RAUL MIDÓN: State of Mind

RAUL MIDÓN
Conheci e me tornei amigo do cantor e guitarrista Raul Midón em Miami, em 1998. Nessa época ele se apresentava constantemente no JAZZID e, esporadicamente, no VAN DYKE´S CAFE. Raul nasceu, de parto prematuro, no Novo México. Ele e seu irmão gêmeo Marco ficaram cegos após passar algum tempo expostos ao ar da incubadora sem proteção visual. Convivendo com a música desde os 4 anos, começou sua carreira - depois de frequentar conservatórios e mais tarde a Universidade de Música de Miami- fazendo backing-vocals de vários artistas, incluindo Shakira, Jennifer Lopes, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias e Jose Feliciano. Em 2002 se mudou para Nova York, onde trabalhou com Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Valentin, Dave Samuels, Herbie Hancock e Claudio Roditi. Depois de lançar um album independente "Gracias
a la Vida" (um repertório de boleros, cantados em espanhol que não emplacou, pois ficou parecendo cover de Jose Feliciano) Midon foi contratado pelo famoso produtor Arif Mardin para a Manhattan Records, e gravou este "State of Mind" (2005), que conta com participações especiais de Stevie Wonder e Jason Mraz. O estilo de Raul é uma mistura de tudo: música latina, jazz, rock, soul, R&B, etc. Apesar da inegável
influência de Stevie Wonder e de José Feliciano em seu trabalho, Raul Midón tem personalidade própria como cantor e compositor. E como pude constatar, ao vivo, toca um violão fantástico, com uma técnica incrível.
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RAUL MIDON
(Born March 14, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Mexico, based in New York City. He combines his distinct voice, strumming, beats, and a cappella sounds to create a one-man performance. His unique style shows influence of virtually every musical genre which came before him, including jazz, blues, R&B, and folk. Midón was born prematurely in a rural hospital in Embudo, New Mexico to parents of Argentine and African American descent. His father was a dancer from Argentina. Midón and his twin brother Marco (now a NASA engineer) were blinded as infants after spending time in an incubator without adequate eye protection. The sounds of music became integral to Midón's life around age 4, when his father
introduced him to the drum. Midón became an avid music lover and learned how to play the guitar while performing in rigorous educational programs, first at a school for the blind and then an elite Santa Fe academy while completing his last two years of high school. Midón then attended the University of Miami, which he selected for its prestigious jazz curriculum. Midón began his career as a backup singer for several well known Top 40 acts, including Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias and Jose Feliciano. Having toured with Shakira, and recorded with Alejandro Sanz in 2002, he set aside this career to pursue a solo career and moved to New York City. While focusing the majority of his time on his solo career,
he has also worked with jazz legends Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, Dave Samuels, Herbie Hancock, and Claudio Roditi. Soon after the release of his independent album, Midón was signed by Grammy Award-winning producer Arif Mardin (Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin) to Manhattan Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records owned by EMI. In Mardin's long career, Midón was his first signing of an artist. Mardin, along
with his son, Joe, produced the critically acclaimed debut album of Midón entitled State of Mind. Midón also did the theme song for Spike Lee's 2004 LGBT film, She Hate Me, titled "Adam n' Eve n' Eve". Midón's album State of Mind was released on May 10, 2005. The album features a guest performance with Stevie Wonder, one of his idols, another one with Jason Mraz, and a song written in tribute to Donny Hathaway
entitled "Sittin' In The Middle." Midon is an avid amateur radio enthusiast, and in this song he also incorporates his call sign (KB5ZOT) by using Morse code. The title track was released on 12 September 2006 as the free single of the week on the UK version of the iTunes Store. Midón's national television debut was on Late Show with David Letterman on June 28, 2005. He later went on to appear on other late night television shows in the U.S. and abroad. On July 24, 2007, a single named "Pick
Somebody Up" was released on the iTunes Store in the new iTunes Plus format. Midón's released the single "A World Within A World" from his third album on September 25, 2007.
(Source: wikipedia)
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MINHA OPINIÃO: como todos os artistas cegos, Raul tem uma sensibilidade incrível. Não fez sucesso junto ao público, ainda - e é pouco provável que venha a fazer - mas seu incrível talento já foi reconhecido por monstros sagrados do jazz, como aqueles enumerados lá em cima. Eu sempre brincava com o Raul, dizendo que ele era o "Ed Motta do bem", devido aos "scats", improvisação e e emulação de sons de
trumpete, trombone e contrabaixo que fazia em suas apresentações. E ele perguntava, curioso: "Who is Ed Motta ?" A minha resposta era: "um cantor brasileiro que tenta cantar e tocar como você..."
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RAUL MIDÓN: State of Mind

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
01. State of Mind
02. If You're Gonna Leave
03. Keep on Hoping (feat. Jason Mraz)
04. Mystery Girl
05. Waited All My Life
06. Everybody
07. Expressions of Love (feat. Stevie Wonder)
08. Sittin' In The Middle (feat. Donny Hathaway)
09. Suddenly
10. Never Get Enough
11. Sunshine
12. I Would Do Anything
13. All In Your Mind
14. If You Really Want