MusicWith lyrics by Vinícius de Mor

Music

With lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes, composition by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and singing by João Gilberto, Chega de Saudade(translated as No More Blues), released in 1958, is credited as being the first Bossa Nova recording. The three are seen together on the left. Initially, Chega de Saudade was recorded on Elizete Cardoso's album Canção do Amor Demais. However, it was the later release by João Gilberto on an album by the same name, that brought Bossa Nova to public attention. The 1959 motion picture Orfeu Negro or Black Orpheus cemented Bossa Nova's popularity in Brazil. The movie was based on a play by Vinícius de Moraes and the music was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The lyrics for one the songs, Manhã de Carnaval was written by Luiz Bonfá. The record label Verve, US jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd added to Bossa Nova's popularity in North America with their 1963 release of Jazz Samba. The music was recorded at All Souls' Unitarian Church in Washington, DC on February 13, 1962. The album contained two Jobim compositions: Desafinado and Samba De Uma Nota So (One Note Samba) However, it was the 1964 release of the album Getz/Gilberto by Verve that made Bossa Nova a household name in North America while becoming one of the best selling jazz albums ever. Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. Stan Getz played the sax and João Gilberto played the guitar. Jobim is featured on the piano. Jobim also wrote most of the music. The first song on the album The Girl from Ipanema, was sung by João and his wife Astrud Gilberto (seen on the right), making her professional debut. The song won a Grammy, and is today one of the most recognizable Bossa Nova songs anywhere.

The Girl From Ipanema

The story of the transformation of Vinícius de Moraes' composition Menina que Passa (The Girl Who Passes By) into the song we recognize today as The Girl from Ipanema or Garota de Ipanema is now part of Bossa Nova folklore. The story goes that Moraes composed the words to the song in Petrópolis, a township near Rio, while Jobim composed the melody at his home in Rua Barão da Torre, in the southern Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Ipanema. The beach of Ipanema (seen here on the right) is adjacent to Copacabana Beach. However, Ipanema has the reputation of being a more exclusive neighbourhood. Indeed, it is one of the most expensive places to buy a home in Rio. Moraes and Jobim patronized the Veloso Cafe in Ipanema. Sitting at the cafe, they frequently saw a slender, stunning, fifteen-year-old girl pass by - much to the delight of the cafe's patrons who expressed their admiration of her beauty with sighs and whistles. Her name was Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (today Helô Pinheiro). She lived on Ipanema's Montenegro Street. Today, Montenegro Street is called Vinicius de Moraes Street, and the Veloso Bar has been named A Garota de Ipanema. Heloísa became the girl from Ipanema in Moraes and Jobin's composition which took its final form in the winter on 1962. The English lyrics were later written by Norman Gimbel, the opening lines of which are: "Tall and tan and young and lovely, The girl from Ipanema goes walking, And when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah! When she walks she's like a samba that, Swings so cool and sways so gentle, That when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah!