"Makes a golden era . . . accessible to a generation who never knew the poet pioneers of this Brazilian jazz form." —The New York Times
"Follows an Altmanesque cast in a milieu as free-wheeling as 52nd street at the birth of bebop." —The New Yorker
"This is truly a fan's book: chatty, enthusiastic, opinionated." —Library Journal
"Friendly, chatty, armchair storytelling.” —allaboutjazz.com
"Recreates the perfect image of Rio during the height of Bossa Nova’s popularity." —Weekly Standard
Bossa nova is one of the most popular musical genres in the world. Songs such as “The Girl from Ipanema” (the fifth most frequently played song in the world), “The Waters of March,” and “Desafinado” are known around the world. Bossa Nova—a number-one bestseller when originally published in Brazil as Chega de Saudade—is a definitive history of this seductive music. Based on extensive interviews with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jo+o Gilberto, and all the major musicians and their friends, Bossa Nova explains how a handful of Rio de Janeiro teenagers changed the face of popular culture around the world. Now, in this outstanding translation, the full flavor of Ruy Castro’s wisecracking, chatty Portuguese comes through in a feast of detail. Along the way he introduces a cast of unforgettable characters who turned Gilberto’s singular vision into the sound of a generation.
Ruy Castro grew up to the sound of bossa nova in Rio. He has been a staff writer, reporter, and editor for over half a dozen major Brazilian magazines and newspapers and is the author of a number of books; his latest is an encyclopedia of Ipanema.
Music, Performing Arts
400 pages, Trade Paper, 6 x 9
35 B/W Photos, 3 Maps
Distribution Rights: WOR
$17.95 (CAN $26.95)
9781556524943 (1556524943) Pub Date: April 2003
Chicago Review Press