A few weeks ago I had a post on Bebel Gilberto, where I mentioned that she is the daughter of the legendary João Gilberto. Thinking a bit more about it, I realized that ‘legendary’ is a relative/context-sensitive concept, and figured it would be worthwhile writing a post on ‘the legend’ himself. Those of you who don’t know about him should know about him, and those of you who already do will certainly not mind being graced with one or two of his pearls on this Thursday morning!
João Gilberto is one of the founders of the Bossa Nova style together with Tom Jobim, in the late 1950s. It all started when he invented a new guitar beat, loosely inspired by traditional samba beats. But while in ‘ordinary’ samba, percussion plays a crucial role, in Bossa Nova the rhythmic role is taken over by the guitar itself, along with its traditional melodic function. To top it up, João Gilberto developed his own characteristic singing style, which can be described as ‘minimalistic’, to say the least. He whispers more than he sings (not a shred of vibrato), and with his absolute pitch, every single note is exactly what it should be: it's all about precision. Moreover, he deliberately sings ahead or behind the beat, creating a unique effect. (It is interesting to notice that, at the beginning of his career, he sang in ‘full throttle’ style, so the smooth singing is in no way a consequence of modest lung and throat functions!)
He is legendary not only for his unique and fascinating singing and playing styles, but also for a somewhat ‘extravagant’ personality. Nobody knows for sure whether he will show up for a concert until it starts, and there is no guarantee that he will stay until the end, as any noise or nuisance may make him stop and leave. Still, his concerts are always sold out, as people are willing to take their chances for the mere possibility of hearing him. I’ve never been this fortunate myself, but there is still some hope, as he still performs sporadically -- he just turned 80 last week and is celebrating with a tour of concerts later this year (apparently, only in Brazil).
João Gilberto recorded with Stan Getz, Tom Jobim and others what was to become the best-selling jazz album ever, Getz/Gilberto (1964). It is through this album that the world became acquainted with ‘Garota de Ipanema’, still the best known Brazilian song of all times; João Gilberto sings in Portuguese, his then-wife Astrud Gilberto sings in English, and there are beautiful solos by Stan Getz (sax) and Tom Jobim (piano). It’s a great song, but it would be too much of a cliché for me to post it here (plus, Astrud Gilberto's singing irritates me a bit...). So instead, I’m posting another great song from the album, ‘Só danço samba’.
Let me also post another one of João Gilberto’s classics, ‘Wave’, in a live version. Both songs were composed by Tom Jobim (the first one together with Vinicius de Moraes, who some of you may know from his collaboration with Paden Powell); indeed, singing Tom Jobim songs is one of João Gilberto’s trademarks (although his repertoire is very diverse; for example, I love it when he sings jazz classics such as 'You do something to me', but I couldn't find it on youtube). He composed a few songs himself, but he clearly sees himself as a singer/guitar player much more than as a composer. His music can be a bit of an acquired taste (although some people love it immediately), as it is subtle and in a sense demanding; but he’s without a doubt one of the very best musicians we’ve ever had in Brazil -- legendary, as I said.
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