Shedding light on an underrated genre: Bossa Nova

This July saw the death of an absolute legend, João Gilberto — Brazilian singer, songwriter, guitarist and pioneer of an entire music genre. In honor of him, I hope to make the Berkeley student body more aware of the sunny and overlooked genre of Brazilian samba: Bossa Nova.  

The genre –  translated as ‘New Wave’ –  was birthed in the 1950s on the warm tropical beaches of Rio De Janeiro and combined American Jazz and traditional Brazilian samba into music that embodies being young, naive, and in love. When you listen to this music, you are immediately transported to a beach in Brazil eating papaya and coconut — watching foamy waves hit white-sparkling shores. 

Bossa Nova turned the Jazz world and American Pop onto its head in the 1950s and 60s as people fell in love with its breeziness and simplicity. 1964 saw the release of one of the biggest hits of the musical era: “The Girl From Ipanema” which continues to be an infamous jazz standard played all over the globe. The song was performed by American Saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian samba and Bossa Nova singer Astrud Gilberto and included João Gilberto and Brazilian composer, pianist, and singer Antônio Carlos as collaborators. This track launched them all into the American limelight. Many people today only know Bossa Nova through the versions of songs like “The Girl From Ipanema” that became loungy elevator music, played by jazz-pop artists like Frank Sinatra, and aren’t aware of the genre’s rich history and significance.  

While America indulged in the fad of Americanized Bossa Nova music, Brazil was in a time of political turmoil with the  U.S.-backed military coup d’etat in Brazil in 1964. This was a series of events in Brazil from March 31 to April 1 that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart by members of the Brazilian Armed Forces. The coup kicked off a vicious twenty-year-long military dictatorship in which Politicians were arrested and vocal artists, activists, and academics were tortured. As reality became dark in Brazil, Bossa nova and its romanticization of sea and love became out of touch. Emerging from this was a rock-influenced sound, Tropicalia. It replaced the sweet samba and was an outlet for political rebellion and aggression. 

Authentic Bossa Nova music continues to influence modern-day music and is even being sampled by current artists of all genres. The 20-year-old‘ American rapper Juice WRLD recently sampled a song called “Saudade Vem Correndo” from a Bossa Nova album, produced by Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa, in his song “Make Beleive”. Oakland based artist Still Woozy’s new album features a song called “Ipanema” featuring Omar Apollo and Elujay which replicates the carefree beachside feel of Bossa Nova. “Bossa No Sé”, a new track by 20-year-old artist Cuco blends Bossa Nova guitar with a trap-style beat. 

While it’s refreshing to see modern artists find influence through jazz and different subsets of Jazz, there is nothing like listening to the legends themselves, the people these artists choose to sample. Want to dip your toe into the world of Bossa Nova? Here are a couple of artists that are a good gateway in. 

• Astrud and João Gilberto
• Caetano Veloso 
• Elis Regina
• Gal Costa
• Antônio Carlos Jobim

Article by Daniella Ivanir