934 (co-produtor) e 1938 (produtor único), e 1 Óscar de Melhor Documentário, em 1943. Também ganhou um Globo de Ouro de Melhor Diretor em 1946. Foi presidente da Academia de Artes e Ciências Cinematográficas de 1935 a 1939. 

 

Biografia

Nascido na Sicília, Frank era o sexto filho de um camponês que cultivava limões e laranjas, Salvatore Capra, que teve sete filhos. Em 1898, o irmão mais velho, Ben, fugiu de casa, aos 16 anos, sem avisar e, após cinco anos, a família, que era toda analfabeta, recebeu uma carta de Los Angeles, assinada por Morris Orsatti. A carta precisou ser lida pelo padre do local, e informava que Ben estava em Los Angeles e não iria voltar. Ben embarcara num cargueiro grego, num porto a 48 quilómetros de Bisaquino, e após ter passado por várias aventuras, trabalhando inclusive como escravo, acabou chegando em Los Angeles, onde conheceu Morris Orsatti, que escreveu aos pais de Ben, pois ele era analfabeto.

Em abril de 1903, os pais e quatro dos irmãos de Ben chegavam a Los Angeles, entre eles Frank, de seis anos, que passou a estudar e vender jornais na rua e, mesmo contrariando a vontade dos pais, ingressou na Escola Superior de Trabalhos Manuais. Durante os estudos, Frank trabalhou como bedel em sua escola, como tocador de guitarra num restaurante, e como encartador no Los Angeles Times. Capra naturalizou-se cidadão dos Estados Unidos em 1920.

Posteriormente, Frank formou-se em engenharia química, em 1918, no Troop Polytechnic Institute, mas, devido à guerra, não conseguiu emprego. Sobreviveu então vendendo livros, fotografias e quinquilharias, até que soube que o Ginásio Israelita do Golden Gate Park, em San Francisco, seria transformado num estúdio cinematográfico. Após alguns dias, Frank já estava dirigindo o seu primeiro filme, A pensão de Fultah Fisher (Fultah Fisher’s Boarding House), lançado pela Pathé em 1922. 

 

Carreira

Após o seu primeiro filme, em 1922, Capra trabalhou num laboratório de San Francisco, e um ano depois partiu para Hollywood, onde trabalhou como prop man, montando situações para comédias, e depois como escritor das comédias, para a série Os batutinhas, também conhecidos como Os peraltas (Our Gang).

Mack Sennett contratou-o como criador de situações cómicas, em função de um comediante que então despontava: Harry Langdon. Posteriormente, Capra acompanhou Langdon – que fundara a sua própria companhia – trabalhando com o diretor Harry Edwards na comédia O andarilho (Tramp, tramp, tramp), de 1926, na First National, com Joan Crawford em início de carreira.

Dirigiu depois O homem forte (The strong man, 1926), O pinto calçudo (Long Pants, 1927) e Filhos da fortuna (For the Love of Mike, 1927), todos da First National. Divorciou-se então de Helen Howell, com quem se casara alguns anos antes, e atravessando uma fase de insucesso, ficou desempregado.

Harry Cohn, um dos donos da então desconhecida Columbia Pictures, escolheu o nome de Capra numa lista de diretores desempregados apenas por intuição, sendo esse o ponto inicial de sua carreira.

Em 1932 casou-se com Lucille Reyburn, num casamento que durou até 1 de julho de 1984, quando ela faleceu. Tiveram quatro filhos: Frank Jr., John (que faleceu aos três anos de idade), Lulu e Tom.

Em 15 de junho de 1945 recebeu das mãos do general George C. Marshall a Medalha por Serviços Notáveis, devido aos resultados positivos dos documentários que produziu por ocasião da Segunda Guerra Mundial, consciencializando os soldados da importância da sua luta. Por recomendação de Winston Churchill, foi agraciado, igualmente, com a Ordem do Império Britânico.

Após a guerra, Capra fundou a Liberty Films, juntamente com os diretores William Wyler e George Stevens, e o produtor Samuel Briskin, dirigindo o filme A felicidade não se compra, cuja distribuição foi confiada à RKO Pictures. Posteriormente a MGM decidiu financiar a Liberty Films. Em 1950, a Liberty foi vendida para a Paramount.

Em 1959 esteve no Brasil, para promover Os viúvos também sonham, produzido pela Sincap, empresa sua, em sociedade com Frank Sinatra, para a United Artists.

Frank Capra escreveu a sua autobiografia sob o título The name above the title. Morreu em consequência de ataque cardíaco, enquanto dormia. Foi sepultado no Coachella Valley Public Cemetery, Coachella, Califórnia no Estados Unidos. Possui uma estrela na Calçada da Fama, localizada em 6614 Hollywood Boulevard.

Victor Scherle e William Turner Levy escreveram o livro The films of Frank Capra, comentando sobre os seus filmes e incluindo comentários e opiniões de vários artistas e demais colegas do diretor.

 

 

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Ferdinand Porsche nasceu há 148 anos

Ferdinand Porsche em 1940
  
Professor Doktor Ingenieur Honoris Causa Ferdinand Porsche (Maffersdorf, 3 de setembro de 1875 - Estugarda, 30 de janeiro de 1951) foi um engenheiro de automóveis austríaco, famoso durante a sua carreira pelos projetos inovadores, e famoso nos dias de hoje pelo desenvolvimento do Volkswagen Carocha. Juntamente com o seu filho e a sua equipa, foi responsável pela construção do primeiro Porsche 356 - e pela fundação da própria Porsche, por consequência.
   

O Volkswagen Carocha - primeiro modelo de automóvel fabricado pela companhia alemã Volkswagen; o carro mais vendido no mundo, ultrapassando, em 1972, o recorde que pertencia até então ao Ford Modelo T