The Song Planner

Bossa Nova

tagStarted 1957Peak 1959–1965Last big hit still activeFrom Rio de Janeiro, BrazilSung in Portuguese

Located in 4 routes

Jazz → Bossa Nova / Brazilian JazzLatin / Música Latina → Bossa Nova / Brazilian Jazz-PopLatin / Música Latina → Latin Jazz / Afro-Cuban JazzEasy Listening / Standards / Lounge → Bossa Nova / Latin Lounge

Bossa nova is built on understated syncopated guitar, close-miked conversational singing, soft drumming or hand percussion, and cool-jazz harmony with enormous harmonic finesse packed into modest volume. It typically floats between about 70 and 120 BPM, favoring subtle sway over carnival force and intimacy over showmanship.

History

Developed in Rio in the late 1950s by musicians around João Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, and their peers, bossa nova refined samba-canção and urban samba through modern harmony, quieter singing, and apartment-sized performance aesthetics; it exploded internationally through *Jazz Samba*, *Getz/Gilberto*, and the global success of "The Girl from Ipanema," then remained a canonical modern Brazilian style rather than a brief fad.

Defining artists

Essential listening

← Explore Easy Listening / Standards / Lounge

Sources

  • Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Bossa nova"
  • Library of Congress, "The Girl from Ipanema"
  • Library of Congress, "Latin Artists on the Recording Registry." citeturn1search0turn4search11turn8search6