The sound of Bossa Nova
In 1958, João Gilberto recorded a single with two compositions: Chega de saudade and Bim bom. According to Tom Jobim, “the bossa nova of Chega de saudade lies almost entirely in the harmony, in the altered chords, little used by our musicians at the time, and in the new guitar beat played by João Gilberto”.
Photo: Ismar Ingber - Statue of Tom Jobim at Arpoador - Agência Tyba
Image description: The image is a photograph of a statue facing the beach. The statue depicts a man walking with a guitar on his back. The background shows the sea and a distant island. The sky is blue with some clouds.The famous beat was created from a balancing act between the rhythm of the vocals and that of the guitar, in which each sung syllable occupied a spot millimetrically tuned to the chord attacks and bass notes of the guitar. Tom Jobim, in turn, was decisive in defining the direction of the harmony, that is, in the way of adding an instrumental accompaniment to the sung melody.
Photo: Evandro Teixeira - Tom Jobim at the Jardim Botânico - 1992
Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a man sitting on a stone bench in the Jardim Botânico in Rio de Janeiro. He is wearing a straw hat, a white shirt, and light-colored pants. The man is holding something in his hands and appears to be looking down. Around him, there are tall trees with green leaves, and the ground is covered with dry leaves. In the background, other elements of the garden are visible, including bushes and plants.The new musical genre evoked a sunny, beach-loving, luminous, and surprisingly young Brazil. Bossa nova broke with the traditional patterns of Brazilian music, which had the samba-canção as one of its essential parameters. For many, João Gilberto split the very history of popular songwriting into a before and after. And this was not only due to the complexity of his harmonies or his almost hypnotic rhythmic beauty, but also because he broadened the thematic range of the lyrics, turning music into a way of thinking about what Brazil was. Thus, bossa nova ended up flowing into the work of composers such as Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, and Aldir Blanc.
