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Rudy
His Master's Voice
Joined: 21 Jan 2002
Posts: 10982
Location: Wolverine Country! (aka Michigan)
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lj
Bronze Member
Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 40
Location: San Diego California
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 | Posted: Tue 3/9/10 10:40 pm
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Chega de Saudade written by Jobim is reputed to be the first Bossa Nova composition. Not bad for his first shot at this new genre But it was Gilberto who invented the sound of Bossa Nova with his unique way of singing and his unique syncopated manner of guitar playing. Notice how Jobim has one beautiful melody flow into the next with no discernable bridge portion--very common in Brazilian pop music.
The English lyrics were written by the great jazz singer and lyricist Jon Hendricks entitled "No More Blues". Later, two different sets of English words to Jobim's 'Desafinado" were written at different times by Gene Lees and Jon Hendricks. I by far prefer Hendricks lyrics which open with "love is like a never ending melody--poets have compared it to a symphony--a symphony conducted by the lighting of the moon--but our song of love is slightly out of tune...". You can't get better than that--a perfect match of music with words. |
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Rudy
His Master's Voice
Joined: 21 Jan 2002
Posts: 10982
Location: Wolverine Country! (aka Michigan)
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| Posted: Wed 3/10/10 5:55 pm
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| lj wrote: | | Chega de Saudade written by Jobim is reputed to be the first Bossa Nova composition. Not bad for his first shot at this new genre But it was Gilberto who invented the sound of Bossa Nova with his unique way of singing and his unique syncopated manner of guitar playing. |
Before he found success, Gilberto used to live with others, practicing guitar endlessly all hours of the day or night, trying to perfect his new "sound." I read that he wore out his welcome with quite a few friends over the years. I suspect they had no idea they were listening to something that would change Brazilian music forever.
I still can't get over Jobim's music! It's like a lifelong illness that you can't shake. There's just something so soothing and familiar about them on the surface, but with a lot of texture beneath that facade. It's hard to shake his melodies out of your head once you've heard them. 
BTW, Ruy Castro's book "Bossa Nova" is a good read...
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lj
Bronze Member
Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 40
Location: San Diego California
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| Posted: Thu 3/11/10 5:09 pm
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Right you are about the brilliant Jobim. For me, he was the greatest composer of popular music in the 20th century. And what a broad spectrum of music he mastered, from bossa nova, to film scores, to compositions that resembled symphonic tone poems. Before his death he was planning to work on new music for soprano Kathleen Battle of opera fame.
Yes, Ruy Castro's book "Bossa Nova" is a must read for any lover of Brazilian music. Another good book is "The Brazilian Sound" by McGowan & Pessanha. I've included a link below, which has the same name as the book, where excellent Brazilian music can be purchased.
http://thebraziliansound.com/ |
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