The name ‘Ferrari’ and Formula One are synonymous – for 60 years the blood-red, open-wheel racers have graced the world’s legendary racetracks in pursuit of perfection at the pinnacle of motorsport. And the world’s best drivers have piloted them: Hawthorne, Lauda, Phil Hill, Ascari, Scheckter and Surtees have all claimed world championships for the Italian Scudeira, and has Germany’s Michael Schumacher with his record-breaking seven championship titles.

After the 2006 season, Schumacher stepped down, handing his car over to his young Brazilian protégé Felipe Massa. Responding to the challenge, Massa was the runner-up for the 2008 season, losing the title by a single point at the final race – the Brazilian Grand Prix in his hometown of São Paulo.

Last Saturday (July 25th, 2009), during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Felipe Massa was faced with another challenge:

Survival.

While traveling down a straightaway at 160 mph, Massa’s helmet was hit by a one pound, coiled spring which had fallen off the car just ahead of him. The force of the impact – just above his left eye – was nearly 20 times greater than being hit by a 100 mile-an-hour fastball. Massa sustained injury to his eye plus skull and vertebrae fractures. Surgery was successful and the 28 year old Brazilian was put into an induced coma to allow for healing.

By Tuesday, Massa had recovered enough to brign him out of coma, and his progress since has been nothing short of amazing, “Hour by hour,” said his father.

Now, according to GMM newsservice, another development:

Felipe Massa is scheduled to board a private plane bound for his home in Sao Paulo on Sunday, according to the latest reports. It had been suggested that his hospital stay in Budapest might continue into next week, or that he be transferred to the Pitie-Salpetriere in Paris.

But the latest suggestion is that, at the end of a few days out of intensive care and under observation in a normal hospital room, the AEK in central Budapest will be satisfied to see the 28-year-old check out at the end of the forthcoming weekend.

He will travel by helicopter to the local airport, where a private jet will fly to Brazil, hospital director Istvan Szilvassy is quoted as saying by Hungarian television Magyar Televizio.

After some days at home he will then travel to the Paris hospital to receive the rehabilitation treatment of Dr Gerard Saillant, who has treated Michael Schumacher and Ronaldo in the past.

“His condition is appropriate, he does not have any serious neurological symptoms at the moment. I think the early phases of rehabilitation can start now,” AEK neurologist Attila Toth added.

Earlier, in his daily media update, the Ferrari driver’s personal doctor Dino Altman said Massa looked “like a boxer” but was recovering well.

“He talks a lot and is cracking jokes,” Altman said, revealing that when he heard Schumacher would replace him at Valencia, Massa answered: “We’ll see if I let him drive my car!”

“Racing is all he can think of,” Dr Altman added.

“There’s nothing to worry about, and no further operations are forecast. He remembers everything starting from Saturday, except for the crash of which he can’t remember anything.

“He knows what day is today, and he also knows that for two or three days he wasn’t conscious, and he can remember his position in qualifying prior to the accident,” Altman said.

~ ~ ~

You can view Mosaic TV video of Felipe Massa’s accident here and here, and we’ll provide updates on this page as warranted.

It was Texas Holdem with a Brazilian twist on July 20 in Las Vegas. Alexandre Gomes, clad in a green and gold jacket, became the first Brazilian to win on the World Poker Tour. Cheered on by Brazilian friends, Gomes bested 268 players and a final table that included poker legend Eric Seidel to claim the $15,000 buy-in Bellagio Cup V title and $1.18 million prize.

The win adds to Gomes’s successes on the poker felt. In 2008, he became the first Brazilian to win a World Series of Poker bracelet in a $2,000 No Limit Holdem event that included a field of over 2,300 players – garnering him a cool $770,000.

Commenting on his ESPN Poker Edge podcast, professional poker player Phil Gordon says Gomes’s success is good for the growing popularity of poker in Brazil.

“That should do great things for poker in Brazil,” Gordon said. “I know that it’s growing very rapidly down there. I know because my book’s been translated into Portuguese and I see the kind of sales that it’s been getting.”

After graduation from law school in 2005, Gomes became partner at a law firm in Curitiba. Soon, however, he discovered the world of online poker, cashing regularly in some big online tournaments. Gomes began winning big bucks in some larger Brazilian tournaments as well and soon began thinking of the bright lights of Sin City. In 2007, he left trials and torts behind for the life of a poker pro.

When not in the law office or bluffing his chips on the felt, Gomes likes to play soccer and is an avid supporter of his hometown futebol team – Coritiba Football Club.

“It’s a very interesting change of life I would say,” Gomes says on PokerStars’ website about his new life after his WSOP victory. “Poker in Brazil is growing very fast. And this title that I won, it was like a boom for the market for poker. It was very nice”

As part of the PokerStars team, Gomes has the security many players dream of – poker sponsorship. He credits his aggressive style and ability to read his opponents as his keys to success. His career tournament winnings thus far – $2.9 million – or 5.5 Reals in Brazil. Definitely not a bad two years. Don’t bet against this Brazilian rounder!

– SEAN CHAFFIN

August’s Brazilian Datebook

1

(1909) Instrumentalist and composer Buci Moreia is born in Rio de Janeiro. (1923) Popular singer of the 1940’s and ’50 Orlando Silva is born in Recife PE. (1941) MPB singer Ney (de Souza Pereira) Matogrosso is born in Bela Vista, MS.

2

(1944) Percussionist Nana Vasconcelos is born in Recife, PE. (1947) Singer Sergio Murilo is born in Rio de Janeiro. (1989) Prominent singer, songwriter and accordionist Luis Gonzaga dies in the city of his birth, Exu, PE. Gonzaga – also known as the ‘King of Baião’ and ‘Gonzagão’ – is remembered for popularizing the music of the Brazilian Northeast to the rest of the country.

3

(1942) Pioneering singer Mario Ramos (Vassourinha) passes away at age 19. In his brief life, the teen vocalist became a major star of Samba and the early period of MPB. (1993) Pre-Bossa crooner Lucio Alves dies. He helped to move Brazilian popular music from the staid sound of Samba-Canção to a more refined and romantic style reflective of Bing Crosby. Along with Dick Farney, Alves was an early influence of João Gilberto’s, and was a leader of the vocal group Namorados da Lua in the 1940’s.

4

(1930) Samba composer Sinhó (José Barbosa da Silva) dies in Rio de Janeiro. He was part of the group of musicians who frequented the home of Tia Ciata at Praça Onze, the site of Samba’s birth in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1900’s. Sinhó composed more than 150 songs and in 1927 was commended with the title ‘Rei do Samba’ (King of Samba).

5

(1891) Singer Augusto Calheiros is born in Maceió, AL.  (1924) Composer Oscar da Penha (Batatinha) is born in Salvador, Bahia. Over the course of his career, he complied a compendium of the best songs of MPB. (1937) Singer and composer Orlandivo is born in Itajai, SC.

6

(1937) Legendary guitarist and composer Baden Powell (de Aquino) is born in Rio de Janeiro. Regarded by many as the best guitarist in Brazil’s musical history, Powell composed and performed in many styles, including Bossa Nova, Samba, Brazilian jazz, Latin jazz and MPB. He was named after Robert Baden Powell,  the founder of the Boy Scouts. (1940) Songwriter Paulo Sérgio Vale is born in Rio de Janeiro.

7

(1942) Caetano (Emanuel Vianna Telles) Veloso is born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia. He is considered to be one of the all-time major forces in MPB as a singer, songwriter, author, poet, philosopher and trend setter. Veloso (along with Gilberto Gil) was exiled from Brazil by the government in 1969 as a result of political dissent. He is the brother of renowned vocalist Maria Bethania. (1978) Singer Orlando (Garcia da) Silva passes away. As Brazil’s first recognized ‘pop’ star, no other performer was more popular in Brazil during the 1930’s and 40’s. It earned him the nickname “O Ídolo das Multidões” (The Idol of the Multitudes).

8

(1934) Brazilian actor and playwright Gianfrancesco (Sigfrido Benedetto Marinenghi de) Guarnieri is born in Milan, Italy. His family moved to Brazil when he was 3. He wrote nearly 30 plays, and appeared in several movies, soap operas, and mini-series to become a leading figure in Brazilian theater and music.

9

(1944) Singer and songwriter Paulinho Soares (da Costa) is born in Belém do Pará. (1959) Singer Jussaria Freire is born in Nanuque, MG.

10

(1922) Singer and composer Gordurinha (Waldeck Artur de Macedo) is born in Salvador, Bahia. He is perhaps best known for writing Jackson do Pandeiro’s  hit song ‘Chiciete Com Banana’. (1956) Singer Fafá de Belem is born in Belém do Pará.

11

 (1912) Composer and Diplomat Brasilio Itiberê passes away in Berlin Germany.

12

(1928) On this day Deixa Falar, the very first Samba School (Escola de Samba) is founded  in Rio de Janeiro by Sambistas Bide, Mano Edgar, Ismael Silva, Brancura and Baiaco. (1948) Singer Ana de Hollanda is born in São Paulo. She is sister to Miucha, Cristina Buarque and Chico Buarque, and an Aunt of Bebel Gilberto: all singer/songwriters. (1943) Axé idol and singer Clara Nunes is born in Paraopeba, MG.  During her brief career, she put her indelible mark on MPB and is considered as one of Brazil’s most beautiful voices.

13

(1913) Composer Augusto Mesquita is born in Rio de Janeiro. (1936) Singer Silvio César is born in Raul Soares, MG. (1951) Singer, songwriter and  ‘Clube da Esquina’ member Beto Gudes is born in Monte Claros, MG. (1965) Singer Eliane Faria is born in Rio de Janeiro. She is the daughter of Paulinho da Viola.

14

(1930) Composer Ari Lobo is born in Belém, PA. (1953) Composer and violinist Jorge Simas is born in Rio de Janeiro. (1963) Percussionist Marcos Suzano is born in Rio de Janeiro.

15

(1966) Composer, author, poet, patron and newspaper owner and journalist Orestes Barbosa passes away. Active in virtually every area of music entertainment, Barbosa wrote dozens of hit songs for MPB’s pioneering stars, including Silvio Caldas, Noel Rosa, Carlos Galhardo, Orlando Silva, Aracy de Almeida,Zezé Gonzaga, Francisco Alves, and Paulinho da Viola.

16

(1999) Composer Carlos Cachaça (Carlos Moreira de Castro) passes away in Rio de Janeiro. He was a founder of the Escola de Samba Estação Primeira de Mangueira and wrote the Samba School’s first parade song ‘Homenagem’. He also co-wrote dozens of Samba hits with Cartola.

17

(1934). Legendary MPB , jazz and Bossa Nova pianist, keyboardist and  songwriter João Donato (de Oliveira Neto) is born in Rio Branco, AC. Among his many compositions are “Amazonas’, ‘A Ra’ (with Caetano Veloso), ‘Lugar Comun’ (with Gilberto Gil), ‘Muito à Vontade’, ‘Nãna das Águas, and ‘Whistle Stop’ (with Eumir Deodato).

18

19

This is ‘Dia do Artista’ day in Brazil. It celebrates the founding of Rio de Janeiro’s Casa dos Artistas in 1918 by Irineu Marinho and Leopoldo Fróes.

20

(1920) Maestro, pianist, composer and arranger Guio de Moraes (Guiomarino Rubens Duarte) is born in Recife. PE.

21

(1989) Brazilian Rock pioneer Raul (Santos) Seixas dies. He was the leader of the proto-Rock group Os Panteras, formed in the late 1950’s. A fan-led parade is held in his memory each year on his birthday (June 28th) in São Paulo.

22

(1965) The popular TV music show ‘Jovem Guarda’ (Young Guard) premieres on São Paulo’s TV Record, channel 7.  Retransmitted via videotape to Brazil’s most populated cities, it ushered in a new trend for Brazilian pop. The show features Roberto Carlos, O “Braza”, Erasmo Carlos and Wanderléa to showcase a Top-40 sound called ‘Yê- Yê- Yê‘ – named after the catch phrase “Yeah, Yeah. Yeah” from the Beatles 1963 hit “She Loves You”.  

25

(1974) Donga (Ernesto Joaquim Maria dos Santos), the songwriter of the very first, pure Samba hit ‘Pelo Telefone’ (On the Telephone) passes away in Rio de Janeiro. Written in 1916 with his friend Pixinguinha, the song was recorded by their band Oita Batutas in 1917 and became a great success at Carnaval that year.

26

(1943) Singer, guitarist and composer Dori Caymmi is born. His is the son of legendary Bahian Dorival Caymmi, and brother to musical siblings Danilo Caymmi and Nana Caymmi. A highly accomplished arranger, he is also a two-time Grammy winner. Among his best known songs is ‘O Cantador’, (‘Like A Lover’) which has become a much-recorded pop and jazz standard. Versions of this song have been popularized by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66, Al Jarreau and Rosalia de Souza. (1959) Singer Kenia Gould (Ashby) is born in Rio de Janeiro. Her post Bossa Nova Brazilian style played an important role in the birth of the Smooth Jazz radio format in the late 80′s.

28

(1945) Famed jazz saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil is born in Rio de Janeiro. (1946) Gilda de Abreu’s feature film ‘O Ébrio’ plays at the top movie theaters in Rio de Janeiro. This uniquely Brazilian melodrama starred Vicente Celestino and went on to become a major hit, attracting nearly four million viewers. (1955) Vocalist Sandra da Sá is born in Rio de Janeiro.

29

(1943) Legendary singer and songwriter Edo Lobo is born in Rio de Janeiro. He began with Bossa Nova, forming a trio with Dori Caymmi and Marcos Valle. Later on, he wrote soundtracks for theater plays. In 1965, Lobo penned one of his best known tunes – ‘Upa Neguinho’ – (co-written with Gianfrancesco Guarnieri). This song became a lasting hit for singer Elis Regina and has become a cherish evergreen in the MPB songbook.

30

(1972) Singer Dalva de Oliveira (Vicentina de Paula Oliveira) passes away. Raised as an orphan in Sao Paulo, she moved to Rio as a teen to become radio star in the 1930’s, where most of her long career remaind focused. She is the mother of singer Pery Ribeiro.

31

(1923) Singer Emilinha (Savana da Silva) Borba is born in the barrio disrict of Mangueira in Rio de Janieiro. A top star of Brazilian pop in the 1950’s, she earned the title of ‘Rainha do Rádio’ (Queen of Radio) in 1953. Her debut recording came in 1939, a year before she was invited to join Rádio Nacional as a featured vocalist, where she continued to work until her retirement in the late 1960’s. Many of her hits were rumbas and sambas, and she had a famous (and friendly) rivalry with the singer Marlene. Borba also starred in many films and was an annual personality for the Carnaval parades in Rio de Janeiro.

Rather than dancing around the issue, let’s just get this one point out of the way at the very start: Singer Rosalia de Souza’s “Garota Moderna” (Modern Girl) is one of the best pure Brazilian pop CDs to make its way to the US in recent years.

We’ll explain. But first some background:

We like “Garota Moderna” enough to place it at the top of a long list of Brazilian drumbass CDs. As you may have discovered with our best-selling Nueva Bossa Nova compilation CD, this music is the happy result of a rekindled excitement in Bossa Nova.

Call it what you will – Drum and Bass, Lounge, Electronica, Jazzdance, Club, Downtempo, or even as an offshoot of Acid Jazz – the `youth movement’ following for this genre (much of it influenced by Brazilian rhythms) is vital and international. In recent years, it’s popularity has exploded worldwide, tracing the same global acceptance of the 60s Bossa Nova sound courtesy of a new generation of musicians and DJ’s who have absolutely no first-hand knowledge of the original and thankfully none of the baggage, either.

“Garota Moderna” carries the indelible stamp of Italian DJ/producer Nicola Conte, who filters these Brazilian beats through a cultural prism, much as it was four decades ago when Italy’s music scene mirrored Fellinni’s “La Doce Vida” and the soundtrack-influenced “Cinecitta” movement. In search of new sounds for the dance floor, DJ’s like re-mix king Conte (who has earned his reputation as being one of the best in his field) turned back their calendars to revitalize these Latin styles, and… Viola!

Born and raised in the Nilopolis district of Rio (home of the famed Beija Flor samba school), Rosalia de Souza has lived in Italy as a singer since 1989, building her CV with a series of single recordings with groups like Les Hommes and Quintetto X before meeting with label mate Conte in 1994. Eventually their collaborations expanded to include a brace of Bossa-tinged tracks for the “Break and Bossa” compilation series. These prototype sessions helped to lay the framework for “Garota Moderna” as her debut release.

Conte and de Souza’s talents mesh very well and the proof is for all to hear. Amazingly, each of the CD’s 13 songs is a keeper – unusual for most any solo recording these days and unheard of for a debut CD. As producer, Conte has a wonderful grasp on the true essence of Bossa Nova- a worldly innocence that is charming and pervasive; one which tempers our day-to-day realities as a safe haven for an uncomplicated moment.

And his largely acoustic arrangements provide Rosalia de Souza with the perfect musical setting. Her voice easily matches this vision. Lively and at times feather-light, she carries a range of emotion that echoes Astrud Gilberto’s finest moments. But de Souza does more with it- bringing a sense of passion and sophistication to each song by acknowledging the subtle grace of Bossa’s legacy. The result is at once contemporary, complimentary and wistfully retro.

In fact, Garota Moderna does such a great job with this rediscovery that its easy to forget that less than half the of these songs come Conte and de Souza’s collaboration. Consider the covers: Baden Powell and Vinicius De Moraes’ `Canto De Ossanha’ (one of the original Afro-Sambas, reworked for the dance floor) becomes a showcase for de Souza’s vocal strength and phrasing.

Clever choices abound: Lesser-known Bossa gems like `Adriana’ and `Ipanema’ from Roberto Menescal and Carlos Lyra’s and Vinicius De Moraes’ `Maria Moita’ are a breath of fresh air when delivered with Rosalia’s delicate style and Caetano Veloso’s `Saudosismo’ is elegantly engaged to the point where it outshines the original.

Six new songs continue the homage. `Bossa 31’ and `Zona Sul’ are instrumentals with Rosalia’s soft scatting riding above the rhythmic drive. ‘Mais’ is a delicate down-tempo ballad while `Tempo Futuro’ and `As Gotas’ are both upbeat and catchy grooves in keeping with the spirit of the recording.

“Garota Moderna” succeeds in part due to its forthright approach: Conte and de Souza have done their homework and it shows; from the song selection to the arrangements and Rosalia’s near-perfect performances. This has allowed them to avoid the formulaic doldrums that too often infect pop music. Because of their obvious creative ease, we get the feeling that “Garota Moderna” is completely comfortable in its own skin.

A final observation: Conte’s role as producer should not go unheralded. “Garota Moderna” invites comparison to Bebel Gilberto’s “Tanto Tempo” CD from 2000 which brought quick recognition including two Latin Grammy nominations and a 70 week run on Billboard’s World Music Chart. Tragically, Gilberto’s talented Yugoslavian producer, Suba, died shortly before the project was completed and she has yet to release a follow up CD. Inasmuch as Conte has already reworked Suba’s `Tantos Desejos’ for Bebel’s record label, its clear that he and de Souza are poised for the same success.

In Brazil, the debate between Samba and Bossa Nova still rages. Many who view Samba as Brazil’s best musical export see Bossa Nova as a flirtatious “has been,” way past her prime. Leave it to a Brazilian expatriate and a young Italian producer to prove them wrong.  

For the past several years, Ruy Castro’s book “Chega de Saudade” has been a favorite book selection for our readers. Now, an English version has been made available, easing our never ending struggle with Portuguese verb conjugations! At least long enough to enjoy this unmatched history of Bossa Nova. Here’s an overview:

Quick. Name a contemporary jazz artist who hasn’t been influenced by the Bossa beat. It hasn’t always been that way. As is the case with most pop music phenoms, Americans knew very little about Bossa Nova before ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ became a #1 hit in the mid-60′s. Yes, there was the Charlie Byrd/Stan Getz version of ‘Desafinado’ in 1962, and more astute Bossa fans may have been able to cite Herbie Mann, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, who all flirted with Bossa Nova before the rest of the country eventually made love to it. But Bossa’s beginnings in the US were about as obscure as they were in, say, Brazil, and in fact, Bossa’s story is quite different than what you may have been led to believe from the liner notes.

Bossa Nova was greeted with controversy when it was first published in Brazil (as ‘Chega de Saudade’) more than a decade ago, partially due to the fact that amazingly, no precise history of Bossa Nova had ever been undertaken. But author Ruy Castro came to his project remarkably well credentialed as a reporter and editor of several Brazilian publications, and he undertook a painstaking 18 month trek to research the real story of this remarkable, international art form. This is the deftly told story of the 15 years that preceded Bossa Nova’s historic dance at the top of the US charts in 1964. In fact, the classic Stan Getz album that contains what is considered the definitive version of The Girl From Ipanema isn’t even discussed until the final third of the book, which wraps its narrative up with 1966, when the classic duet recording with Jobim and Frank Sinatra stole the headlines away from Bossa’s slow fade from the musical spotlight in Brazil.

The book centers on two unlikely personalities. Crooners like Frank Sinatra were at the center of the Brazilian pop scene in the early 50’s and believe it or not, without Ol’ Blue Eyes, Bossa-Nova may have never developed. That fact alone makes Bossa Nova an eye opening read, and it’s one of the seemingly endless bits of information gleaned from this well researched book. But the man most important to the development of the music is João Gilberto, whose introspective, self absorbed search for a new style resulted in his version of ‘Chega de Saudade’, the 1:58 that changed everything, transforming him from an unreliable performer who could be counted on to “steal” a convenient guitar to a creative artist who gave Brazil more music than it could handle.

You’ll be forgiven if you’re drawn to thinking that Ruy Castro’s lightly narrative style is more mindful of a screenplay than a serious, historic tome. The writer’s passion for the music fills each page. His ability to place the reader into the midst of these day-to-day events is startlingly realistic, no doubt the result of hundreds of recorded interviews, one on one, with the people who lived the stories he relates. Even his pacing seems musical.

If Bossa Nova has a flaw, it’s that it didn’t come with all of the wonderful pictures contained in the original Portuguese edition, making both essential bookshelf companions for your library. Any 21st century Bossa Nova fan who reads this book will get quite an education, no matter the depth of knowledge. And we expect that you’ll also want to make a beeline to our web site to hear what really came before ‘The Girl From Ipanema’. Still not convinced? Read a sample of ‘Bossa Nova’ for yourself, below.

Other Voices:

Bossa Nova, book excerpt, pp 132-133

Z. J. Merky, the authoritarian recording engineer, threw João Gilberto a dirty look through the glass partition when he asked for two microphones: one for himself and another for his guitar. Who had ever heard of such a thing? Odeon was very British in its control of assets and even more British (tight-fisted) in its control of costs. Debuting singers and unknowns had no right to luxuries. But Aloysio’s authority presided, and two microphones were found. However, Aloysio’s guarantee did not extend to personal conflict, and the first confrontation was between João Gilberto and the musicians. Recording live in the studio with the orchestra, without any playback, he interrupted take after take, purportedly detecting mistakes made by musicians, which no one else noticed, and forcing the studio entire orchestra to play the piece over. At times, he behaved almost as if everyone in the studio but him were tone-deaf.

Jobim’s arrangement was simple, but João asked for a four-man percussion section: Milton Banana on drums, Guarany on caixeta, Juquinha on the triangle, and Rubens Bassini on the bongos. While Vinícius’s lyrics talked about “abraços e beijinhos e carinhos sem ter fim” (endless embraces, kisses, and caresses), under their breath, the orchestra branded the singer a crazy man, and the latter declared that it was the orchestra who was trying to drive him mad. He had particular antipathy for an Argentine trumpet player named Catita. Following one of the innumerable interruptions, some of the musicians mutinied, put their instruments in their cases, and left, slamming the door behind them; when they agreed to return, the singer decided he didn’t want to record anymore. Tom Jobim didn’t know if he was supposed to be playing the piano, conducting the orchestra, or running around trying to keep the peace.

The second confrontation was between João Gilberto and the technicians. Accustomed to normal singers, who accounted for three tracks every four hours (the average recording rate on planet Earth), they couldn’t understand such maniacal perfectionism, which was turning the recording of a simple 78-rpm into an endless Cuban soap opera. The upheaval was prolonged for days following the third and worst conflict, between João Gilberto and Jobim himself. In addition to his nitpicking and bickering with the musicians and technicians, João Gilberto’s complaints about the chords were elevating the tension between the two of them to the tautness of a violin string. One more accusation from either one of the two—like João Gilberto repeating yet again that Jobim “didn’t understand anything”—would mean the end of “Chega de Saudade” and “Bim-Bom.”

But it was in fact a deep and far-reaching insult by João Gilberto that ended up re-establishing a harmonious atmosphere: “Tom, you’re lazy—you’re Brazilian.” There was nothing else to do but laugh, and carry on to the end.

According to Milton Banana, the recording took “almost a month,” coincidentally, the same month (June 1958) that the Brazilian soccer team was playing in the World Cup in Sweden. Banana was exaggerating. What he probably meant to say was that it took a month for all the different stages to be finalized— Jobim writing the arrangements, João Gilberto rehearsing with him at home, the meetings between João Gilberto and Banana to coordinate guitar and percussion, rehearsals with the orchestra, and, finally, the recording itself. All in all, actual studio time probably wasn’t more than a few days, and not even Odeon had enough studios to allow one of them to be occupied for weeks on end by a singer whose commercial success seemed, at best, doubtful. The official recording date for “Chega de Saudade” and “Bim-Bom,” July 10, was merely the date on which the definitive takes were recorded.

After all that confusion, Odeon deprioritized the project, and realized that, when they thought about it, they had no idea how to categorize João Gilberto. He wasn’t exactly Anísio Silva (the recording company’s biggest seller); that was clear. But he wasn’t Lúcio Alves either, and Odeon only knew how to think in those terms. The record hit the Rio stores and radio stations in August, in a supplement that included, among other assorted absurdities, “Cachito” by Trio Irakitan, “Sayonara” by singer Lenita Bruno, and “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu” by violinist Fafá Lemos. That is to say, with no competition whatsoever.  

Chapter Listing
“Bossa Nova” by Ruy Castro
Published, 2000 (English Translation)Bossa Nova for Sale
16. “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl From Ipanema)
17. A Bite of the Apple
18. The Armed Flower
19. Shuttle Service
20. The Diaspora
21. The World as an Exit

Introduction and Acknowledgments
Forward
Prologue: Juazeiro, 1948

Part 1: The Great Dream
01. The Sounds That Came Out of the Basement
02. Hot Times at the Lojas Murray
03. Battle of the Vocal Ensembles
04. The Mountains, the Sun, and the Sea
05. Torchy Copacabana
06. The Gang
07. In Search of the Lost Self
08. The Arrival of the Beat
09. One Minute and Fifty-Nine Seconds That Changed Everything
10. Desafinado” (Off-Key)

Part 2: The Long Holiday
11. Bossa Nova Goes to School
12. Colorful Harmonies
13. Love, a Smile, and a Flower
14. It’s Salt, It’s Sun, It’s South
15.

Epilouge: What Happened To Them
A Select Bossa Nova Discography
Glossary
Index

~ ~ ~

Have you read this book? Care to post your own review?