Theoretically Speaking S5-E16: What Makes Bossa Nova,  Bossa Nova?

The most recorded song in history is The Beatles’ “Yesterday.” 

There are at least 2,200 recorded versions.

Or, for that matter, any other song. Royalty collection agencies – like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC – keep track of this sort of thing, but they rely on musicians to report new recordings. Many don’t.

For example:

Musicians who perform in a restaurant in a tourist area, let’s say in a tropical beach town, may supplement their income by selling CDs.

So it’s really hard to say if that 2,200 figure is accurate. Besides, more covers of “Yesterday” have probably been recorded since I wrote this sentence.

With all that in mind, can you guess what the second most recorded song is?

Maybe another Beatles song. Or John Lennon’s “Imagine,” or a Broadway/Jazz song like “Summertime?” I suppose it could well be any number of Christmas songs.

Good guesses.

Finding this out got me interested in Bossa Nova… and here we are.

Bossa Nova is actually a subgenre of Samba, which I haven’t covered yet, so let’s talk about that a little, too.

Samba started in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and has become an integral part of Brazilian identity. It’s always played during Carnival and other gatherings, in part because it’s dance music.

Samba pulls together indigenous Brazilian musical influences with African and European traits. Melodies are catchy, the rhythm is syncopated and complex, and the instruments are percussion forward. These percussion instruments include the tamborim, which is like a tambourine without the little cymbals, and the pandeiro, which is also like a tambourine – but with fewer, bigger cymbals.

Bossa Nova is generally slower than its parent. It’s relaxed, soft, and thoroughly chill. Where Samba is usually in 4/4 time, Bossa Nova is in 2/4. Yes, two measures of 2/4 have the same number of beats as one measure of 4/4, but the emphasis is different.

In 4/4, the first beat is accented with a softer accent on the third. In 2/4, the first beat is accented with the same emphasis:

There’s a profound American Jazz influence in Bossa Nova that Samba doesn’t have. While Bossa Nova isn’t overtly political music, there was a lot going on in Brazil in the late 1950s, and it affected everything, including music, so let’s compress hundreds of years of history into a few paragraphs.

When Napoleon invaded Portugal, the court moved to Rio de Janeiro and declared it the capital of the Portuguese empire.

Brazil abolished slavery in 1888. It was the last country in the Americas to do so. Post-slavery, cities like Rio accepted people and influences from everywhere, including Salvador, a city 800 miles up the coast.

Salvador was a mostly black city and its African heritage influenced its music.

Anyway, Semba made its way south to Rio, and from Semba: came Samba.

Getúlio Vargas worked his way up through Brazilian politics but lost his bid to become president in 1930. However, he took the presidency after a military coup and was elected outright, though under a new constitution, in 1934.

During this nationalist “Estado Novo” period, Brazil attracted international business, especially the oil industry, and attempted to improve its global reputation. The arts come in handy for that sort of thing.

Vargas knew that the arts keep people happy, too, so he supported Carnival, parades, and Samba schools.

In the years before World War II, the United States worried that the dictator might side with Germany and, given Brazil’s location, become a mighty sea power. The ever-practical Vargas stayed out of the war but maintained relations with both the Allies and the Axis. Whatever’s good for business, y’know?

After Pearl Harbor, however, Vargas thought it best to side with the Allies.

His successor, Eurico Gaspar Dutra, couldn’t keep Brazil’s economy stable and Vargas was re-elected in 1951.

A violent attack on one of his political adversaries resulted in the death of an Air Force officer. The military didn’t like losing one of their own and insisted Vargas resign. After all, the murder suspect was his chief of security.

With the influx of American companies, American culture followed.

The U.S. State Department sponsored Jazz performances in Latin America. After hours, the Americans would find jam sessions with Brazilian musicians. The Americans learned Samba. The Brazilians learned Jazz and loved its extended chords, like 7ths, 9ths, and 11ths. You’ll find them throughout Bossa Nova songs.

It appears on the same album as his recording of “Chega de Saudade,” which was composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. “Chega de Saudade” was recorded before “Bim Bom” but written after, so you can debate which is the first Bossa Nova song.

What’s not debatable is that Gilberto, Jobim, and de Moraes are the big three names in Bossa Nova.

One of the American Jazz musicians who gigged in Brazil was a sax player named Stan Getz.

Likewise, the State Department sent sax player Paul Winter and his sextet on a 160 gig tour of Latin America. Following that, they played the first Jazz concert at the White House.

With its laid back atmosphere, it fit in well with the Easy Listening records of the time. Bossa Nova sits midway between Easy Listening and Exotica.

But the opinions about Bossa Nova varied back in Brazil.

Some folks liked it, but others thought the Jazz touches were intentionally added for the American market.

Of the people who thought that, some saw it as hope for Brazil’s position in the world. With Brazilia, the country’s shining new capital, and Pelé, one of the greatest football players in sports history, Brazil’s star was on the rise

But in 1964, “The Girl From Ipanema” became a worldwide hit.

Written by Jobim and de Moraes and recorded by Gilberto, it’s the most successful song any of the big three were involved in.

However, the version that went global included a new voice. Jobim, Gilberto, and others went to New York to record with Getz. Gilberto’s wife Astrud went, too. English lyrics had been written by Norman Gimbel, but neither Jobim or Gilberto spoke English, and Getz didn’t sing.

Part of the charm of her performance of “The Girl From Ipanema” is that it’s unaffected. She sings it straight, with no flourishes or any attention seeking techniques that a professional might have used. It defines Bossa Nova singing.

The radio edit version cuts out João’s vocal and leaves only Astrud’s.  She had a successful singing career, even after divorcing João.

Jobim and de Moraes wrote “The Girl From Ipanema” in Rio.

Heloísa Eneida Paes Pinto Mendes Pinheiro lived in the neighborhood. She was 17 and would go into the bar to buy cigarettes for mother, ignoring the cat calling of the patrons. The idea of longing for someone so beautiful but who won’t acknowledge you is what inspired “The Girl From Ipanema,” but de Moraes made it a lot less lecherous.

In 2001, she opened a clothing store called Garota de Ipanema, which is the song’s title in Portuguese, and was promptly sued by Jobim and de Moraes’ children who had inherited the copyright.

Public sentiment was with her. In court, she presented a document in which Jobim and de Moraes called her the original girl from Ipanema. The lawsuit was decided in her favor.

Though part of Bossa Nova’s popularity with the Brazilian regime was how apolitical and calming it was, Jobim realized he could slip in some hidden messages.

Buarque’s “Construção” tells the story of a construction worker killed on the job. From the afterlife, he criticizes the working and living conditions of Brazil’s poor, as well as pollution and alcoholism.

“Construção” could be more blatant than “Sabiá” because Buarque was living in exile. In Brazil, the military dictatorship kept its eye on musicians, which is why Jobim’s criticism had to be so subtle.

That’s part of the reason Bossa Nova’s popularity faded. The regime censored all the arts. Some artists watered down Bossa Nova to make it more commercial. Others went into the underground avant garde. The music industry got more global so outside influences came in. The British Invasion invaded Brazil, too.

Tastes change. But Bossa Nova never became passé.

Authoritarianism and inequality continue. So do protests. Things change slowly and they change for the better, but we still need chilled-out music.

Sixty years later, people are still recording “The Girl From Ipanema.” 

And when she passes, each one she passes: goes “aah.”

Suggested Listening – Full YouTube Playlist

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