Jorge Mautner

Jorge Mautner stands out as a composer whose intellectual roots in politics, philosophy, and poetry helped shape the directions of Cinema Novo and Tropicália. Numerous performers have interpreted his songs, among them Gal Costa with “Lágrimas Negras,” Wanderléa with “Ginga da Mandinga,” Gilberto Gil with “Maracatu Atômico,” “Herói das Estrelas,” and “O Rouxinol,” Moraes Moreira with “A Lenda do Pégaso,” Elba Ramalho with “Sonho de Uma Noite de Verão,” Caetano Veloso with “Vampiro,” plus Zé Ramalho, Fagner, Vânia Bastos, Lulu Santos, Celso Sim, and Chico Science. He took up the violin at age seven under his father’s guidance, turned to the mandolin at fourteen, and later studied piano. From 1956 onward he committed to paper his visions of a realm called “Kaos,” writings that sparked the imagination of Gláuber Rocha, founder of Cinema Novo, and helped seed Tropicália. In 1958 he produced the text “Olhar Bestial.” His nonconformist stance already surfaced in the book Deus da Chuva e da Morte, drafted during those years yet issued only in 1962; he also authored Kaos, Narciso em Tarde Cinza, and Vigarista Jorge. His debut single, coupling “Radioatividade” with “Não Não Não,” appeared in 1965 while he performed in São Paulo bars and nightclubs; that release together with Vigarista Jorge prompted his departure from Brazil, three years prior to the AI-5 decree that curtailed civil liberties. In the United States he held assorted positions, among them serving as secretary to the writer Robert Lowell. During 1969 he collaborated with Carla Bley on the enduring piece “Olhos de Gato.” Relocating to London in 1971, where Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were likewise living in exile, he composed “From Far Away” alongside Caetano and, with Gil, “The Three Mushrooms,” “Babylon,” and “Crazy Pop Rock.” That same year he directed the film O Demiurgo. Back in Brazil he captured his first album live in 1972 under the title Para Iluminar a Cidade. Working with Nelson Jacobina he created his most successful composition, “Maracatu Atômico,” which Gilberto Gil recorded to wide acclaim in 1973 and which Chico Science e Nação Zumbi revived successfully in 1996. In 1974 he joined Gil and Caetano for a concert in Salvador, Bahia, later issued as a live LP. Mautner persists in releasing recordings, staging concerts, and publishing books.