Bossa Nova Turns 50

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bossa Nova. No other place but Brazil could have spawned the dreamy, syncopated genre. If you want to get specific blame it on Rio. Ipanema to be precise. You know as in "The Girl From Ipanema" Ipanema. That Ipanema. The one that is worlds away from say Rocinha, Rio's largest favela -- a shantytown that suffers from a kind of suburban sprawl syndrome minus the unimaginative assembly-line aesthetic that plagues its first-world counterpart. Back when Ipanema was bohemian chic in the mid 50s to early 60s, cool cats like Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Joao Gilberto, Roberto Menescal, Joao Donato, Baden Powell, Nara Leao, and Carlos Lyra, amongst others, waxed poetic on the vicissitudes of those poor blacks up on the hills who dared to dream and invented samba. In the process the young trailblazers concocted an altogether different cocktail that blended just the right kind of musical ingredients -- harmonies influenced by jazz and classical music, sophisticated lyrics, and a quietly-tempered understatement all anchored in what would become bossa nova's trademark, rhythmic-guitar shuffle. Whereas, domestically, samba was held in high esteem as Brazil's musical patrimony, bossa nova was the nation's trendsetting sonic ambassador abroad. It was probably a sign of the times that it took the rejiggering of samba by a bunch of middle-class, white kids from Ipanema -- because, let's face it, without samba there would be no bossa nova -- who, by the way, were really diggin' Bird, for Brazil to become synonymous with poolside chill in the U.S. Somewhere in that equation American jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd was instrumental in paving the way for bossa's globalization and for a fleeting moment in history the wave turned into a tsunami. Of course bossa nova survived its short-lived lounge phase and it's since become one of the most influential sounds in music. Brazilian artists around the world will be celebrating the milestone onstage throughout the year. Just this past March in Ipanema there was a free concert right on the beach. In May London's Barbican Hall is hosting a special night of performances curated by Brazilian jazz singer Joyce, featuring three generations of bossa nova artists. For more info on the event go to http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=7389
I'll be doing my part, posting reviews on some Brazilian upstarts who are taking the genre to a whole new level.