#bossa-nova

#bossa-nova

One afternoon in 1962, lyricist Vinícius de Moraes and composer Antônio Carlos "Tom" Jobim were sitting at Bar Veloso, in Rio de Janeiro, when they recognized a woman walking by. The two men were so taken with her beauty that they decided to express their admiration in a poem, and the words they jotted down on a pair of bar napkins that day would later end up in their song "The Girl from Ipanema."

At a 1976 concert featuring American saxophone superstar Stan Getz and Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto, Getz welcomed his partner to the stage in a tone of voice that reveals just how gobsmacked he remained by his genius. "The most individual singer of our time, a true originator," he enthused. "His curious ability to sing warmly without a vibrato, his impeccable and inimitable rhythmic sense, his intimacy, all coupled to his wonderful guitar work, make him unique." If that sounds dry, Miles Davis put it so: "Gilberto could sound seductive reading aloud from the Wall Street Journal."