Bossa nova is a kind of Brazilian music that, with its ‘swaying’ feel and syncopated rhythms, is similar to samba. But it is calmer and gentler than samba, with more emphasis on melody and complex harmony, and less on percussion. Highly influenced by jazz, many bossa nova songs are also jazz standards.
The story of bossa nova
Bossa nova emerged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the end of the 1950s as a fusion of samba and jazz (the phrase 'bossa nova’ means 'new wave' in Portuguese). Two of bossa nova's earliest and most famous proponents - often credited with inventing the form - are the composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and the guitarist João Gilberto.
The latter's whose 1958 album of songs including 'Desafinado' ('Out of tune') and 'Chega de Saudade' (that one translates to something like 'Enough of longing') made a huge splash in Brazil and the United States. Jobim went on to record more than 400 songs, many of them worldwide hits, such as ‘The Girl from Ipanema’.
Who was Astrud Gilberto?
The Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto (March 29, 1940-une 5, 2023) is utterly central to the story of bossa nova. It was her peformance of 'The Girl from Ipanema' (or 'Garota de Ipanema' in the original - Ipanema is a neighbourhood of the Brazilian capital Rio de Janeiro) that helped define the genre's sound, and brought it to the world's attention during the 1960s.
Interestingly, Astrud Gilberto's rise to fame came somewhat unexpectedly. It was in 1964 that she was invited to sing the track in English, during a session for the album Getz/Gilberto, featuring her husband João Gilberto and the jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. She had never made any music recordings before, but her distinctive, breathy vocals led the song a languid intimacy that helped it to become an international sensation.
Is there still a bossa nova scene today?
While bossa nova is not as popular in Brazil as it once was, it is still made by some Brazilian musicians and is finding new popularity with younger audiences around the world.
What are bossa nova songs about?
Created during a period of growth and relative prosperity in Brazil, early bossa nova songs reflected the optimism of their time, with lyrics that often focused on the easy lives of the middle and upper classes, beautiful women and falling in love.
During the political turmoil of the 1960s, however, bossa nova musicians began to write songs with a much stronger political message, challenging the position of Brazil's military dictatorship, as in Nara Leão's 'Opinião', which ends with the powerful line: "They can arrest me, they can beat me and I won't change my mind / I won't change my mind."
Which instruments are used in bossa nova?
The central instrument to bossa nova is the guitar, which provides the underlying rhythm. But other instruments are also used, such as the double bass, piano, flute, trumpet, tambourine and drums.
Bossa nova songs are based quite heavily on traditional jazz structures, with a set number of bars that repeat throughout the whole song.
What rhythm does bossa nova use?
The first thing you will generally notice about this music is its calm, syncopated rhythm, marrying the coolness of American jazz with the rhythmic quirks of samba. Like samba, bossa nova tends to be in 2/4 time, but it is generally slower and more relaxed.
The harmonies within bossa nova tend to be fairly complex, rarely using triads and often including notes like the 9th, 11th and 13th to enrich chords. A lot of the harmonic vocabulary is taken from jazz, with a similar emphasis on dissonance.
Bossa nova: four key features
Melody: Bossa nova songs feature very smooth, lyrical melodies, that blend effortlessly with, rather than challenging, with song's harmony and rhythm.
Instrumentation: As mentioned above, the acoustic guitar (often played in a fingerpicking style) is front and centre in bossa nova. It's typically complemented by piano, soft percussion instruments such as the tamborim and pandeiro, and perhaps string instruments or a flute. There are often, but not always, vocals: when present, they are usually quite understated, almost more gently conversational than declamatory.
Rhythm: A typical bossa nova rhythm will derive from its more high-octane cousin, samba - but here, it will be more understated and relaxed.
Harmony: Bossa nove takes on some of the chord progressions from jazz, making it quite a harmonically complex genre.
Who were the biggest bossa nova stars?
Aside from Jobim, we should name three of the biggest stars from bossa nova's heyday. These include the poet and lyricist Vinicius de Moraes, who collaborated extensively with Jobim. Next, the singer and songwriter Astrud Gilberto, who shot to fame in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song 'The Girl from Ipanema'. Finally, the jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, who played a big role in introducing bossa nova music to an American audience.
And who are the most popular bossa nova stars today?
Among the people doing exciting things with the genre are the Brazilian singer Rosalia De Souza, the Brazilian singer-songwriter and composer Toco and the Italian DJ Nicola Conte, who has developed his own one-of-a-kind style of acid jazz incorporating bossa nova themes.
What are the most famous pieces of bossa nova music?
A good place to start is 'Manhã de Carnaval' ('Carnival Morning'), by composer Luiz Bonfá and lyricist Antônio Maria, widely celebrated for its eye-wateringly virtuosic improvisation. Another favourite is Antônio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Corcovado (Quiet Night of Quiet Stars)’, a smooth flowing song about the famous Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, topped by the Christ the Redeemer statue.
‘How Insensitive’, a song about lost love, is one of Jobim’s most beautiful and melancholic ballads. And for sheer catchiness, it’s hard to beat Ary Barroso’s ‘Aqualero do Brazil.’ And of course we can't not mention (again) 'The Girl from Ipanema', the bossa nova song.
