Bossa Nova Musicians

Soothing and sensual, bathed in the tropical atmosphere, bossa nova (Portuguese for "new trend") is a Brazilian musical style which evolved from another South American musical tradition, the samba. 

The entrance to the bossa nova can be traced to Elizete Cardoso's 1958 record of lyricist Vinícius de Morales and talented composer Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Chega de saudades." Even Elizete Cardoso's rendering went unnoticed, João Gilberto subsequent record became a hit, creating bossa nova craze. The English rendering of the song was immortalized by both jazz and rock musicians, entitled "No More Blues." It can also be translated as "enough longing." "Chega" stands for "no more" and "saudades": an acute, profound. 

Americans can be expected to be familiar with Stan Getz / Joao Gilberto single "The Girl From Ipanema" (edited to highlight Astrud Gilberto's vocals) but Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and João Gilberto regarded as the key figure in popularizing the bossa nova sound. 

The movie "Black Orpheus" (1959) added to the popularity of bossa nova, while American jazz musicians traveling to Brazil took bossa nova back to North America. Dusty Springfield's breathy 1967 recording of Bacharach and David's "The Look of Love" (featured in the film "Casino Royale") is still one of the most respected American pop interpretations of bossa nova. 

A fine example of the genre Bossa Nova can be found on "Bossa Nova for Lovers" CD (Verve). 

Bossa nova music instruments include nylon string guitar, piano, vocal, and Brazilian musical instruments Tamborim (a small wooden drum of African origin) 

By 1963, bossa nova movement had ended, but the music's influence rested. In the late 60s developed the Brazilian rock band Os Mutants integrated bossanova with psychedelia, and Italian soundtrack composers such as Piero Umiliani, Stelvio Cipriani and Piero Piccioni a typical Mediterranean variety, which has recently been prepared on the CDs "Bossa Galore" ( Cinevox) and "Morricone Bossa" (Cinedelic). Bossa nova has had a renaissance in the 1990s, and today artists as diverse as Bebel Gilberto (daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha), Koop, Nouvelle Vague, Stereolab, and Diana Krall have assimilated bossa nova in their work.