Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker Bossa Nova and The Rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s

Spawned in the upscale beachside neighborhoods of Rio De Janeiro in the late 1950s, the laid-back sound and culture of Bossa Nova ("New Wave") rode on a brief wave of optimism in Brazil: the country had just elected a new president, a five-year plan for prosperity had been laid out and the great architect Oscar Niemeyer had proposed his plans for the new modern city of Brasilia. Reflecting this optimism in its gentle and sunny soundworld, Bossa Nova quickly became a worldwide musical phenomenon. This album is a definitive study of the birth and rise of bossa nova in Brazil in the 1960s. Light years away from the cocktail-sipping tropical image that bossa nova became, bossa nova’s origins in Brazil are that of a stunning modernist and revolutionary music that reflected the radical and exciting idealism of the country at the start of the 1960s. As Brazil developed into an urban society, with ‘apartment living’ and consumer goods, bossa nova projected an image that was modern, sophisticated and cool. ‘Bossa Nova and the rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s’ charts the rise of the events that led to the arrival of this new musical movement and what happened next. João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Elis Regina, Gilberto Gil and Baden Powell all feature alongside many other Brazilian artists who launched their careers during this amazing period. Compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker!