“The final flicker of the old flame”
by Marshall Bowden
The music world and cultural doyens of Brazil mourn the death of João Gilberto.
Continue reading Joao Gilberto, Father of Bossa Nova, dies
Tag Archives: bossa nova
Charlie Rouse: Bossa Nova Bacchanal
I love bossa jazz, but let’s face it, during the early 1960s there were so many instrumental boss nova albums cut that it’s sometimes hard to get enthusiastic when yet another surfaces from the back catalogues. Listeners really need to sit up and take notice of this reissue by tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse, though. Bossa Nova Bacchanal is a real lost treasure.
Continue reading Charlie Rouse: Bossa Nova BacchanalLuciana Souza: The New Bossa Nova
by Marshall Bowden
Read Luciana Souza: The Book of Longing
Listening to Luciana Souza on The New Bossa Nova reminds one of the best elements of bossa, the music that American jazz musicians and listeners fell in love with some fifty years ago. Souza’s voice is so tightly focused, free of distracting embellishments or unnecessary ornamentation, that one can listen to it quite apart from the words, as one would the melodic line of a great instrumentalist. Of course, the voice is truly the most intimate of all instruments, because it is created by the singer’s own body and because it is capable of transmitting meaning not only in melodic or harmonic terms, but also in words.
Continue reading Luciana Souza: The New Bossa Nova