Bossa Nova
Bossa nova officially started in August ‘58, when Odeon released a João Gilberto single that featured Chega de Saudade (Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes) and Bim Bom (João Gilberto). Unanimously acclaimed as the style’s godfather, João had already registered his trademark guitar beat in two songs from Elizeth Cardoso’s album Canção do Amor Demais (made exclusively with Tom & Vinicius’ songs). Many dissonant chords (ironically described in Tom and Newton Mendonça’s manifesto-song, Desafinado) were fired so as to build the revolutionary harmony concept synthesized in the voice and guitar of the guy from Juazeiro (countryside of Bahia, NE).
The influence of impressionist composers like Debussy and Ravel, the dissatisfaction with restrictive local music formats and the overwhelming power of American culture in the Post-War period enabled the emergence of clever, controversial artists like guitarists Garoto, Luís Bonfá, João Donato and specially composer/pianist Johnny Alf.
Another bossa landmark is Dick Farney’s recording of Copacabana (João de Barro/Alberto Ribeiro), in 1946, arranged by modernist Radamés Gnattali. Farney’s antagonist, Lúcio Alves, sang with vocal group Namorados da Lua, one among many that were influenced by American counterparts, although experimenting with daring harmonic combinations. Composers like Dorival Caymmi and Tito Madi were refreshing post-samba BPM. Bossa nova’s tripod, as shaped by João Gilberto, was set upon Antonio Carlos Jobim’s musical density and Vinicius de Moraes’ poetic brilliance. With Billy Blanco, Jobim wrote the innovative Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro (arranged by Gnattali) and the provocative Teresa da Praia.
Sambaswing
As bossa reached the top of the charts, sambaswing injected more beat into the old rhythm from Rio’s early 1900s. Some of the treat suppliers were Elza Soares, Miltinho, Ed Lincoln, Silvio Cesar, and João Roberto Kelly.
Nonetheless, bossa was an urban movement, born within upper-middle class apartments in Rio. Nara Leão, for instance, promoted meetings for young writers and musicians like Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Ronaldo Bôscoli and Sérgio Ricardo, among others. The first gigs happened in college parties and more musicians were joining the new trend, promoting a moment of instrumental fever that pumped up the appearance of new artists like Tamba Trio (Luis Eça, Bebeto, Hélcio Milito), Bossa 3 (Luis Carlos Vinhas, Tião Netto, Edison Machado), Paulo Moura, Dom Um Romão, Milton Banana, Edson Maciel, Raul de Souza; and conductors/arrangers like Moacyr Santos and Eumir Deodato.
Success in the college circuit did not maculate the intimate approach of the movement, even though the performers felt more comfortable playing pocket shows at tiny clubs in Copacabana. The same clubs would also witness the rise of more outward artists like Elis Regina, Jorge Ben (currently Ben Jor) and Wilson Simonal.
São Paulo branch
A number of musicians from Rio (Johnny Alf, Claudette Soares, Alaíde Costa) headed to São Paulo, turning the city into a branch of the movement with instrumental trios like Zimbo Trio, Sambalanço (with Cesar Camargo Mariano and Airto Moreira), Jongo, Bossa Jazz, plus singers like Maysa, and composers like Vera Brasil (Tema do Boneco de Palha), among others.
Along with the aesthetic divergence that would limit the orthodox phase of bossa nova to the period between 1958 and 1965, a political twist would break the movement, which now boasted an intermediate generation that included Marcos Valle, Dori Caymmi, Edu Lobo, Francis Hime and Joyce. Students’ unions stimulated a more popular and nationalist perception of Brazilian culture, inspiring Carlos Lyra’s self-criticism in Influência do Jazz (The Influence of Jazz: "poor samba of mine/getting mingled/getting updated/getting lost"). It also brought him closer to the samba composers from the favelas (slums or shantytowns). With Zé Ketti, he wrote Samba da Legalidade (Legal Validation Samba).
While re-reading local ethnic roots through bossa harmonies, Vinicius de Moraes and guitarist Baden Powell would write a series of afro-sambas like Berimbau and Canto de Ossanha. Ironically, the same Vinicius was Tom Jobim’s partner in the greatest classic of bossa nova, Garota de Ipanema – recorded in 1963 by João Gilberto, his wife Astrud, cool jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and Tom Jobim in the USA, and spreading the style over the planet. Yet, he would also write with Edu Lobo the song that symbolized the end of the movement, Arrastão, performed by Elis Regina in 1965 and regarded as the first Brazilian Popular Music song. The blurry realms of style diversity included in this abbreviation (BPM) would last until1982, when BRock (Brazil Rock) erupted with pop rock band Blitz.
Perennial aesthetics
The chronological end of bossa nova did not determine its aesthetic extinction. On the contrary, bossa gave back to America what it had taken from American jazz. Besides Brazilian musicians who settled in the States - Oscar Castro Neves, Sérgio Mendes, Luis Bonfá and Eumir Deodato -, illustrious jazz performers like Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Coleman Hawkins, Cannonball Adderley and Gerry Mulligan recorded bossa nova songs.
Worshiped by bossa nova mentors along with Chet Baker and accordionist Joe Mooney, Frank Sinatra recognized the kinship between bossa and jazz recording a full album with Tom Jobim in 1967. But there were also mercenary acts like Eddie Gourmé (Blame It On The Bossa Nova), Ruby & The Romantics (Our Day Will Come) and even an unrecognizable Elvis Presley with the rumba Bossa Nova Baby.
Two decades later, bossa nova would still be a major influence for post-punk British artists like Style Council, Matt Bianco and Everything But the Girl. The movement would also be present within BRock with Lobão and Cazuza. Later on, acid jazz and drum’n’bass would re-establish bossa’s groove, freshening up the music of João Donato, Marcos Valle, Joyce, Edu Lobo and others.
Songs
Chega de Saudade (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – João Gilberto
Samba de uma Nota Só (Tom Jobim/ Newton Mendonça) – Nara Leão
Desafinado (Tom Jobim/ Newton Mendonça) – João Gilberto
Garota de Ipanema (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes/ Norman Gimbel) – João e Astrud Gilberto, Stan Getz & Tom Jobim
O Barquinho (Roberto Menescal/ Ronaldo Bôscoli) – Maysa
Influência do Jazz (Carlos Lyra) – Carlos Lyra
Manhã de Carnaval (Luis Bonfá/ Antonio Maria) – Agostinho dos Santos, Luis Bonfá e Quarteto de Oscar Castro Neves no Carnegie Hall
Batida Diferente (Durval Ferreira/ Mauricio Einhorn) – Tamba Trio
Minha Namorada (Carlos Lyra/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Os Cariocas
Berimbau (Baden Powell/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Baden Powell
Lobo Bobo (Carlos Lyra/ Ronaldo Bôscoli) – Wilson Simonal
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) (Tom Jobim/ Gene Lees) – Tom Jobim e Frank Sinatra
Insensatez (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Tom Jobim
Ela É Carioca (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Sérgio Mendes e Sexteto Bossa Rio
Nanã (Moacyr Santos) – Moacyr Santos
Balanço Zona Sul ( Tito Madi) – Zimbo Trio
Zelão (Sérgio Ricardo) –Sérgio Ricardo
Sonho de Maria (Marcos e Paulo Sérgio Valle) – Tamba Trio
Samba do Avião (Tom Jobim) – Eumir Deodato
Amazonas (João Donato e Lysias Ênio) – João Donato
Mas Que Nada (Jorge Ben) – Jorge Ben
The influence of impressionist composers like Debussy and Ravel, the dissatisfaction with restrictive local music formats and the overwhelming power of American culture in the Post-War period enabled the emergence of clever, controversial artists like guitarists Garoto, Luís Bonfá, João Donato and specially composer/pianist Johnny Alf.
Another bossa landmark is Dick Farney’s recording of Copacabana (João de Barro/Alberto Ribeiro), in 1946, arranged by modernist Radamés Gnattali. Farney’s antagonist, Lúcio Alves, sang with vocal group Namorados da Lua, one among many that were influenced by American counterparts, although experimenting with daring harmonic combinations. Composers like Dorival Caymmi and Tito Madi were refreshing post-samba BPM. Bossa nova’s tripod, as shaped by João Gilberto, was set upon Antonio Carlos Jobim’s musical density and Vinicius de Moraes’ poetic brilliance. With Billy Blanco, Jobim wrote the innovative Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro (arranged by Gnattali) and the provocative Teresa da Praia.
Sambaswing
As bossa reached the top of the charts, sambaswing injected more beat into the old rhythm from Rio’s early 1900s. Some of the treat suppliers were Elza Soares, Miltinho, Ed Lincoln, Silvio Cesar, and João Roberto Kelly.
Nonetheless, bossa was an urban movement, born within upper-middle class apartments in Rio. Nara Leão, for instance, promoted meetings for young writers and musicians like Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Ronaldo Bôscoli and Sérgio Ricardo, among others. The first gigs happened in college parties and more musicians were joining the new trend, promoting a moment of instrumental fever that pumped up the appearance of new artists like Tamba Trio (Luis Eça, Bebeto, Hélcio Milito), Bossa 3 (Luis Carlos Vinhas, Tião Netto, Edison Machado), Paulo Moura, Dom Um Romão, Milton Banana, Edson Maciel, Raul de Souza; and conductors/arrangers like Moacyr Santos and Eumir Deodato.
Success in the college circuit did not maculate the intimate approach of the movement, even though the performers felt more comfortable playing pocket shows at tiny clubs in Copacabana. The same clubs would also witness the rise of more outward artists like Elis Regina, Jorge Ben (currently Ben Jor) and Wilson Simonal.
São Paulo branch
A number of musicians from Rio (Johnny Alf, Claudette Soares, Alaíde Costa) headed to São Paulo, turning the city into a branch of the movement with instrumental trios like Zimbo Trio, Sambalanço (with Cesar Camargo Mariano and Airto Moreira), Jongo, Bossa Jazz, plus singers like Maysa, and composers like Vera Brasil (Tema do Boneco de Palha), among others.
Along with the aesthetic divergence that would limit the orthodox phase of bossa nova to the period between 1958 and 1965, a political twist would break the movement, which now boasted an intermediate generation that included Marcos Valle, Dori Caymmi, Edu Lobo, Francis Hime and Joyce. Students’ unions stimulated a more popular and nationalist perception of Brazilian culture, inspiring Carlos Lyra’s self-criticism in Influência do Jazz (The Influence of Jazz: "poor samba of mine/getting mingled/getting updated/getting lost"). It also brought him closer to the samba composers from the favelas (slums or shantytowns). With Zé Ketti, he wrote Samba da Legalidade (Legal Validation Samba).
While re-reading local ethnic roots through bossa harmonies, Vinicius de Moraes and guitarist Baden Powell would write a series of afro-sambas like Berimbau and Canto de Ossanha. Ironically, the same Vinicius was Tom Jobim’s partner in the greatest classic of bossa nova, Garota de Ipanema – recorded in 1963 by João Gilberto, his wife Astrud, cool jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and Tom Jobim in the USA, and spreading the style over the planet. Yet, he would also write with Edu Lobo the song that symbolized the end of the movement, Arrastão, performed by Elis Regina in 1965 and regarded as the first Brazilian Popular Music song. The blurry realms of style diversity included in this abbreviation (BPM) would last until1982, when BRock (Brazil Rock) erupted with pop rock band Blitz.
Perennial aesthetics
The chronological end of bossa nova did not determine its aesthetic extinction. On the contrary, bossa gave back to America what it had taken from American jazz. Besides Brazilian musicians who settled in the States - Oscar Castro Neves, Sérgio Mendes, Luis Bonfá and Eumir Deodato -, illustrious jazz performers like Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Coleman Hawkins, Cannonball Adderley and Gerry Mulligan recorded bossa nova songs.
Worshiped by bossa nova mentors along with Chet Baker and accordionist Joe Mooney, Frank Sinatra recognized the kinship between bossa and jazz recording a full album with Tom Jobim in 1967. But there were also mercenary acts like Eddie Gourmé (Blame It On The Bossa Nova), Ruby & The Romantics (Our Day Will Come) and even an unrecognizable Elvis Presley with the rumba Bossa Nova Baby.
Two decades later, bossa nova would still be a major influence for post-punk British artists like Style Council, Matt Bianco and Everything But the Girl. The movement would also be present within BRock with Lobão and Cazuza. Later on, acid jazz and drum’n’bass would re-establish bossa’s groove, freshening up the music of João Donato, Marcos Valle, Joyce, Edu Lobo and others.
Songs
Chega de Saudade (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – João Gilberto
Samba de uma Nota Só (Tom Jobim/ Newton Mendonça) – Nara Leão
Desafinado (Tom Jobim/ Newton Mendonça) – João Gilberto
Garota de Ipanema (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes/ Norman Gimbel) – João e Astrud Gilberto, Stan Getz & Tom Jobim
O Barquinho (Roberto Menescal/ Ronaldo Bôscoli) – Maysa
Influência do Jazz (Carlos Lyra) – Carlos Lyra
Manhã de Carnaval (Luis Bonfá/ Antonio Maria) – Agostinho dos Santos, Luis Bonfá e Quarteto de Oscar Castro Neves no Carnegie Hall
Batida Diferente (Durval Ferreira/ Mauricio Einhorn) – Tamba Trio
Minha Namorada (Carlos Lyra/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Os Cariocas
Berimbau (Baden Powell/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Baden Powell
Lobo Bobo (Carlos Lyra/ Ronaldo Bôscoli) – Wilson Simonal
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars) (Tom Jobim/ Gene Lees) – Tom Jobim e Frank Sinatra
Insensatez (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Tom Jobim
Ela É Carioca (Tom Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes) – Sérgio Mendes e Sexteto Bossa Rio
Nanã (Moacyr Santos) – Moacyr Santos
Balanço Zona Sul ( Tito Madi) – Zimbo Trio
Zelão (Sérgio Ricardo) –Sérgio Ricardo
Sonho de Maria (Marcos e Paulo Sérgio Valle) – Tamba Trio
Samba do Avião (Tom Jobim) – Eumir Deodato
Amazonas (João Donato e Lysias Ênio) – João Donato
Mas Que Nada (Jorge Ben) – Jorge Ben
Tárik de Souza
Related artists
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