Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music invented in the late 1950s by a group of middle-class students living in the Copacabana and Ipanema beachside districts of Rio de Janeiro. The name is translated as "new beat". In Brazil, it became well known through the record Chega de Saudade, performed by João Gilberto and composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. The record was released in 1958. The name of the style is attributed to Antonio Carlos Jobim.
| Bossa nova
|
| Stylistic origins:
| American jazz and Brazilian samba
|
| Cultural origins:
| Late 1950s beaches of Rio de Janeiro
|
| Typical instruments:
|
|
| Mainstream popularity:
| Major in Brazil, and also in Western Europe and the US
|
| Subgenres
|
| Canção de protesto - MPB - Tropicalia
|
| Fusion genres
|
|
|
| National scenes
|
|
|
| Other topics
|
| Bossa nova
|
The music derives from the samba but is more complex melodically and less percussive. The genre is highly influenced by jazz and became massively popular in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, though its international success was limited to brief periods of popularity, such as after the release of the film Black Orpheus, songs of Elvis Presley, as well as the Bossa Nova dance, briefly popular at the beginning of the 1960s.
It is not consensus that Bossa nova can be called a movement. However, it is recognized its importance in Brazilian music history. It introduced complex harmonies, close relationship between text and music, and a general concern for arrangement and musical form. It influenced later movements such as the Tropicália and the Canção de Protesto. Bossa nova repertoire consists predominantely of songs, while the instrumental music similar to it is generally called samba-jazz.
Perhaps the best known bossa nova song is Antonio Carlos Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema" ("Garota de Ipanema"), which is widely known in both its original Portuguese and in English translation.
Here is an example of a basic bossa nova rhythm as would be played on a guitar, using a C6/9.
The preferred guitar for bossa nova is a nylon-string acoustic, played fingerstyle (without a pick).
List of bossa nova artists
Other artists associated with bossa nova
Related articles
Samba, Bossa Nova (dance)
