Pabon, which was the first boogaloo played on the radio, and “Jala Jala y Booga-
loo,” by Ricardo Ray who coined the term boogaloo.
The boogaloo craze was long lasting compared to other fads but ended abruptly
due to problems between artists and their record companies. As a result of over-
booking and little pay, teenage boogaloo bands like The Lat-Teens and The Latin
Souls began to disappear. The rise of Fania Records, a monopoly that would come
to define the Latin sound of the 1970s, also contributed to the demise of booga-
loo. A 1997 remake of “I Like It Like That” featuring a hip-hop, house, and Latin
fusion by Nito Nieve testified to the enduring influence of Latin and African Ameri-
can fusion.
Further Reading
Salazar, Max. “Afro-American Latinized Rhythms.” In Salsiology: Afro-Cuban Music
and the Evolution of Salsa in New York City, edited by Vernon Boggs, 237–48. Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.
Raymond Epstein
Bossa Nova
Bossa nova, a form of jazz influenced by Brazilian musical rhythms and styles,
conquered audiences with its beautiful melodies, sophisticated harmonies, and sub-
tle and original rhythm. It gained international prestige in the 1960s after being
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embraced by North American jazz musicians. Among countless hits are “Chega de
Saudade,” “Desafinado,” “Garota de Ipanema,” “Samba de Uma Nota Só,” “Medi-
tação,” “Corcovado,” “O Amor em Paz,” “Samba do Avião,” “Inútil Paisagem,”
“Dindi,” “Triste,” “A Felicidade,” “Lígia,” “Vivo Sonhando,” “Águas de Março,”
“Se Todos Fossem Iguais a Você,” “Só Danço Samba,” and “Insensatez” (Anto-
nio Carlos Jobim); “Influência do Jazz,” “Primavera,” “Minha Namorada,” “Maria
Ninguém,” “Se É Tarde Me Perdoa,” “Lobo Bobo,” and “Você e Eu” (Carlos Lyra),
“Barquinho,” “Rio,” “Você,” and “Vagamente” (Roberto Menescal), “Batida Dife-
rente,” “Chuva,” and “Estamos Aí” (Maurício Einhorn).
Bossa nova’s precursors in the 1940s included the music of acoustic guitarist
Garoto (Aníbal Augusto Sardinha), who used altered and dissonant harmoniza-
tions, pianist Dick Farney, and composer Custódio Mesquita, whose biggest hits
were two foxtrot songs, “Mulher” and “Nada Além,” which were American in style.
Vocal group Os Cariocas contributed to the development of bossa nova with their
innovative and daring harmonies that were soon assimilated by American vocal
groups.
During the 1950s, several jazz-influenced Brazilian musicians and composers
introduced harmonic and melodic innovations that became fundamental for the
development of bossa nova. Among these, the most important was the pioneering
pianist-composer Johnny Alf. His performances at the Hotel Plaza bar in Rio de Ja-
neiro in 1953 and 1954 attracted the attention of young musicians and singers who,
captivated by his innovations, went to listen to him night after night. Among these
young musicians was João Gilberto who was a singer and acoustic guitar player
who later started the bossa nova movement, Candinho (José Candido de Mello Mat-
tos Sobrinho—an acoustic guitarist), Luiz Bonfá (an acoustic guitarist and com-
poser), Aurino Ferreira (a saxophonist), João Donato (a pianist, accordionist and
composer), Bebeto Castilho and Manuel Gusmão (both bassists), Sylvia Telles,
Claudete Soares and Alaíde Costa (singers), Luiz Eça (a pianist), and Lúcio Alves
(a singer). Alf changed the direction of Brazilian popular music with his elaborate,
harmonically daring compositions, whose melodic sense was of unique beauty. It
was a giant step for the renovation of language, which germinated the seed of bossa
nova. Some of his masterpieces include “Rapaz de Bem,” “Ilusão à Toa,” “Céu e
Mar,” “Fim de Semana em Eldorado,” “Disa,” “O Que é Amar,” and the seminal
“Eu e a Brisa,” With the recording of the classic “Rapaz de Bem,” Alf became the
spiritual father of bossa nova and set the direction for future musicians to follow,
such as Antonio Carlos Jobim who even received informal lessons from Alf.
Another decisive influence came from the 1953 album Brazilliance created
by acoustic guitarist Laurindo Almeida and saxophonist Bud Shank. Accomplish-
ing a groundbreaking fusion of jazz and Brazilian music, the album provoked a
thrill with Shank’s audacious improvisations and proved that it was possible to
improvise over Brazilian themes, something that had been unthinkable until then.
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Jobim, Antônio Carlos
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (1927–1994), popularly known as
“Tom” Jobim, was an important composer of the latter 20th century because
of his contributions to the development of bossa nova through his brilliantly
crafted melodies and the popular success of his numerous songs. Jobim con-
tributed as composer, arranger, and pianist to the Grammy-winning recording
Getz/Gilberto (1964). Several of his recordings have also been inducted into the
Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. Besides Getz, Jobim has recorded with Sinatra,
João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, and Elis Regina.
Jobim worked as an arranger, transcriber, and conductor for radio, televi-
sion, and recording companies in Rio. In 1956 he composed music for the play
Orfeu da Conceição by Moraes, and in 1958 contributed songs and arrangements
for Elizete Cardoso’s recording Canção do Amor Demais. Jobim’s popularity in-
creased in 1959 with his musical contributions to João Gilberto’s recording
Chega de Saudade and the fi lm Black Orpheus. In 1962 he achieved success in
the United States with the song “Desafi nado.” His early popular compositions
are primarily bossa novas, but later in his career he experimented with choro.
Further Reading
Reily, Suzel Ana. “Tom Jobim and the Bossa Nova Era.” Popular Music 15, no.1
(1996): 1–16.
Thomas Rohde
Acoustic guitarist-composer Luiz Bonfá won international fame for his contri-
bution, “Manhã de Carnaval,” the theme of the film Black Orpheus and “Samba
de Orfeu,” Other highlights from his repertoire are “Menina Flor,” “Gentle Rain,”
“Saudade Vem Correndo,” and “Mania de Maria.”
Throughout 1956 and 1957, João Gilberto was exhaustively listening to the
Chet Baker Sings album. Impressed by Baker’s colloquial style, Gilberto radically
changed his way of singing, abandoning his previous model, Orlando Silva, to
adopt Baker’s vocal style. Gilberto became, together with Antonio Carlos Jobim,
bossa nova’s biggest icon. His guitar beat originated the essential rhythmic char-
acteristic of bossa nova. Gilberto continues to perform with great success.
Another notable talent was João Donato, whose original jazz-influenced style is
evident in “Minha Saudade,” “Silk Stop,” “Até Quem Sabe,” and “A Rã.” Donato
settled in Los Angeles in 1959, where he lived until 1973, recording and playing
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with jazz and Latin music musicians. Donato remains active and in high demand
for tours throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Historically, the recording of the first bossa nova record in 1958 is credited to
singer Elizeth Cardoso: Canção do Amor Demais, featuring João Gilberto at the
acoustic guitar. At that point, the prolific partnership of Antonio Carlos Jobim and
Vinicius de Moraes had already begun. Moraes, a poet in the strict sense, had an in-
ternational reputation as a lyricist. It was because of Moraes’s influence on and con-
tribution to Brazilian popular music, that the Brazilian elites began to take notice.
A group of youngsters excited by the new musical tendencies of Jobim and
Moraes would gather at singer Nara Leão’s home to explore the new repertoire.
Among the participants at these meetings were Roberto Menescal, Ronaldo Bôscoli,
Carlos Lyra, Chico Feitosa, Durval Ferreira, and Oscar Castro Neves, all of whom
would contribute to the success of the bossa nova movement.
At the time, the music was seething in the four clubs of legendary Beco das
Garrafas, Rio de Janeiro’s 52th Street. Every night someone would bring in a new
composition, a new idea, a new arrangement. Those clubs revealed Luiz Carlos
Vinhas, Luiz Eça, Sérgio Mendes, Toninho Oliveira, Dom Salvador, and Tenório
Junior (piano); Baden Powell, Neco, Rosinha de Valença, Waltel Branco, and Oscar
Castro-Neves (acoustic guitar); Claudete Soares, Leny Andrade, Alaíde Costa, and
Sylvia Telles (voice); Raul de Souza and Edson Maciel (trombone); Sérgio Bar-
rozo, Tião Neto, and Manuel Gusmão (bass); Jorge Ferreira da Silva, J. T. Meire-
lles, and Aurino Ferreira (sax); Edison Machado, Victor Manga, Milton Banana,
and Dom Um Romão (drums); and Maurício Einhorn (harmonica). Inspired by Lau-
rindo Almeida and Bud Schank’s recorded improvisations, those instrumentalists
began to develop the samba-jazz genre, and the small combos Tamba Trio, Bossa
Três, Salvador Trio, Trio 3-D, and Rio 65 Trio blossomed.
Brazilian youth became enraptured by bossa nova with João Gilberto’s Chega
de Saudade album, which defined the new idiom with radical innovations in mel-
ody, harmony, and rhythm. This album would be worshipped by musicians, sing-
ers, and listeners. After 1959, the new music started to win international acclaim,
with four events decisive to its success abroad. First, acoustic guitarist Charlie Byrd
did a Brazilian tour and, enchanted with what he heard there, he recorded several
albums with Brazilian repertoire. Second, the groups American Jazz Festival and
Dizzy Gillespie’s Quintet came to Brazil in 1961. Upon their return, Gillespie, Lalo
Schifrin (piano), Zoot Sims and Coleman Hawkins (sax), Herbie Mann (flute), and
Curtis Fuller (trombone) recorded bossa nova albums. Third, in 1962 Charlie Byrd
and saxophonist Stan Getz recorded the Jazz Samba LP and “Desafinado” became
a big hit overnight. Its success led to the organization of a bossa nova concert at
Carnegie Hall with Brazilian musicians, opening an international work market for
national artists.
In the following year, Stan Getz recorded with João Gilberto and Antonio Car-
los Jobim, the album that transformed “Garota de Ipanema” into Jobim and bossa
Brazil | 59
nova’s trademark. It was also the album in which Astrud Gilberto had her open-
ing as a singer. At that point, Jobim was bossa nova’s most popular artist; world
famous, his prestige became increasingly higher, and his inspired compositions
became megahits in most Western countries.
With the success of rock and the Beatles, bossa nova ceased to be the music of
Brazilian youth, despite continuing to be prestigious abroad. After a long period of
stagnation, a rebirth of bossa nova in Brazil has taken place, with concerts, festi-
vals, recordings, and re-releases of albums from its golden period, one of the most
creative eras of Brazilian popular music.
Further Reading
Castro, Ruy. Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World.
Chicago: A. Cappella, 2000.
McGowan, Chris, and Ricardo Pessanha. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova,
and the Popular Music of Brazil. Revised and expanded edition. Philadelphia, PA: Temple
University Press, 2009.
Alvaro Neder and José Raffaelli
Brazil
Popular music in Brazil reflects the origins of its population: Africa and Europe
(specifically Portugal). Early Portuguese settlers unsuccessfully tried to enslave
Brazilian Natives. As a result they resorted to importing large numbers of slaves
from Africa. Later waves of immigration brought a large number of people from
other parts of Europe, all contributing to the makeup of the current Brazilian pop-
ulation, which is now 53.7 percent white, 38.5 percent mulatto, and 6.2 percent
black. In order to understand the origins and evolution of Brazilian music, one must
understand some of the social, racial, political and musical forces that shaped it.
The single most important feature that separates Brazilian music from that of other
New World traditions is its African-derived rhythm, a reflection of both a large slave
population and the differences in slavery in Brazil as compared to the rest of the
Americas. The most significant difference was in sheer numbers: 250,000–350,000
slaves were taken from Africa to the United States, but well over two million slaves
were forced to go to Brazil. This difference can be largely attributed to Brazil’s rela-
tive proximity to Africa. Slavery in Brazil lasted two more generations than in the
United States (universal emancipation was not granted until 1888 in Brazil) and more
slaves were imported to Brazil during the 19th century than the rest of the Americas
combined (less than 3% to the United States, over 60% to Brazil). Treatment of slaves
was also greatly different, most notably because in the United States and elsewhere,
slave family groups and tribes were separated, but in Brazil they were kept together
to a large extent. As a result of the fact that slaves tended to be kept in family and
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language groups, a great deal more of their culture was preserved. They stayed closer
to their roots and were able to maintain their religious practices and musical traditions
that were based on percussion instruments and complex rhythms.
Portuguese immigrants and African slaves mixed from the very beginning of the
colony; Brazilian music as a result reflects the racial blending of the population.
Whereas in the United States miscegenation was generally discouraged and even
illegal in many states, it was encouraged in Brazil. This said, there was great resis-
tance by the intellectual elite to the emergence of black culture and black music, an
indication of the prevalent racism in Brazil. The elite turned to the idea of miscege-
nation, which was understood not only as a process by which all the different races
would be joined together, but also as a means of tempering, and eventually eradi-
cating the “undesirable” races under the influence of white European blood. The
process was known as branqueamento, literally
, whitening. Indeed, few Brazilians
before the great European immigration of the early 20th century could claim a total
lack of African blood, and as much as 75 percent of Brazil’s current population has
some black ancestry; people of color were also worse off economically and socially.
The range of skin colors found in Brazil from very dark to light, and the intersecting
and interdependence of the concepts of race and class in Brazilian society neces-
sitate a consideration of both race and class in discussions of musical traditions.
Afro-Brazilian Music: Samba
The most important single genre of popular music in Brazil is the samba . Over
time, it has evolved into a number of dance and song forms, the most important of
which was the samba de roda, the ring samba, in which participants form a circle,
one participant at a time dancing while others keep time rhythmically. This dance
tradition developed among slaves in the northeast state of Bahia, and was in com-
mon practice by the early 19th century. The word samba came to represent many
things, including the gathering at which the samba was danced. With emancipa-
tion in 1888, many former slaves took the samba with them as they migrated to the
southeastern cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. In Rio, former slaves developed
a new form of samba based on the samba de roda called the s amba do morro, or the hill samba, reflecting the fact that most former slaves lived in the hillside favelas,
or slums, that dot the city.
Samba continues to be danced today in a variety of forms. One of the most im-
portant is the Carnaval samba, performed in Rio de Janeiro by groups called es-
colas de samba, or s amba schools, that compete during Carnaval . This tradition goes back to the 1930s and features the samba-enredo, the theme samba, which is
meant to convey the themes represented in the presentation. The samba schools of
Rio have become the most popular and visible aspect of contemporary Carnaval
celebrations, but are by no means the only one. Throughout the rest of Brazil other
types of Carnaval celebrations take place, including São Paulo’s version of Escolas
Brazil | 61
de Samba, and in the northeastern state of Bahia, Carnaval revolves around street
Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music Page 13
