Jorge Ben Jor

For over seventy years, the extremely talented Jorge Ben Jor has been a stalwart of the Brazilian music scene, releasing hit after hit to this day. His unique blend of samba and boss nova with western pop has seen him break into the global charts, with his song "Mas Que Nada" (his first Brazilian hit in 1963) continuing to be the most played song, that is entirely sung in Portuguese, in the United States to this day. Jazz legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie even recorded their own interpretations of the song. He has released an incredible 35 albums over his long career, becoming a true ambassador for the Brazilian music scene.
His music is always highly rhythmic, making heavy use of samba beats. It is upbeat music to dance to wildly, a sentiment clearly shared with the audience at his performance at the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. When playing "Gostosa" the crowd got up on stage to dance alongside Jorge Ben Jor, clapping in pure joy at his instantly catchy and booty-shaking tunes. It was just pure party vibes and everyone was having such great fun. Despite being in his elder years, Jorge still had incredible energy and stage presence, which helped make the performance so special and vibrant. A true Brazilian legend who deserves to be remembered as one of the best artists of the 20th century.