Gal Costa

• Genre: Tropicalia
• Hometown: Salvador

About

Gal Costa's sultry, sensual voice has been a regular feature in the Brazilian hit parade for four decades. This Bahia native inherited an appreciation of Afro-Brazilian music to match with her natural affinity for the Bossa Nova. A radical child of the 1960s, her collaborations with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil helped make her a star; while they were political exiles in London, she recorded their thinly-veiled criticisms of the Brazilian military government. Whether interpreting an old Samba or Bossa Nova or experimenting with rock and Soul, she has always maintained her distinct voice and steamy passion. Furthermore, she has continually displayed an air of mystery from her beginnings as the gypsy-esque free spirit to her more dignified (albeit seductive), mature image. And finally, there has always been Costa's voice, unmistakable and alluring.

- Robert Leaver