BOSSA NOVA: MUSIC OF MODERN LOVE
Reaching back to the 1960s to the cool, sultry
sound that riveted Brazil and seduced the world

From the pages of the CA-Modern
By Jeff Kaliss

"Popular music comes and goes," Antonio Carlos Jobim told us from his Rio de Janeiro home in 1993. "It has vogues," he said, speaking with the broad vowels of his native Portuguese. "Things appear and disappear."

'Tom' Jobim's words sounded a bit like a lilting lyric from one of hundreds of bossa nova tunes he penned until his passing, in 1994. They also sounded markedly, and characteristically, modest.

Far from being a vogue, the bossa nova which Jobim helped create went on to form "the biggest revolution we had in music in Brazil," in the words of Caetano Veloso, one of that country's current superstars.

In the four decades since its heyday, bossa nova never faded away. It has found a permanent place in the repertoires and hearts of musicians and fans all over the world, and in the United States in particular. Like the best of what was happening in home design at the time of bossa nova's birth a half-century ago, the music has continued to inspire good taste and to affirm the bright lightness of being.

As in mid-century modern America, Brazilian culture moved into a fertile period following World War II, particularly after the mid-1950s. "Our generation was a special generation," says Hélcio Melito, who at that time had relocated from his native São Paulo to Rio, on his way to becoming a seminal percussionist.

"Everybody think to create something new," he continues in idiosyncratic English, from his current venue in Pebble Beach, California. "In soccer [on the way to Brazil's first World Cup victory, in 1958], in other sports, in culture, in theater, in poems."

Melito could easily have added architecture, particularly with regard to Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, who had designed the Manhattan headquarters for the United Nations after the War and was appointed by left-wing Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek in 1956 to help create Brasilia, a new capitol city.

There was progressive activity also in theater and film. Poet Vinícius de Moraes, also in 1956, forged a musical theater setting of the Greek myth of Orpheus in the black slums of Rio, which three years later evolved into an award-winning film, 'Black Orpheus,' and inspired the production of more quality films by Brazilians.

Bossa nova was the most prominent genus of Brazilian music during this period, but it had evolved from long, strong roots, extending back to the arrival of Portuguese explorers in 1500 and the first of the African slaves a few decades later. Different musical instruments, melodic forms, and rhythms came from these two sources, ultimately cross-fertilizing, as did their people.

The musical melding accelerated in the 20th century, carried by phonograph and radio to the increasing populations of Brazil's cities. Rio perhaps deserves the most credit for the variegated development of samba, apparently named for a navel-touching dance from Angola (which shared Brazil's Portuguese colonial tradition). The late 1920s witnessed the institution of 'escolas de samba,' or samba schools, which came to dominate, and compete in, Rio's annual pre-Lenten Carnaval parade, with a large and loud battery of cross-cultural percussion.

Powerful, rhythmically complex sambas were created (and rehearsed) in the escolas, located in the hillside slums, called favelas. These sambas attracted a broad range of Brazilians and tourists, but were pretty much confined to the Carnaval celebrations. More-affluent Cariocas (Rio residents) favored sophisticated samba-canções, which showcased melody and lyrics and got year-round radio play.

The radios, phonographs, and concert halls of middle-class Brazilians in the mid-1950s were also tuned to sounds from the other side of the equator, including the seductive, conversational singing style of Frank Sinatra. Those with jazz taste became aware of the breezy but sophisticated approach of the West Coast 'cool school' of jazz [see our coverage in the summer '06 'CA-Modern']. Equally alluring were the sparkling, close vocal harmonies of groups like the Four Freshmen, the Merry Macs, the Starlighters, the Mel-Tones, and later, the Hi-Los.

An aspiring Rio vocal group, Os Garotas da Lua (Boys of the Moon), recruited 19-year-old João Gilberto to move south, in 1950, from his home in the tropical northern state of Bahia, where he'd learned to sing and play guitar. A couple of years later, Gilberto was off on his own, recording samba-canções in a somewhat affected, vibrato-based manner quite different from what he'd become known for a half-dozen years later.

Other Brazilian singers, including Dick Farney and Lúcio Alves, were already emulating the more naturalistic style of Sinatra. The future stars of bossa, including Nara Leão, Roberto Menescal, and Sylvia Telles, were listening to domestic and imported recordings in their stylish apartments. Gilberto, when not singing, became known for his flights of virtuoso guitar at the clubs that dotted Rio's waterfront neighborhoods. He met others who worked and hung out there, including pianists Johnny Alf and Tom Jobim and poet Vinícius de Moraes.

More and more modern apartment buildings sprung up, alongside hotels, with vistas of the Atlantic and the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. On the street below, Jobim remembered, "Ipanema was a strip of sand between the sea and the lagoon. There was a channel, where the fish used to come in to spawn in the lagoon, in crystal clear water. We were there, we were young, and the sand was fine and clean and white. We knew the people that lived there, we knew each other."

In college, Jobim at first studied architecture, inspired by the modernist movement. But he was ultimately less interested in designing contemporary apartment houses than in creating a brighter soundtrack for the lifestyle that inhabited them.

"Brazilian music [had been] very negative," Jobim pointed out. Samba-canções had indulged in melodrama, "saying 'Oh, no, no -- I don't want your kisses.'" With the advent of bossa songwriting, Jobim continued, "Vinícius started to sing, 'Yes, yes', like Cole Porter: 'Let's do it, let's fall in love.'" (It can be assumed that Jobim didn't intend to overlook those bossas that would deal with some of the sadder sides of love, such as his and Vinícius's own 'Insensatez.')

De Moraes, who had a separate (and financially dependable) career as a diplomat, returned from a posting in Paris in 1956 and approached Jobim with the concept that would become 'Black Orpheus,' which he'd been incubating while overseas. He and Jobim began collaborating on songs for the theatrical version, which opened that year, with a set designed by architect Niemeyer and the sound of Orpheus's guitar provided by the virtuosic Luiz Bonfá.

Meanwhile, João Gilberto was wandering around Brazil, seeking an inner vision and developing a percussive, plangent style that would become the envy of all guitarists, amateurs and veterans alike. As yet unnamed, this style bore the swing of samba, but made samba's elements sound sweetly from a single instrument, with 'altered' chords that evoked both African folk music and the sophistication of jazz.

Gilberto, as yet unknown, delivered the new style to those who would listen when he returned to Rio in 1957, accompanying himself with a new way of singing. His voice was free of vibrato and drama, airy in the manner of West Coast Cool jazzman Chet Baker, when Baker put his horn aside to sing.

Hélcio Melito remembers a walk on the beach with Gilberto, who shared his urgency to evolve past older styles: "With this kind of [older] samba, we're never gonna get out of here. We need to do something."

Jobim, who obviously shared Gilberto's sentiments, quickly perceived how well the guitarist-singer's quiet, fluid approach could be adapted to some of the songs Jobim had been writing with de Moraes outside of the 'Orpheus' project. Gilberto was brought in to back singer Elizeth Cardoso on an album of those songs, among them 'Chega de saudade,' released in spring of 1958. A few weeks later, Gilberto accompanied himself on his own 78-rpm single of the song. João's version of 'Chega de saudade' became a hit, later to be credited as the first for bossa nova and translated as 'No More Blues.'

As a genre name, bossa nova was christened at a college concert during that same year. "The bossas are these lumps that we have on the cranium," Jobim explained. "In the old days, medicine thought these protuberances had to do with the brain. So you would say that John has bossa for painting, and Larry has bossa for futbol. It's a 'gift.'"

What was it that made bossa 'nova,' or new? "It was the rhythm, the swing," Jobim pointed out. "It was João Gilberto with his guitar, the beat of bossa nova."

By the end of 1958, the term 'bossa nova' had appeared in the lyrics to what would be another of the genre's early (and ultimately international) hits, 'Desafinado,' composed by Jobim and journalist Ronaldo Bôscoli and recorded by Gilberto.

There was bossa also in the brand-new soundtrack written by Jobim, de Moraes, and Luiz Bonfá for the film version of 'Black Orpheus,' a co-production of France, Italy, and Brazil. Picking up awards at Cannes and at the Oscars, the movie spawned several bossa hits and helped spread awareness to the outside world in 1959, not only of bossa but also the samba-enredos of Carnaval and the rituals of macumba.

Musical visitors to Brazil, chief among them jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, began bringing home news of bossa. By the end of 1960, Capitol Records had released the album 'Brazil's Brilliant João Gilberto' to delighted Americans.

An American jazz festival staged in Rio and São Paulo in 1961 brought in American jazz flautist Herbie Mann, who'd already acquired Brazilian tastes from expatriate pianist and accordionist João Donato. Jazz, as we've seen, had inspired bossa with its innovative but sophisticated approach to harmonic arrangement. Now jazz was reaping a return on its investment, replete with samba rhythms and tropical ease of delivery.

By 1962, the term bossa nova was in common use in Brazil, bolstered by a new crop of what would be the genre's classics tunes, created by Jobim, Jorge Ben, Roberto Menescal, Baden Powell, and others. But as 'nova' as some of this may have seemed at the time, not everything about the music was totally new. Some purveyors of older styles, like the singer Lucio álves, simply adopted, or let themselves be adapted to, the new style. The national affinity for vocal groups, earlier modeled by postwar American singers, extended to closely harmonized bossa by such groups as Os Cariocas.

Among the tasty new tunes served up to bossa performers and their fans was a paean written by Jobim and Moraes to a young woman they'd regarded, repeatedly, passing the Veloso bar, one of their favorite vistas in Ipanema for contemplating real-life and imaginary muses. Aside from the aspects and objects of carnal love celebrated in their 'Garota de Ipanema,' bossa lyrics (particularly in the original Portuguese) proclaimed affection for place ('Corcovado') and for the felicities of life itself ('A Felicidade,' and 'Aguas de Março' or 'The Waters of March').

Interest in the genre abroad justified the staging of a concert at New York's Carnegie Hall in November 1962, billed as 'Bossa Nova (New Brazilian Jazz),' and hosted by jazz critic Leonard Feather. The performers included Jobim, Gilberto, Menescal, Bonfá, Carlinhos Lyra, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Sérgio Mendes.

A few days later, in the same city, Jobim and Gilberto met with producer Creed Taylor and saxophonist Stan Getz to discuss a follow-up to Getz's earlier flirtations with Brazilian sounds, showcased on the album 'Jazz Samba,' and inspired in large part by Charlie Byrd. On the sessions for the 'Getz/Gilberto' album, in March of 1963, Gilberto's wife Astrud insisted on providing vocals, in English, for 'Garota de Ipanema,' translated as 'The Girl From Ipanema.' When released the following year, this song became one of Brazil's biggest and longest-lasting cultural exports.

Despite some skepticism in the mother country about bossa's destiny, many new singers embraced the genre, while some already associated with bossa pursued their fortunes abroad. Although the Gilbertos' marriage was dissolving, Astrud toured with Getz and recorded her own popular albums, singing mostly in English; and João rejoined the saxophonist in 1964 for 'Getz/Gilberto #2.'

On the other side of North America, Sérgio Mendes took up residence in California and a place on the charts with his Brasil '66 vocal group, showcasing both bossa originals and bossa-izations of other people's pop hits. Luiz Bonfá and pianist-arranger Eumir Deodato also fared well in the American recording industry, at a time when more and more fans and fellow musicians were waxing curious about their approach.

Notable among the curious was one of Brazil's long-loved idols, Frank Sinatra, who brought his favorite Brazilian composer to California to record the album 'Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim,' in 1966. Sinatra sang with appropriate tender restraint, and the album was sufficient proof that bossa had moved into a permanent place in American popular culture. (For many fans of that disc, and of the earlier efforts of Getz and the Gilbertos, that place was right next to the sofa, or the bed; this was paradigm make-out music.)

Sinatra was a hard act to follow into bossa, but many other American singers, vocal groups, pianists, songwriters, and even symphony orchestras quickly tried to do so. Bossa nova also found friends among sax players with a breathy approach to their horn, like Getz, and a will to explore different shades of blue. Bossa-themed albums were recorded by reedmen Cannonball Adderley, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Rouse, Ike Quebec, Bud Shank, and several others.

Years later, in the 1990s, harmonica and guitar veteran Toots Thielemans assembled the two-CD 'Brasil Project,' co-produced by Brazilian bossa emissary Oscar Castro-Neves. "They have so many of those devilishly simple melodies," Thielemans told us of his affection for bossa and samba, "and it's all on good chords that the jazzman likes to play over. And that rhythm -- it does something to me, and always has done something to me."

It could be argued that bossa, as a musical form, has sustained more interest in the American jazz world than it has on the stages and airwaves of its home country. However, our interviews with post-bossa Brazilian performers have revealed an ongoing absorption of and respect for the contributions of bossa.

The contemporary Brazilian group Bossacucanova updates the legacy with what member Alex Moreira describes as "modern production methods [sequencers and samplers] with the classic feel of acoustic guitars and great singers." Moreira admits that bossa nova "does not play a lot on the radio [these days], but it's always present in daily life." He also notes that "a current major soap opera features a lot of the classic bossa themes," and that bossa legend Roberto Menescal, who continues to record today, is the father of band mate Marcio Menescal.

A healthy quorum of bossa veterans, including João Gilberto, Oscar Castro-Neves, Hélcio Melito, Sergio Méndes, and Marcos Valle, continue to work in the music business well into middle age, on tour and as expatriates. The United States and other parts of the world, including the Philippines, can boast their own homegrown bossa specialists.

The persistence of bossa nova through time and place came to Jobim's mind metaphorically during the course of our interview.

"Yesterday, I saw the garota herself," he confided, in reference to the original 'girl from Ipanema,' Helô (Pinto) Pinheiro. "She has two beautiful daughters, with the green eyes and the gold skin. New garotas -- and I'm getting older, and they're getting younger. But I can still appreciate it -- from an official distance -- with new glasses and a good cane."

Special thanks for research assistance to Dave Cuzner of modelements.com

Photos: courtesy Michael Ochs Archives, Eli Coory/Fotolia, Achilles Moreaux/Dreamstime, Bossacucanova and Six Degrees Records, Verve Records

• Discover the bossa nova CD essentials found among our sidebar selections and many more hard-to-find musical gems at dustygroove.com

• For a fascinating study of the bossa story, read Ruy Castro's 'Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World' (A Capella Books)

An Infectious Beat, a Three-dimensional High Bossa nova is timeless -- and infectious. That's the way John Isaac, a huge Bay Area fan of original '60s-era bossa as well today's European and Japanese brands of techno-modern bossa, sees it. Isaac, who lives in what he fondly calls a mid-century 'likeler,' in Fremont, and works as bossa club disk jockey DJ Caasi by night, professes to have a strong affection for mid-century modern homes, classic modern furnishings, and bossa nova -- and not necessarily in that order. "Music and space create and promote a three-dimensional high," Isaac says of the glow that comes over him when his three passions are brought together. "Bossa nova and lounge music truly represent the era of mid-century homes and furnishings -- and it's there in the happy-sad feeling you get when listening to [bossa artists like] Astrud Gilberto." Not far from Isaac, in the hills of Oakland, Dave Cuzner lives and works in a modern-styled two-story loft with vaulted ceilings designed by Ron Kappe, son of the distinguished modernist architect Ray Kappe. Cuzner also has been stricken by bossa nova. "I appreciate good bossa for the same reason that I like good design," he says. "The attention to quality, the aesthetic honesty, and the timelessness of the piece." Cuzner, who is co-partner of Mod Elements, an online retailer of rare and unusual mid-century modern books, magazines, and accessories, sees Brazilian music from the 1950s and '60s as a welcome addition to his love for jazz from the same period. "People that tend to be interested in modern architecture from the '50s and '60s also seem to be interested in the music of that same time period as well," he says. "Bossa nova can be very addictive. The samba-derived rhythms really suck you in. I find myself trying to sing those beautiful Brazilian- Portguese lyrics with my horrible American accent." As John Isaac so succinctly summed it up, "Bossa nova -- mid-century -- Jobim -- Jacobsen." Go for it. -- Jack Levitan

	1 João Gilberto: Desafinado (Saludos Amigos - 1959-61) This treasure chest from the onset of Gilberto's recording career contains many of the early baubles crafted by Tom Jobim and his collaborators. Some of the arrangements bear superfluous strings and other instruments, but Gilberto's and Jobim's genius shines through.
	2 Stan Getz: Plays Jobim / The Girl from Ipanema (Verve - 1962-64) Even before the Carnegie concert, saxophonist Getz, under the influence of Charlie Byrd (who joins him here), was breathing jazzy beauty into Jobim's creations. João and Astrud Gilberto share Getz's cash-canção, 'The Girl from Ipanema,' and more Brazilians bolster other classics.
	3 Astrud Gilberto: Finest Hour (Verve - 1964-69) Hits from Astrud's several Verve albums, with Getz, husband João, and others assisting, are transplanted to this showcase of bossa's most widely celebrated songstress. Astrud applies her trademark girlish approach also to American pop and jazz standards, cooly or warmly, and sometimes oddly.
	4 Sylvia Telles / Lúcio Alves / Roberto Menescal: Bossa Session (Elenco - 1964) Bossa favorites Menescal and Telles, and veteran vocalist Alves, combine in a pleasant, perky manner evocative of commercial jingles and pop songs from 1950s America. Particularly intoxicating and well suited to this troupe is 'Telefone,' with vintage sound effects.
	5 Os Cariocas: Pure Bossa Nova (Universal - 1963-66) Like the best of the American vocal groups on which they modeled themselves, these singers are breathtakingly tight in their collective approach to rhythm and harmony, serving up astringent bossa classics as lush confections, on a bed of rich instrumental arrangements.
	6 Wanda Sá: Vagamente (Dubas Musica - 1964) On 'To Say Goodbye,' the last track on this showcase from the peak bossa year of 1964, Sá (who would later join Sérgio Mendes as Wanda de Sah) reduces her seductive voice to a pianissimo whisper, which neither of the Gilbertos would attempt. On earlier, perkier material, some in English, Sá sounds engagingly like Astrud.
	7 Orlann Divo: Orlann Divo (What Music - 1963) Divo was among those Brazilians who attempted to delineate what they called sambalanço. But to most ears, then and now, it's not much different from bossa, except maybe a bit more danceable and bubblegummy. Divo's vocals are more boyish than sensual, backed by a peppy organ.
	8 Jorge Ben: Samba Esquema Novo (Universal - 1963) It's a kick to hear the popular 'Mas Que Nada' as the composer intended it, in his voice (which Ben deploys with a sort of yodel) accompanied by his guitar. Ben also makes extensive, sometimes gratuitous, use of falsetto and scatting, but proves the lyrical advantage of Portuguese.
	9 Miguel Angel: Samba Na Ondo (What Music - 1964) Pianist Angel leads three other members of the group Os Ipanemas in a vibrant session evocative of the piano-led jazz ensembles of Vince Guaraldi and Ahmad Jamal. The jingly 'Telefone' rings again here, confirming the rightful role of smart instrumental solos in bossa.
	10 Os Ipanemas: Os Ipanemas (Mr. Bongo - 1964) This group is not as focused on--and not as good at--bossa as it is on a more percussion-driven samba, sometimes brassed up with horns. You'll feel something of the bustle of a Carnaval parade, and a jazzy swing that's like a gentler alternative to salsa.
	11 Sérgio Mendes: The Swinger from Rio (WEA International - 1965-66) For those who associate Carioca Mendes with his part-American, wholly successful pop group Brasil '66, this is a chance to hear the man before success steered him in other directions, behind his piano, leading a post-bop ensemble. It's busier and slicker than purists might prefer.
	12 Eumir Deodato: Impulso! (Ubatuqui - 1964) The cutesy jazz arrangements, piloted by Deodato's organ, may make you think about '60s Hollywood composer Henry Mancini, or also about elevators and ice rinks you may have frequented at that time. Compare and contrast Deodato's tinselly take on 'Ela é Carioca.'
	13 Quarteto Bossamba - Walter Wanderley (Som Maior/Som Livre - 1965) This album is another (hard-to-find) revelation of the quality of a performer we'd heard mostly on the pop charts, in this case Walter Wanderley. The selection of tunes from his native Brazil is tasty, the arrangements uniquely creative, evocative, and well-performed.
	14 Luiz Chaves e Seu Conjuncto: Projeção (RGE/Som Livre - 1963) Look to the name of the band and of their track, 'Influência Do Jazz,' for clues; this is less bossa than it is a classy homage to both big band a la Stan Kenton and to salsa, but with Brazilian repertoire and percussion. The virtuosic piano at times waxes almost avant-garde.
	15 Bossa Jazz Trio: Bossa Jazz Trio (Fermata/Som Livre - 1965) Here's bossa you might enjoy with your serving of feijoada in a classy Copacabana hotel restaurant, or in the lounge after, led by the bold but swinging (and singing) piano of Amilson Godoy. Bossa and jazz preconceptions both get reworked and skillfully integrated.
	16 Ike Quebec: Soul Samba (Blue Note - 1962) As the title suggests, saxist Quebec takes both samba and bossa into indigo shades of blue, with Latinized support from percussionist Willie Bobo and guitarist Kenny Burrell. Quebec's gentle, breathy handling lets even Liszt's 'Liebenstraum' sound like good bossa.
	17 Bud Shank: Bossa Nova Years (Ubatuqui - 1962-65) This is as irrefutable evidence as you'll get of how bossa can swing, and the proof is applied to both bossa familiars and to standards from the jazz book, including 'If I Should Lose You.' Bud's alto is prettily partnered by Joe Pass and a bossa rhythm section, including João Donato.
	18 Cannonball Adderley: Cannonball's Bossa Nova (Capitol - 1962) No surprise that saxist Adderley, with brother Nat alongside and members of Sérgio Mendes's band, sneaks up 'Corcovado' in a sassy, brassy manner, in which he also approaches other parts of the bossa repertoire. His 'Groovy Sambas' seem to export 'Harlem Nocturne' to Ipanema.
	19 Quarteto Jobim-Morelenbaum: self-titled (Velas/Caravelas - 2000) Tom Jobim's son and grandson carry the genetic material of bossa into the new millennium, along with cellist Jacques Morelenbaum and his wife, Paula, who seems to be channeling the voice of Astrud Gilberto. They refresh the bossa canon, with an almost chamber-music sheen.
	20 Bossacucanova: Uma Batida Differente (Six Degrees - 2004) For the most recent recording among our picks, a group of new, young bossa exponents are joined by veterans Roberto Menescal, Marcos Valle, and Orlann Divo, as well as second-generation star Wilson Simoninha. The updating involves techno and other electronic effects, as well as rootsy Afro accents.