Get Yourself Some Brazilian Music

Whenever I ask someone to think of a song in the genre of bossa nova, without fail, each person will say "Girl From Ipanema". 

This is no surprise, as it is the second most recorded song in history. Most people have heard Frank Sinatra's version, but it was also recorded by countless other artists, like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and the list goes on. Originally written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinícus de Moraes, it became an international hit when it was featured on the Getz/Gilberto album.

This album was unlike anything else of the time, and featured the new sound pioneered by João Gilberto: bossa nova. bossa nova, which literally means "new sound" or "new wave" was born in the clubs of Rio de Janeiro and emerged in the late 1950s. 

It is one of the many children of samba, an Afro-Brazilian style of music that characterized by its highly syncopated rhythms, isometric melodies, and falling contour. This music and its accompanying dance style both are also native of Rio de Janeiro and incredibly popular and still prevalent in Brazilian culture. Incidentally, the original composer of the song Girl from Ipanema, Antonio Carlos Jobim, was first known for his music in "Orfeu Negro" (Black Orpheus). It tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. 

(This is the last scene from the movie. I think the whole video is quite sweet, but the music itself starts at around 1:13.)

Bossa nova also takes some of its roots from other areas of Brazilian music, like the nasal vocal production in the cabaclo tradition in norther/eastern Brazil. It also has some roots in choro (sometimes chorinho, which literally means "weeping") an instrumental music in which the guitarist plays syncopated bass lines with chordal accompaniment. 

(The beginning of this video is an explanation of the chordal accompaniment of choro, but the music starts at 2:29. I highly recommend you check out Anat Cohen's series of videos explaining choro!)

In Gilberto's "new wave" of this music deeply rooted in Rio de Janeiro was most distinct due to his new style of guitar playing. This style was called "violão gago" which literally means "stuttering guitar". This, though developped from a typical samba rhythm, was a serious departure from it. 

Bossa nova and samba both function in a meter of two and are both very syncopated. However,  a traditional samba rhythm has a much less lilting feel than Gilberto's strumming patterns. 

This part requires a little clapping to explain what I mean. Each beat in all of these examples is divided into four parts (sixteenths), so to simplify this for non-musicians (and lazy ones like me) I'm going to explain how to clap these by counting to four every time. Disclaimer: no e's &'s or a's were harmed in the making of this blog. 

Starting with the example a: For this example, counting the four every time, claps come on 1, 2, and 4. It looks a bit like this (each x represents a clap). 

                                    x        x   (rest)     x

                                    1        2      3        4

Just keep repeating this rhythm, faster and faster. It really makes you wanna dance. 

Example three is even groovier, but it requires a little bit more counting. In this example is a pattern of two groups of four, with claps come on 1 and 4, and then in the next pattern again on 2. It looks a bit like this:

                     x     (rest)  (rest)     x        (rest)    x   (rest)   (rest)

                     1        2        3         4           1       2       3          4

Now, compare that to the rhythms of some of Gilberto's interpretations. 

This example is a lot more helpful from an explanatory standpoint. In the bottom row there's a little set of numbers underneath each note. In this example each clap comes on one, but you count to two or three. (These are binary, bi meaning two, and ternary, meaning three, rhythmic patterns). It looks a bit like this:

x  (rest)   x  (rest) (rest)    x  (rest)   x   (rest)  (rest)   x  (rest) (rest)    x.  (rest) (rest)

1      2     1      2       3       1      2      1       2        3      1     2       3        1      2        3

Often times, Gilberto would have many variations on these patterns and sometimes omit them altogether, giving it the sound a bit more like hiccuping. Gilberto's, like samba music, makes you want to dance. Unlike samba, though, it is more of a sway-like feeling than any upbeat moves. Another by Jobim on the Getz/Gilberto album that captures this feeling quite well is Desafindo.  

(This is also where the term "bossa-nova" first appeared, soon becoming associated with and used to refer to this genre of music.) 

Even when a song is paced a bit faster, it still has this sway-like feel. Doralice, another song on the Stanz/Getz album showcases this in a more upbeat way.  

Think of the difference between the very forward "swing" rhythms in classic jazz, like something Louis Armstrong or Ella Fitzgerald would play and compare it to some cool jazz like Miles Davis or Chet Baker. This is a great parallel to samba and bossa nova. In fact, bossa nova and cool jazz influenced each other greatly, Jobim being very interested in cool jazz and then countless American musicians being enamored by Gilberto's sound. 

Bossa nova was actually criticized a great deal for this: of having its samba rhythms over-simplified to appeal to upper-class whites. American influence did not help with this stigma and it was often regarded as white-washed samba. 

There are many arguments for why this was true, specifically with the song Girl from Ipanema. An English version, was recorded (first sung by Astrud Gilberto) and it was performed and tweaked by Frank Sinatra. In his rendition in F major, which is why those who play it in the key recorded on the Getz/Gilberto album (Db Major) it is considered more authentic. Additionally, much like James Brown's "I Feel Good", it was marketed to white American Teenagers in the movie "Get Yourself A College Girl".

And it worked. The song was wildly popular in America, and still is today. However, to say that this was a diminution of samba for upper-echelon whites seems too reductive, especially in regards to its American influences. To say that its American influence was white-washing also completely ignores the African roots of the blues and jazz styles that it draws from.Yes, once in the United States, "Girl From Ipanema" was marketed to and made more palatable to white audiences. However, this would be equating an entire genre of music to one song. That doesn't even begin to give a complete picture of the style as a whole and is a guaranteed way to make any fans of an artist incredibly angry. 

Regardless, this is a wonderful style of music that I quite enjoy, and it has a long cultural heritage that is quite syncretic. I highly recommend falling down this rabbit hole. 

Bonus! Here's a song called "Aguas de Marco" by Jobim being performed by Elis Regina that I really enjoy. 

Sources

 

Béhague, Gerard. “Bossa nova.” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000003663.

 

Béhague, Gerard. “Jobim, Antônio Carlos.” Grove Music Online, November 26, 2013. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-90000357296.

 

Béhague, Gerard. “Samba.” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001. https:www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024449.

 

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "bossa nova." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 27, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/art/bossa-nova.

 

 

Gorlinski, Virginia. "Antônio Carlos Jobim". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jan. 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Carlos-Jobim. Accessed 26 January 2024.

 

 

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “choro,” accessed January 26, 2024, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionar/choro.

 

Neely, Adam. “The Girl From Ipanema is a far weirder song than you thought.” Youtube, July 15, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFWCbGzxofU.