It was performed by João Gilberto with arrangements by Jobim and released in 1958. “Chega de Saudade” (No More Blues) by Jobim and de Morães is widely considered to be the first bossa nova song. But the style represents the first massive impact of Brazilian music on the global scene and is now largely embraced in Brazil. Some traditionalists have criticized bossa nova for being an internationalized form of Brazilian music. Other bossa artists were enamored with American cool jazz, which also made use of sophisticated chord changes. Inspired by the 20th Century classical music of Debussy, Ravel, and Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos, Antônio Carlos Jobim introduced complex harmonies into his songs. Gilberto also introduced a novel way of phrasing the samba beat on guitar that took the genre’s traditional structure and turned it upside down with sparse patterns that played around with the rhythm.īossa nova compositions embodied the optimism of the Brazilian middle class in the 1950s, with lyrics that poetically reflected on the sun, beach, and beautiful girls. But whereas samba-canção typically featured an operatic singing style, bossa nova pioneered the use of a soft, understated vocal delivery as epitomized by the revolutionary João Gilberto, whose voice bears some similarity to that of American cool jazz artist Chet Baker. This new sound evolved out of the more sentimental style of samba called samba-canção (song samba), which was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. Other influential bossa artists include Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Oscar Castro-Neves, Nara Leão, Ronaldo Bôscoli, Marcos Valle, and Baden Powell. Three of its primary exponents are guitarist-singer João Gilberto (born 1932) composer, singer, pianist Antônio Carlos (Tom) Jobim (1927-1994) and lyricist Vinícius de Moraes (1913-1980).

Literally meaning “new way” or “new fashion,” this influential form was born in middle-class neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, especially Copacabana, in the mid-1950s. Derived largely from the samba, bossa nova is one of the most famous styles of Brazilian music.

Samba music artists