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RIP João Gilberto


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I was unaware of that. Regardless, RIP

 

The song's composer was Tom Jobim (Antonio Carlos Jobim), one of the exponents of bossa nova movement; lyrics author was Vinicius de Moraes, who was a poet and had several great partnerships with several other composers.

 

Personally I did not like João Gilberto and I find bossa nova (and him) bohring. But maybe I am not as refined as a music listener. :)

 

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Personally I did not like João Gilberto and I find bossa nova (and him) bohring. But maybe I am not as refined as a music listener. :)

As I understand it, BN became more of a "fad" in the world as it took off around 1959 - 60. In Brazil it was over pretty quickly. Here in the USA it became muzak played in dentists' offices. I'm not surprised by anyone calling it boring, but imo that belies the importance of the genre.

 

Gilberto is credited as one of the architects of BN because his guitar playing was new for the time. What he did was take the traditional samba, slow it down, and translate its multiple elements into a solo guitar setting. He was Bird to Jobim's Diz, to coin an often-used metaphor to American jazz. Jobim fused classical harmonies with Gilberto's rhythms. This was accompanied by a change in vocal stylings to be more understated and quieter. There is a great documentary I saw on Netflix (not sure if it's still there) called This Is Bossa Nova where it's explained that many of the early pioneers of this style lived in public housing and had day gigs. They'd come home from work and get together at night to jam, but the walls were so thin they started playing in that quiet and mellow way to avoid complaints from the neighbors!

 

The other thing about Gilberto is that after he hit it big with BN he didn't change; he wasn't like a Miles or Coltrane that kept on innovating and coming up with new styles. As I understand, he didn't like to travel. It was a very big deal when I saw him at Carnegie Hall for a much-heralded return to public performance after many years. It was just him, solo, and I don't remember if he even had a mic for his singing or his guitar. You could hear a pin drop. He didn't improvise at all. He did not reharmonize any of the songs like a jazzer might. Every song he played was just him singing it straight through twice, with an instrumental one time through in-between, just strumming the chords. His daughter (Bebel) joined him towards the end for a few tunes.

 

Whatever one's impression of JG or Bossa in general is, imo one should acknowledge the history. Bossa Nova put Brazilian music on a world stage in a big way. Today, myself and other gringo jazzers play (or try to play, lol) Braz, or jazz that's influenced by Brazilian harmonies & rhythms. Who knows what MPB would have been without Bossa Nova? There is so much great Brazilian music out there, it's definitely been a big part of my playing and always will be.

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I was unaware of that. Regardless, RIP

 

The song's composer was Tom Jobim (Antonio Carlos Jobim), one of the exponents of bossa nova movement; lyrics author was Vinicius de Moraes, who was a poet and had several great partnerships with several other composers.

 

Personally I did not like João Gilberto and I find bossa nova (and him) bohring. But maybe I am not as refined as a music listener. :)

 

Some might see it as boh-ring, while some find it sutt-ell. I fall into the latter camp.

 

I love Bossa Nova. 'Antonio's Samba led me to the Amazon' (thank you Michael Franks). I have huge respect for close chord voicings, melody that twists & turns into itself, minimalism and emotional maturity in music.

 

Thank Gilberto and Jobim for this, and RIP while their music lives on.

 

 

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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RIP João

Though noted for his ground-breaking early work he recorded these two gems in 1977 & 1981.

 

Amoroso - João Gilberto 1977

Full Playlist. The musical arrangements by Claus Ogerman.

 

Brasil - João Gilberto / Caetano Veloso / Gilberto Gil / Maria Bethânia 1981 a collaborative work with some of Brasil's greatest singers.

Full Playlist.

The musical arrangements by Johnny Mandel.

 

 

R-2455010-1522244418-2883.png.jpg

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He & Jobim started it all 60 years ago this year, w/ this record.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Its still my favorite Bossa Nova song. So many great versions out there.

But that record started it all rolling in 1959.

 

Imagine that sound in 1959.

 

Gilberto actually invented Bossa Nova playing guitar in his bathroom in 1955.

He wanted to dispense w/ the loud percussion & horn noise of samba &

go back to beautiful melodies & gentle rhythms.

 

Bim Bom is the first Bossa Nova song he wrote. His father thought he was mentally ill

and had him committed to an asylum.

 

If I were a music fan from outer space in 1959, listening to all the noise

& my antenna picked up Chega de Saudade. Id pilot my space ship

directly to Rio & bypass the USA completely. That graceful orchestration

w/ his guitar playing tapped into the music of the cosmos for me.

 

Then there was his laconic voice.

 

What Gilberto invented is no small thing.

 

Rock, Pop and Classical have changed many times. Bossa Nova has not changed at all.

Yet it is still young & fresh after sixty years.

 

[video:youtube]

.

 

 

Not even close.
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