ABSTRACT
Bossa Nova represents a moment of important changes in the history of Brazilian Popular Music. A new vocal interpretative style and a new way of rhythmically and harmonically accompanying by guitar were introduced by João Gilberto, while Tom Jobim was responsible for the sonority and arrangement conceptions of the genre. Through the dissection of interviews given by Jobim and a deep music analysis, we aim to show how the material conditions and the technological resources available whilst recording in studios at that time had a crucial role in this aesthetic conception.
Bossa Nova represents a moment of important change in the history of Brazilian Popular Music. With the release of the LP “Chega de Saudade” (1958), new ways of composition, arrangement, and interpretation were introduced into the Brazilian music industry, which gained an international projection and recognition that had never been seen before. While João Gilberto is considered its main performer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, or simply Tom Jobim, is the one who shows musical novelties through his compositions and arrangements. This chapter intends to go beyond the common discourses which link these transformations to the “spirit” of renewal of the 1950s, or to more prosaic facts such as the necessity of playing and singing in low volumes (since Bossa Nova musicians often met in apartments at night). Through the dissection of interviews that were given by Jobim and a deep analysis of his arrangements in conjunction with the lines of Gilberto’s guitar, we aim to show how the material conditions and the technological resources available whilst recording in studios at that time had a crucial role in Bossa Nova’s aesthetic conception. It seems that Jobim, due to his experience working in various recording companies in the 1950s, developed a critical conscience regarding the importance of recording methods and equipment to the arranger in the phonographic industry. In order to reach the distinctive Bossa Nova sonority, it was vital to have a deep knowledge of the restrictions and possibilities given by the technology available at the recording studios to conceive a musical work in which melody, harmony, and rhythmic background had the same value, composing a clean, balanced and economical texture. Echoing Walter Benjamin (1998), beyond being an “author”, Jobim developed, as composer and arranger, a conscience and an ability which are also those of a studio professional: the “producer”.
