A key figure in Brazil’s tropicália movement Tom Zé thought he had concluded his
music career by the time David Byrne of the Talking Heads came calling and
rekindled interest in the experimental psychedelic musician, decades after his
introduction. Born Antônio José Santana Martins on October 11, 1936 in Irara, in
the Brazilian state of Bahia, Zé blended local folklore into his outside-the-box
version of regional pop music, which resulted in several albums’ worth of
complex music packed with details that reward repeated, dedicated listens.
After relocating to São Paulo in the ...