Bossa Nova, the Misunderstood
Brett Dorman
World Music
Prof. Searles
Bossa Nova: The Misunderstood
" Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanena goes walking and,
When she passes each one she passes goes, Ahh.' "
These are the first lyrics of, probably, one of the most famous bossa nova songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The melody of the song is as smooth as the singer, the rhythm is laid back, and the lyrics are simple. Unfortunately, Frank Sinatra's portrayal of this Bossa Nova classic is detrimental to the music's image. The Bossa Nova should not just be considered lounge music, for it is much more than that. The Bosa Nova is a style of Latin music that has subtle complexities and deserves much more credit than is given; once people have been exposed to what these complexities are, it is plain to see that there is quite a bit to the Bossa Nova. When listening to the bossa nova, most people in America think that the music resembles jazz (in a laid back way) more so than it does samba. This might have to do with the fact that we, in America, listen to jazz much more often than we listen to samba rhythms causing our ears to be prone to noticing the jazz aspects of the music and somewhat disregarding the samba aspects. And on top it all, because the bossa nova resembles jazz but in a laid back way, the tendency is to believe that it is laid back because the music is not as complicated. The fact is however, that bossa nova is a lot like jazz in the sense of its complicated harmonies, syncopation, swing and improvisation, but the structure itself, the melody, off-key sound, is very much like the samba. So in order to understand how complex this music actually is, we must understand the roots of the bossa nova. The primary genre that Bossa Nova takes after is the Latin music entitled "Samba". The Samba was first developed in Rio de Janeiro, at the time the capitol of Brazil, during the beginning of the 20th century. To understand this area a little more, it is
World Music
Prof. Searles
Bossa Nova: The Misunderstood
" Tall and tan and young and lovely,
The girl from Ipanena goes walking and,
When she passes each one she passes goes, Ahh.' "
These are the first lyrics of, probably, one of the most famous bossa nova songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The melody of the song is as smooth as the singer, the rhythm is laid back, and the lyrics are simple. Unfortunately, Frank Sinatra's portrayal of this Bossa Nova classic is detrimental to the music's image. The Bossa Nova should not just be considered lounge music, for it is much more than that. The Bosa Nova is a style of Latin music that has subtle complexities and deserves much more credit than is given; once people have been exposed to what these complexities are, it is plain to see that there is quite a bit to the Bossa Nova. When listening to the bossa nova, most people in America think that the music resembles jazz (in a laid back way) more so than it does samba. This might have to do with the fact that we, in America, listen to jazz much more often than we listen to samba rhythms causing our ears to be prone to noticing the jazz aspects of the music and somewhat disregarding the samba aspects. And on top it all, because the bossa nova resembles jazz but in a laid back way, the tendency is to believe that it is laid back because the music is not as complicated. The fact is however, that bossa nova is a lot like jazz in the sense of its complicated harmonies, syncopation, swing and improvisation, but the structure itself, the melody, off-key sound, is very much like the samba. So in order to understand how complex this music actually is, we must understand the roots of the bossa nova. The primary genre that Bossa Nova takes after is the Latin music entitled "Samba". The Samba was first developed in Rio de Janeiro, at the time the capitol of Brazil, during the beginning of the 20th century. To understand this area a little more, it is
Bibliography: Morales, Ed. The Latin Beat: Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and Beyond. Cambridge, MA: De Capo Press, 2003. Roberts, John S Appleby, David P. The Music of Brazil. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1983. McGowan, Chris & Pessanha, Ricardo. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press, 1998. pp. 21-74 Anonymous, "Jazz History- Bossa Nova," Verve Music