Bossa nova, new wave or new trend, a combination of samba and jazz, was created, as popular legend has it, because people started migrating from rural areas in Brazli to live in big cities where houses increasingly gave way to small apartments. Thus, bossa nova, which could be performed in an intimate setting with um banquinho e um violao (a small stool and a guitar) was a perfect fit for the new times of the 1950s and 60s especially in cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Played almost exclusively with a classical nylon-string guitar, accompanied by one or two singers, bossa nova was an alternative to big bands and large samba ensembles.
Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim are two of the greatest bossa nova composers and musicians, famous throughout the world for songs like, A Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema) and Chega de Saudade (try to translate that one!) In the late 1960s, Tropicalism or Tropicalia, a movement which combined traditional Brazilian popular music, with African rhythms and rock and roll, emerged as a counterpoint to bossa nova, considered then too influenced by American jazz. Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil, well-known Brazilian composers and musicians are considered the precursors of this new beat.
The new musical style also accompanied a new visual style, so long hair, colorful clothes and the use of a variety of accessories replaced the sober, shirt and slacks or skirt and blouse worn by former generations of musicians. What has never changed throughout all the musical trends in Brazil, however, is that the great majority of musicians prefer a guitar.
Take a look at the music videos below. Notice the influence of American jazz in the bossa nova video featuring one of the greatest Brazilian guitar players: Baden Powell. Then contrast that to the new rhythm and vibe of Caetano Veloso’s Tropicalia guitar performance. Google the lyrics to the songs, and practice Brazilian Portuguese at its best: sung to the chords of a guitar.
http://youtu.be/UXwX5odBJAM
