[Monday Notes no. 160] Samba della rosa is a song by Toquinho and Vinicius De Moraes, performed by Ornella Vanoni on her album La voglia la pazzia l’incoscienza l’allegria. The recording is one of the most successful encounters between Italian music and bossanova.Continue readingSamba della rosa, Ornella Vanoni and bossa nova
Tag: bossa nova
[Monday Notes no. 155] Bruno Lauzi was inspired by great Italian songwriting, but also by jazz and bossa nova, genres that he played and sang with ease. In 1976, he recorded an entire album for children from which is taken Il leprotto Zip (The hare Zip), a very witty song in samba – bossa nova…Continue readingBruno Lauzi, Il Leprotto Zip. Bossa nova explained to children
[Monday Notes no. 120] The flat of lawyer Jairo Leao was to bossa nova what Minton’s was to jazz: a place for gatherings, experimentations, creations. His 15-year-old daughter Nara Leao had a group of musician friends, including Carlos Lyra, her guitar teacher and author of the music for Lobo Bobo, one of the first bossanova…Continue readingCarlos Lyra, Lobo Bobo. The house of bossa nova
[Monday Notes no. 113] Blue Bossa is one of the simplest pieces in the jazz repertoire and one of the most popular among beginners. Yet the author Kenny Dorham himself did not take it too seriously, to the point that he only recorded it once. Joe Henderson, on the other hand, liked the piece and…Continue readingKenny Dorham, Blue Bossa. Bossa nova from a Jazzman’s perspective
[Monday Notes no. 109] In the 1950s, Brazilian music experienced a moment of creativity and ferment that led to the birth of bossanova, a delightful mix of Brazilian popular music and jazz. Maysa was one of the most important singers of that period, we listen to her interpretation of Segredo, a typical samba canção.Continue readingMaysa, Segredo. Samba canção, bolero and bossa nova
[Monday Notes no. 97] Joao Gilberto is the greatest bossa nova singer, the first to offer his voice and guitar to Antonio Carlos Jobim’s compositions. One of the best known is the song Chega De Saudade, performed here by Joao Gilberto in duet with his daughter Bebel.Continue readingJoao Gilberto Bebel Gilberto, Chega De Saudade. From choro to bossa nova
[Monday Notes no. 91] Roberto Menescal was one of the leading figures in the invention of bossa nova. Guitarist, composer and producer, he wrote songs with Antonio Carlos Jobim and played on numerous records from the 1960s onwards. We analyse his interpretation of the Brazilian classic Garota de Ipanema.Continue readingRoberto Menescal, Garota de Ipanema. Between bossa nova and jazz
[Monday’s Notes No. 87] Sometimes after a first romantic date it can happen that one of the two falls madly in love, totally unrequited. This is what fears the protagonist of Ligia, who fights a battle against love that he cannot win. The song is performed here by Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz.Continue readingStan Getz & Joao Gilberto, Ligia. Rendezvous in Ipanema
[Monday Notes no. 71] Much of Dorival Caymmi’s music is dedicated to his homeland, Bahia, and to the sea in particular. The singer-songwriter in 1959 recorded Caymmi e Seu Violão, a record made entirely by accompanying himself with only the guitar, from which we hear the song O Mar.Continue readingO Mar, Dorival Caymmi the poet who writes of the sea
[Monday Notes no. 67] Although it is natural to associate bossanova with the guitar, the piano has been very important in the development of this music. The most important founders of bossanova include pianists Johnny Alf, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes, Ivan Lins and Milton Nascimento. Let us analyse a nice piece entitled A Ra…Continue readingJoao Donato, A Ra. The Piano and Brazilian Popular Music