This is Bossa Nova

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This is Bossa Nova

The documentary “Dis is Bossa Nova”, released in the summer of 2007, explores the fascination of bossa nova, which was born in Brazil at the end of the 1950s, with Carlos Lira and Roberto Menescal, two bossa nova masters who died last year (2023), acting as narrators, visiting the places associated with bossa nova and showing various The film is a compilation of episodes from the past and present.

Bossa nova originated in Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and its name means ‘new trend’ or ‘new wave’ in Portuguese, and it is known as a ‘fashionable’ music for summer evenings by the sea, combining elements of jazz and samba.

In Dis is Bossa Nova, young people gather on the beach at Copacabana to play guitar, and the film depicts scenes of Narra León’s luxury flat, which was a musician’s salon, giving the film an elegant image of bossa nova.

The film also features Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, who are among the most famous bossa nova artists.

Antonio Carlos Jobim creates modern music based on samba and the folk music of north-eastern Brazil, deeply stripped of the harmonies and melodies of classical and jazz, and

João Gilberto sings about emotions like sadness and joy in a rich and serious way, while the guitar harmonies are carefully selected note by note, giving a spiritual experience that is one with the song.

Astrud Gilberto, who sang an English version of ‘Girl from Ipanema’, has also triggered an international bossa nova boom.

Bossa nova has also influenced the jazz musicians described in ‘Jazz overview and machine playing‘, and many jazz standards are now performed in bossa nova arrangements.

Books on the history of bossa nova include A History of Bossa Nova by Rui Castro and Bossa Nova Extravaganza: God in Pyjamas.

Unfortunately, these books and the “Dis is Bossa Nova” DVD and Blu-ray are now out of print and can only be found second-hand.