João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was often called "father of bossa nova"; in his native Brazil, he was referred to as ''"O Mito"'' ("The Legend").

Early life

João Gilberto was born in

Juazeiro Juazeiro, formerly also known as Joazeiro, is a municipality in the state of Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil. The city is twinned with Petrolina, in the state of Pernambuco. The two cities are connected by a modern bridge crossing ...

, Bahia, the son of Joviniano Domingos de Oliveira, a wealthy merchant, and Martinha do Prado Pereira de Oliveira. He lived in his native city until 1942, when he began to study in

Aracaju Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inhabitants, which rep ...

, Sergipe, returning to Juazeiro in 1946. At the age of 14, Gilberto got his first guitar from his grandfather despite disapproval from Gilberto's father. Still in Juazeiro, he formed his first band, called "Enamorados do Ritmo". Gilberto moved to Salvador, Bahia, in 1947. During his three years in the city, he dropped out of his studies to dedicate himself exclusively to music and at the age of 18 began his artistic career as a

crooner Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

at the Rádio Sociedade da Bahia.

Career

Gilberto's first recordings were released in Brazil as two-song, 78-rpm singles between 1951 and 1959. In the 1960s Brazilian singles evolved to the "double compact" format, and Gilberto released some EPs in this new format, which carried four songs on a 45-rpm record. In 1956, he returned to Rio and struck up old acquaintances, most significantly with

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

, who was by then working as a composer, producer and arranger with

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

. Jobim was impressed with Gilberto's new style of guitar playing and set about finding a suitable song to pitch the style to Odeon management. In 1963, Gilberto collaborated with American jazz musician Stan Getz on the album ''

Getz/Gilberto ''Getz/Gilberto'' is an album by American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, featuring pianist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim (Tom Jobim), who also composed many of the tracks. It was released in March 1964 by Verv ...

'' which was released the following year. Jobim played the piano for the album while Gilberto's then-wife

Astrud Astrud is a Spanish pop-rock group from the city of Barcelona which formed in the second half of the 1990s. Composed of Manolo Martínez and Genís Segarra (also in electronic band Hidrogenesse), they have met with a degree of critical and commerc ...

performed the vocals in English while he sang in Portuguese. Although Astrud Gilberto was only in the recording studio to be with her husband, João Gilberto requested her to sing on several of the tracks as he could not sing in English. This resulted with a duet between the two on the track "

The Girl from Ipanema "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Por ...

" which became a major hit from the album. At the 7th Annual Grammy Awards, ''Getz/Gilberto'' won three awards including Album of the Year, which marked the first time a jazz album received the accolade. Gilberto was known for his demanding acoustic and noise-control standards. During a recording session of the song "Rosa Morena", he insisted on 28 takes to get the pronunciation of the ''o'' in "Rosa" just right. Nonetheless, despite his high acoustic standards, he skipped a contractually required sound check prior to a July 2003 performance at the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles. This negligence (and the ensuing sound fiasco) prompted the audience to stream from the venue before the concert ended. In 1997, Gilberto sued record label

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

over their reissue of several of his early works, which he contended had been poorly remastered. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', "A statement by his lawyer at the time declared that the reissues contained sound effects that 'did not pertain to the original recordings, banalizing the work of a great artist." Following the incident, EMI ceased production of the albums in question, and, as of 2008, the lawsuit has yet to reach a decision. In 2000, Gilberto won the nomination for the

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

category in the

42nd Annual Grammy Awards The 42nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2000, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1999. Nominations were announced on January 4, 2000. Santana was the main ...

for his work in the album '' João Voz e Violão''. A year later, he was inducted into the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the a ...

. In September 2003, Gilberto performed four shows in Japan. His performance at the

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Tokyo Int ...

on 12 September was recorded for a live album titled '' In Tokyo'' which was released in 2004. At the

6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium on Thursday, November 3, 2005. It was the first ceremony to be broadcast by Univision in the United States. Ivan Lins was the big winner, winning two awards, inc ...

in 2005, ''In Tokyo'' received a nomination for Best MPB Album. On 17 May 2017, Gilberto received an honorary doctorate in music from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

but did not attend the commencement ceremony.

Role in bossa nova

With the introduction of the

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

and the

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...

in Brazil, Gilberto realized that the sound source did not need to be emitted intensely, regarding the voice and instrument, which favored subtle and internalized interpretations. On the other hand, at the time of the first "bossa nova" recordings, Brazil still did not have high fidelity recording equipment capable of reproducing more complex sonorities. Due to that, Gilberto and

Tom Jobim Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Gilberto's first arranger, elaborated complex harmonies under the influence of American music, and at the same time they simplified the general sound, because of the equipment limitation. * * * * In July 1958,

Elizete Cardoso Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil. Biography Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...

released the famous LP, ''

Canção do Amor Demais ''Canção do Amor Demais'' is 1958 album by Elizete Cardoso. It is often considered the first bossa nova album, and contains the first recordings of João Gilberto's guitar beat, which would go on to become a staple of bossa nova. Gilberto play ...

'', containing songs by Tom Jobim and

Vinicius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwright ...

. The record, however, would enter the history of Brazilian popular music for another reason: Gilberto accompanied Cardoso on guitar on the tracks "Chega de Saudade" and "Outra Vez", these being the first recordings of the so-called "bossa nova beat". In August of that year, Gilberto released a

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

containing "Chega de Saudade" and "Bim Bom", recorded at Odeon, with collaborations from Jobim,

Dorival Caymmi Dorival Caymmi (; April 30, 1914 – August 16, 2008) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actor, and painter active for more than 70 years, beginning in 1933. He contributed to the birth of Brazil's bossa nova movement, and several of his samba ...

and Aloysio de Oliveira. This album inaugurated the " bossa nova" genre and soon became a commercial success. Gilberto's recording had arrangements by Jobim and the participation of

Milton Banana Milton Banana (born Antônio de Souza) (23 April 1935 – 22 May 1999) was a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz drummer. A self-taught musician, he is best known for his collaboration with João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Pr ...

, among other artists. Gilberto innovated by using two microphones to record, one for the voice and one for the guitar. This way, the harmony became more clearly heard. Until then, songs were recorded with only one microphone, emphasizing the voice to the detriment of the guitar. With this innovation, voice and guitar could compete equally, if the voice maintained a natural intensity. Thus, it was necessary to issue the voice in a volume close to that of ordinary speech. With Gilberto, voice and guitar are kept at the same volume intensity, with the microphones picking up both sound sources equally, and, if required, changing the volume of both would be in equal proportion. In 1959, Gilberto released another 78 rpm, containing "Desafinado" by Jobim and

Newton Mendonça Newton Ferreira de Mendonça (February 14, 1927 – November 22, 1960) was a musician, composer, and lyricist. He began as a pianist in 1950. Mendonça was born in Rio de Janeiro. In 1953 he started working with Antônio Carlos Jobim, somethin ...

, and "Hô-bá-lá-lá", written by himself. In March 1959, he released the LP ''

Chega de Saudade "Chega de Saudade" (), also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova jazz standard. It is often considered to be the first bossa nova song to be recorded. Like "The Girl from Ipanema", the music for "Chega de Saudade" was composed by Antônio Ca ...

'', which became a sales success and had a major impact in the history of Brazilian music.

Musical style

Gilberto's style combines traditional elements of samba with more contemporary

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. His "unique" acoustic guitar style involves a syncopated rhythm of plucked chords, with

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

s rooted in the jazz tradition. His vocal style has been described as "laid-back and understated". Leonardo Rocha, in his obituary for the BBC, states that Gilberto's music describes "a period of huge optimism in Brazil".

Personal life

Gilberto first married the singer Astrud Weinert, with whom he collaborated on the hit recording of "

"; the couple had a son called João Marcelo. They divorced, and he later married the singer

Miúcha Heloísa Maria Buarque de Hollanda (30 November 1937 – 27 December 2018), whose artistic name was Miúcha, was a Brazilian singer and composer. Life and career Heloisa Maria Buarque de Hollanda was born in Rio de Janeiro. She was the daughter ...

(died 2018); they had a daughter,

Bebel Gilberto Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle i ...

, who is also a singer. They later separated. Gilberto also had a daughter with Claudia Faissol, a journalist. Gilberto lived alone from around 2009. His final years were marked by money problems as well as declining health. In 2011, he was sued and evicted from an apartment in

Leblon Leblon (Portuguese: /leˈblõ/) is a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is also the name of the local beach. The neighborhood is located in the South Zone of the city, between Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Morro Dois Irmãos and the Jardim ...

by his landlord, Countess

Georgina Brandolini d'Adda Princess Georgina Brandolini d'Adda, Contessa di Valmareno (born Princess Georgina Maria Natividad de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny; 23 December 1949) is a French-Brazilian fashion executive and designer. Early and personal life Princess Georgi ...

. It was reported in December 2017 that his daughter Bebel was seeking control of his financial affairs because of his declining mental state and increasing indebtedness. On 6 July 2019, Gilberto died at his apartment in Rio de Janeiro. His body was buried in Niterói following a private ceremony on 8 July 2019. Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' after his death, Dom Phillips described Gilberto as ".. one of the country's greatest musicians and composers, a reclusive genius in a nation of extroverts whose work recalled happier, more optimistic times for a deeply divided nation." In ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' pop critic Chris Richards said, "His voice was one of the most intimate sounds of the 20th century – more melodic than a sigh, more rhythmic than chitchat, only just barely. Every syllable that appeared on his lips carried an air of effortlessness, but Gilberto had worked hard to locate that sacred place where a human breath becomes music."

Discography

Gilberto released several studio and live albums: * * * Joao Gilberto

* 1951: ''Quando Você Recordar/Amar é Bom'' * 1951: ''Anjo Cruel/Sem Ela'' * 1952: ''Quando Ela Sai/Meia Luz'' * 1958: ''Chega de Saudade/Bim Bom'' * 1958: ''Desafinado/Hô-bá-lá-lá'' * 1959: ''João Gilberto Cantando as Musicás do Filme Orfeo do Carnaval'' * 1959: ''

'' * 1960: ''

O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor ''O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor'' is a studio album by João Gilberto, released in Brazil in 1961. The Portuguese title translates to ''The Love, the Smile and the Flower'' and is taken from the original lyrics of Antônio Carlos Jobim and Newton M ...

'' * 1961: ''João Gilberto'' * 1962: ''Boss of Bossa Nova'' * 1962: ''Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall'' * 1963: ''The Warm World of João Gilberto'' * 1964: ''

'' (with Stan Getz) * 1965: ''Herbie Mann & João Gilberto with Antônio Carlos Jobim'' * 1966: '' Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2'' (with Stan Getz) * 1970: ''

João Gilberto en México ''João Gilberto en México'', (Also Ela é Carioca) is a 1970 album by João Gilberto. Purportedly, after living in the United States, where he recorded the landmark Getz/Gilberto, among other works, João stayed in Mexico for what ended up being ...

'' * 1973: ''

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was of ...

'' * 1976: ''

The Best of Two Worlds ''The Best of Two Worlds'' was released by Columbia Records in 1976 to feature Stan Getz in a reunion with João Gilberto. Their previous collaboration was a decade earlier on '' Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2''. Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda (Miúcha), who wa ...

'' (with Stan Getz) * 1976: '' Amoroso'' * 1977: ''Gilberto and Jobim'' * 1980: '' João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira'' * 1981: ''

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

'' (with

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

and

Maria Bethânia Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso (; born 18 June 1946) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, she started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"). Due to its popularity, with performa ...

) * 1985: ''Interpreta Tom Jobim'' * 1985: ''Meditação'' * 1986: ''

Live in Montreux ''Live in Montreux'' is a bossa nova album by João Gilberto, recorded live in the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival and released in 1987. This is a single-disc edition of the double album ''Live at the 19th Montreux Jazz Festival'', released in 1986. ...

'' * 1987: ''Live in Montreux'' * 1988: ''O Mito'' * 1990: '' Stan Getz Meets João & Astrud Gilberto'' * 1991: ''

João João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

'' * 1994: '' Eu Sei que Vou Te Amar'' * 1996: ''

Live at Umbria Jazz ''Live at Umbria Jazz'' was released in 2002 in Brazil by João Gilberto. The album was recorded live at the Umbria Jazz Festival at the Teatro Morlacchi in Perugia, Italy on 21 July 1996. Track listing Personnel * Guitar/Vocals - João Gilb ...

'' * 2000: '' João Voz e Violão'' * 2004: '' In Tokyo'' * 2007: ''For Tokyo'' – edited only in Japan * 2015: ''Um encontro no Au bon gourmet'' * 2016: '' Getz/Gilberto '76'' (with Stan Getz)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

Sources

*Castro, Ruy (trans. by Lysa Salsbury). ''Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World''. 2000. 1st English language edition. A Capella Books, an imprint of Chicago Review Press, Inc. First published in Brasil by Companhia das Letras. 1990. *McGowan, Chris and Pessanha, Ricardo. ''The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil''. 1998. 2nd edition. Temple University Press. *Gridley, Mark. ''Jazz Styles: History and Analysis''. 9th. NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, Print. * De Stefano, Gildo, ''Il popolo del samba, La vicenda e i protagonisti della storia della musica popolare brasiliana'', Preface by

Chico Buarque de Hollanda Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

, Introduction by

Gianni Minà Gianni Minà (; Turin, 17 May 1938) is an Italian journalist, writer, magazine editor and television host. He has collaborated with both Italian and International newspapers and magazines; produced hundreds of reports for RAI (''Radiotelevisione ...

, RAI-ERI, Rome 2005, * De Stefano, Gildo, ''Saudade Bossa Nova: musiche, contaminazioni e ritmi del Brasile'', Preface by

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

, Introduction by

, Logisma Editore,

Firenze Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

2017,

External links

* *
João Gilberto
discography by Laura Pelner McCarthy

discography on Slipcue.com

a biographical profile by Daniella Thompson

a special on Gilberto at the blog ''Worlds of Wanwood''
Behind the scenes of the legendary 1962 bossa nova concertBossa Nova Guitar Transcriptions
– mostly of songs performed by João Gilberto
The Brazilian Sound: Brazilian Music & Culture
– site {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilberto, Joao 1931 births 2019 deaths Música Popular Brasileira singers 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Brazilian jazz singers Latin jazz singers Bossa nova singers 20th-century guitarists 21st-century guitarists Brazilian male guitarists Brazilian jazz guitarists Bossa nova guitarists Fingerstyle guitarists Acoustic guitarists Male jazz musicians Samba musicians Brazilian composers Resonance Records artists Grammy Award winners People from Juazeiro Brazilian expatriates in Mexico Brazilian expatriates in the United States