VA - Putumayo Present: Bossa Nova Around the World (2011)

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VA - Putumayo Present: Bossa Nova Around the World (2011)

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There is a select group of musical genres that truly have global reach. Jazz, blues, rock & roll and reggae are among those that can be found everywhere from New Zealand to Zimbabwe. Another genre that's had a huge impact on the planet's music is Brazilian bossa nova ("new trend"), which emerged among a small collective of musical visionaries in the late 1950s. Derived from traditional samba rhythms, innovative composers such as João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes added complex melodies, jazz-inspired chord progressions, richly poetic lyrics and a sophisticated attitude to traditional Brazilian music. These musical evolutions helped bring the sounds of Afro-Brazil from the poor favelas to Rio's upscale beachfront neighborhoods such as Ipanema and Copacabana. In 1959, the film Black Orpheus, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, introduced the world to the irresistible new sound of Brazil. Soon, American jazz musicians Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd were collaborating with Brazilian musicians. Even before the classic song "The Girl from Ipanema" became a global hit, bossa nova had exploded onto the world scene. By the early 1960s, the lilting swing of bossa nova was the ubiquitous soundtrack of cocktail parties and cool jazz clubs the world over. In recent years, the success of artists such as Bebel Gilberto and the popularity of the bossa sound in the contemporary lounge and electronica music scene demonstrate the continued appeal of this rich musical movement. On this collection, you can hear some of the many languages in which bossa nova has come to be performed and the continued role it plays in our global musical culture.