Photo Dario Zalis

“THE SECRET OF BOSSA NOVA is its silence, its aesthetic, dynamic and softness,” explains Rosa Passos, relaxing between sets during her three-night stand at New York’s famed Blue Note jazz club. “It’s beautiful when left on its own. Why would anyone try to change it?”

The music’s most ardent fans would certainly agree with her. In the five decades since a Bahian singer-guitarist named João Gilberto came up with an innovative form of playing and singing that would ultimately change the face of Brazilian music, bossa nova (meaning “new style”) has weathered countless changes in musical fashion and taste.

From the start, Gilberto’s ideas added a certain sophistication to samba that had never been heard before. Where powerful singers like Dick Farney or Lucio Alves had been de rigueur for Brazilian popular music in the early ‘50s—with classy singing and performing that derived directly from American jazz (especially Sinatra)—the bossa nova singer used elegant sensuality to set the mood.

As it turned out, the timing was perfect. Rio de Janeiro was the center of the Brazilian music scene back in the ‘50s and was begging for something new. Antonio Carlos Jobim, who at the time was making his name as a studio arranger and songwriter, thought he might have the answer. He introduced João Gilberto to Aloysio Oliveira, his label’s A&R man—a meeting that led to the recording and release of a 10-inch single in 1959 called “Chega De Saudade,” a Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes composition (known in the U.S. as “No More Blues”). As it turned out, this modest piece of acetate would be the flashpoint for a musical craze that would resonate throughout the planet.

Bossa nova’s reputation abroad peaked with Gilberto’s 1964 collaboration with American sax player Stan Getz. Getz/Gilberto was the only jazz album to win the Grammy for album of the year until Herbie Hancock duplicated the feat in 2008, and the edited singles “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” vaulted João’s wife, then-unknown singer Astrud Gilberto, into the spotlight. “When they finished those sessions,” recalls drummer Duduka da Fonseca, who worked with Astrud for more than a decade, “the master tapes sat on a shelf for months. By then Astrud was working as a secretary, and when the record came out, she and João were no longer together. During the time I played with her, she sold out every venue she booked.

“When the music is that good, it still sounds contemporary even after 50 years,” acknowledges Fonseca. Vocalist Maucha Adnet, who worked with Jobim for a decade as one of his band’s singers, believes that one of the reasons for the genre’s lasting appeal lies in its simplicity. “It’s incredible that so many people still enjoy bossa nova,” she says. “It’s interesting to note how naturally people relate to the music, and the influence it has had on so many.”

As for today, bossa nova is alive and well. João Gilberto consistently sells out the world’s great concert halls and festivals, drawing standing ovations from fans young and old.

 Established artists like Passos prefer to stick with the music’s jazzy roots, but bossa nova has also evolved to suit the needs of other younger performers. Bebel Gilberto and France’s Nouvelle Vague have added electronic elements to the mix, while Luciana Souza uses bossa’s subtleties to take music by Joni Mitchell and Brian Wilson to a different place.

 “One of the most important things about bossa nova is that it has managed to reach different cultures, making so many people happy over the years,” observes Souza. “It’s a kind of music that offers an unconditional beauty anywhere in the world. One can even say that it’s not his or her cup of tea, but its beauty is always acknowledged.”

For more global beats, check out the October issue of Global Rhythm magazine or visit
www.globalrhythm.com

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