RIP João Gilberto

[rpguitar]

I will take a listen to those records GT, obrigado.

[wintermoon]

[edward74]

After the news of Joao's passing, I did my small nod to his legacy of bossa nova by playing some Girl From Ipanema and Corcovado chords. Just learning to play this style expanded the chord vocabulary as well as made me appreciate the lilting rhythm of bossas and sambas. Became a fan of his music years ago when someone gave me a copy of the classic Getz/Gilberto and fortified that fandom even more so by taking on this mellow playing style. RIP Joao!!

[JCat]

Thanks Joao for the wonderful music. Your legacy lives strong.

[mhch]

I learnt the news on Sunday, and was surprised not to read anything in this forum ....

Bossa nova has always been attracting me, and I spent a few years practicing it after my rock, finger picking, and classical guitar years. I still play bossa nova tune with great pleasure as part of my jazz repertoire.

All the details about the beginnings of bossa nova can be found in there: Chega de Saudade (1958) and the origins of Bossa Nova | Songbook

It seems that Laurindo Almeida did the early work much earlier in 1946, then João worked hard to develop his guitar playing style while away from Rio around 1956, and when Jobim heard it for the first time, Bim - Bom composed by Joào as well as ho-ba-la-la, he was very impressed by the guitar playing . That started things.

Other details in this document about João's life : Joo Gilberto :: The Man Who Invented Bossa Nova


RIP João

[2bornot2bop]

The following quote from the above article kinda says it all. Is it too much to say that it was Gilberto's interpretation's, and rhythm's, if only of others songs, which soon gave popularity and rise of bossa nova? Ellington said "It doesn't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing."

"For two years, Jobim/de Moraes tunes sounded like traditional samba-canção (samba-song, a slower and more lyrical version of samba). Nobody got particularly excited over them. Then a certain young singer and guitarist came out of nowhere to give these songs a new vocal interpretation and a new beat. The year was 1958, and the new beat was soon known throughout the world as bossa nova.

That singer and guitarist was João Gilberto."

[2bornot2bop]

and leave it to Gilberto for having turned an Italian song into a worldwide jazz standard...

[Greentone]

2b,

Your point is a good one. It should be recalled, however, that bossa nova was incubated in an apartment in Rio in which Jobim, Gilberto, Oscar Castro-Neves, Toquinho, and maybe others worked out ideas together on how to deliver the "new thing" on the guitar.

[mhch]

Jazz is often tightly associated with "Swing", that style developped in between 1930 & 1940 which became so successful and invaded the world.
These Brazilian genius made such an impact that now it is very usual to play in the bossa nova style jazz tunes originally created swing, or even play one part swing and the other part bossa

On a different line, I always liked this video in which Tom Jobim speaks about Bossa Nova, and teaches Gerry Mulligan about it

[rpguitar]

Thank you for that post, @mhch! What a priceless thing to have immortalized, a conversation between Jobim and Mulligan about how to phrase a melody. It's fantastic to hear Jobim speak at some length in English, and he is quite a facile speaker at that.