MCCANN Blues and Samba PDF

Blues and Samba: Another Side of Bossa Nova History
Author(s): Bryan McCann

Source: Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 44, No. 2 (2007), pp. 21-49
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
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Blues and Samba:
SideofBossaNovaHistory
Another
BryanMcCann
as conex6es
Esteartigoconsidera entre
bluese bossanova,poucoreconhecidas
na literatura
sobrebossanova,masmuitoimportantes parao desenvolvi-
mento do estilo.
Analisandoas grava do circuito samba-jazzemCopa-
cabana nas decadasde 195oe 1960,o artigotraza luz umaprdticade blues,
tantona estrutura
dedozecompassoscomona utilizaego
da escalablues
comomatiriade improviso,
bastantecomum naquelacpoca.0 artigoexplica
o papeldefiguras-chave
comoBooker Pittman,MoacirSantose PauloMoura
na transmissdo
da influencia
dosbluesnoRiodeJaneiro,e osefeitos
dessa
na
influencia bossanova.
0 termina
artigo cornuma consideragdo mu-
sobre
danpasrecentesnomercadocultural
quetMm umentendimento
possibilitado
maisprofundo dofenomeno "bossa-blues."
Bluesand Samba:AnAlternative ofBossaNova

History
"TheJazz'n'samba,thejazz 'n'samba,hearitallaround/ Thejazz 'n'samba,
thejazz'n'sambasound:'SuchareNorman Gimbel'sEnglish totheTom
lyrics
Jobim bossanova,"S6 DangoSamba," original
lyrics
by de
Vinicius Moraes.
Asinmanycases,theEnglish versiontakesthesibilant
swing andrestrained
poetryoftheoriginal lyricsandturnsitto drivel.
Leavingthatasideforthe
moment, Gimbel's lyricconciselysumsup thecommonunderstanding of
bossanova'sorigins-thetonalities, harmonies, and improvisatorystyleof
jazz wedded totherhythm of samba producesomething new and infectious.
Thisunderstanding, alreadyprevalentwhenGimbelwrotetheseexcruciating
wordsintheearly196os,continues toprovidethebasisformostinterpreta-
of As it
tions bossanova. well might-asfaris itgoes,itis uncontestable, but
alsonotdeeplyinteresting.
Luso-BrazilianReview44:2 21
ISSN 0024-7413, @ 2007 by the Board of Regents
oftheUniversity
ofWisconsinSystem

22 Luso-BrazilianReview44:2
Gimbelmight havemadeus situp andtakenoticehadhewritten "blues

'n'samba'" The blues is generallyknown to be the bedrock ofjazz, bossa
but
novais notusually thought ofas beingbluesy. Itshouldbe.Becausethemost
famousbossanovaslackthe12-barstructure characteristicofclassicblues,
as wellas thestatement, and
repetition rhyming resolution oflyricstypi-
cal ofthegenre, bossanova'saffinity withbluesoftenpassesunnoticed. But
closerlistening coupled with investigation of Rio de Janeiro'sjazz scene in
thelate195osandearly196osrevealsa deepbluesinfluence inthebossanova
explosion ofthosesameyears.Exploring thatinfluence helpsilluminate the
structureofbossanova,explains US
why jazz musicians grasped ontobossa
novaso enthusiastically andsuccessfully, andcallsintoquestionsomelong-
standing assumptions aboutthegenre.Bossanovahas oftenbeenderided
as a whitening ofsamba,a sambaforcocktail-sipping sophisticates.Butthe
Brazilianjazz musicians ofthelate1950os knewthatbyincorporating greater
bluesinfluence intotheirplaying they were tapping into the headwaters of
African-American music.Bossanovaprovedcompelling in partbecauseit
offeredbothexciting newterrain formusicalexperimentation and a path
backtowards therootsofa parallelmusicaltradition.
A smallcoreofmusiccritics helpedfoster thisattitude bywriting care-
and about
fully passionately jazz, blues,choro, samba and other genres,and
theaffinitiesbetweenthem.Theirwork,particularly in theshort-lived but
influentialmagazine Revista da Masica Popular, helpedput to resttheories
ofNorthAmerican popularmusicalimperialism, ifonlyin certainenlight-
enedcircles, andto cultivate in theirplaceenthusiasm forblues,Dixieland,
swingandbebopbothas musicalpractices andbroader cultural phenomena.
Thesecritics championed a cohort of talented young musicians andarrang-
ers,versedinBrazilian, NorthAmerican andEuropeanstyles andinterested
inblending theseinfluences. Although lesswell-known thanthebossanova
triumvirate ofJobim, Moraesand JoaoGilberto, thesemusicians playeda
keyroleinshaping bossanova.To a significant degree, understanding bossa
nova'splaceinBrazilian musicandthemusicoftheworlddependsonunder-
standing thistransmission ofinfluence, andonthebirthofbossa-blues.
TheBluesScale
In bothBraziland theUnitedStates,strongCentraland WestAfricanin-
fluencerecombined withEuropeanpracticesandinstrumentation
inlocally
inventive
forms that,intheirdiversity,
sharedkeycharacteristics.
Beforethe
twentieth bothnationshad popularmusicthatfeatured
century, rhythmic
syncopation,vocal melismavaryingmelodic pitch,commonuse of guitar,
along withotherstrummedand pluckedstringinstruments, oftenmade by
the musiciansthemselves.In both nations,slave and theirdescendantsde-
veloped musicalpracticesthatincorporateda ringof clappingand singing

McCann 23
handdrums,
participants, sacredmusicthatincorporatedYorubaandCongo
andsecularmusicthatoften
influences, featured
sly,subtlehumoranddou-
ble-meaning.In theUnited these
States, foundtheirwayintothe
ingredients
blues,andinBrazilintothesamba.1
Atlantic patterns
trading fosteredlimited between
interchange thesepar-
alleltraditions
beforethetwentiethcentury.Thatinterchangeincreaseddra-
maticallywiththeriseofmass-printed sheetmusicin thelate-nineteenth
century andthentheemergence ofrecorded musicinradiointhefirst
three
decadesofthetwentieth.ThearrivalofUS recording in
companies Brazil, the
popularityofHollywood musicalsandthecultural oftheGood
enterprises
bolsteredexchangein the1930sand '4os. Big-band
NeighborPolicyfurther
swingwaspopularamongBrazilian audiences inthesedecades, althoughthey
oftendidnotdistinguish between umfox-trote andumblues.(McCann)
Butparallelsand exchanges notwithstanding, thebasicelements ofthe
blueswerenotstrongly present inBrazilian musicbefore thelate195os.The
twocharacteristicsmostimportant in defining thebluesaretheuse ofthe
twelve-bar,AABformandtheuse ofthebluesscalein theconstruction of
bothmelodyand harmony. A briefexcursion intobasicmusictheory will
thesecharacteristics
clarify andtheirrelevance tobossanova.In thetwelve-
barform, thefirst
fourmeasures a
present melodicphrase,thesecondfour
repeatthephrase,usuallyrepeating thelyricsor a slightvariationon them,
as well,andthefinalfourresolve thephrase.Harmonically, thatresolution
is
usuallyachieved the
bybuilding repeating A section fromdominant-seventh
chordsbuiltonthefirst andfourth degreeofthemajorscalebeginning with
thetonicnote,and theB sectionon a passagefroma dominant-seventh
chordbuiltonthefifth degreetoonebuiltonthefirst Thistwelve-bar
degree.
form,already recordedcountless timesintheUnitedStatesbefore the195os,
andalready heardfrequently inBrazilviarecords fromtheUS,didnothave
anycloseparallelinBrazilian musicandrarely surfaced withintheconfines
ofanyBrazilian genre.Hybrids of Brazilian and
genres jazz in the1920sand
the1940srarely useda twelve-bar structure.Bossanovachangedthis,mak-
ingthetwelve-bar structurea standard element initsrepertoire.
Thebluesscalewasan evengreater influence. An ascending majorscale
isbuiltinthefollowingintervals from thetonicnote:whole-step, whole-step,
half-step,whole-step,
whole-step, whole-step, anda half-stepreturningtothe
tonicnoteoneoctavehigher. In thekeyofC, thisyieldsa scalewithneither
sharpsnorflats,C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Thebluesscalealtersthemajorscaleby
removing thesecondandsixthnotes,bringing thethirdandfifth notesdown
onehalf-step andinsertinga "bluenote"onehalf-step belowthefifth note.
Thisyieldsthefollowingprogressionfromthetonicnote:a step-and-a-half
or augmentedstep,whole-step,half-step, augmentedstep, and a
half-step,
whole-stepreturning to the tonicnote one octaveup. Or, in the keyof C,
thefollowingscale: C-Eb-F-Gb-G-Bb-C.The third,fifth,and seventhnotes

24 Review44:2
Luso-Brazilian
ofthemajorscaleall comedownonehalf-step in thebluesscale(although

thefifth notein itsnaturalposition, without comingdowna half-step, is
alsoincluded). Thesearetheminorthird, theflattedordiminished fifth,and
thedominant seventh.Or,inPortuguese, tergamenor, quintabemol,setima
dominante.2
Intheblues,thesenotesonehalf-step downfrom theirrelativeposition in
themajorscaleareoften achieved bybendinga guitar stringora harmonica
reed,orthrough vocalmelisma, allofwhichallowtheplayertoshift micro-
tonallybetween notes.Blues melodies tend tobe built from
exclusively notes
inthebluesscale,andtoplacegreatest emphasis on the minorthird, flatted
fifth
anddominant seventh-these notesareusedtobuildtensionwhichis
thenresolved through a return to thetonicnote.Variations on themelody
oftenexaggerate thebendingofthesenotesto increasethetension.Blues
harmonies, intheirheavyreliance on dominant seventh chordsbuilton the
fourth
first, andfifth degrees ofthe major scale,facilitate
thismelodicreli-
anceonthebluesscale.
Theflatted fifth
is thedefinitivenoteinthisscale,often described as "the
bluenote."3 Itis theonethatsoundsmostdissonant inrelation tothemajor
scale,andconsistent emphasis on itchallenges therulesofWestern classical
composition. The intervalbetween the tonic note and the flattedfifthisthree
wholetones,ora tritone. (The tritone is usuallydescribed as an augmented
fourth rather thana flatted buttheseareidentical
fifth, exceptin abstract
theoreticalterms.)Thetritone, precisely becauseofitsdissonant qualities,
was used sparingly in Europeanmusicat leastfromtheearlyrenaissance
through theeighteenth century, whenitwasoccasionally described as "the
musicofthedevil."' Thesincerity ofthisdiabolical characterization isa matter
ofmusicological debate,butrevealsthecautionwithwhichthetritone was
treatedas a compositional element, a caution that to a
persisted great extent
through theearlytwentieth century.4 Theprevalence ofthetritone is partof
whatmadethebluesso obviously different fromEuropeanmusic.
Jazz,as itbeganto emergefromthesamecontext in whichurbanblues
wasperformed-the streets andclubsofNewOrleans,aboveall-drewin-
evitablyonbluesstructure, on thebluesscale,andon theflatted fifth inpar-
Thebluesscaleprovided
ticular. thebasisformuchoftheindividual impro-
visationthatbecamean increasingly important elementin thegenreover
thecourseofthe1920os and'30s.Evenwhenimprovising overcompositions
thatdidnotconform tothetwelve-bar bluesstructure, jazz musicians often
playedriffs from the blues scale.The increasing harmonic complexity and
exploratory aspectofjazz overthenextfewdecadesdidnotalterthisfun-
damentalpattern-theblues scale and its close variantthepentatonicscale
continuedto providethebasisforthelion'sshareofjazz improvisingthrough
the196os.
The blues scale was not prevalentin Brazilianmusicbeforebossa nova.

McCann 25
Theflatted fifthwasbyno meansunknown inBrazil-itis foundfrequently

inthebaidopopularized by Luiz in
Gonzaga the194os.sThebaido,indeed,is
theBrazilian genremosttonally similar totheblues,incorporating a similar
approachtonote-bending andmicrotonal shading.Butbaidomelodiesand
accordion improvisations arenotconstructed fromthebluesscaleitself,and
themajorscaleis farmoreprevalent.
No othermajorBraziliangenredrawsheavilyon thebluesscaleor the
flatted fifth
inparticular.Giventheextraordinary richness ofBrazilianmusic,
itis likelythatan ethnomusicologist couldfindmanyexamples oftheflatted
fifth withinitsdomains,butthesewouldbe largely outsidethestylesthat
cameto defineBrazilian popular music in itsmodern, industrial guiseover
thefirst fourdecadesofthetwentieth century. Brazil's
most improvisatory
genre, choro,tendedtoincludetheflatted fifthonlyrarely.Choromusicians
didnotusethebluesscaleas thebuilding blockoftheirimprovisations.
Bossanovachangedthis.Moreprecisely, thesamba-jazz crossover scene
thatproduced themusicthatbecameknownas bossanovachangedthis.In
thesecondhalfofthe1950s,musicians in thisscenestarted usingtheblues
scale-byno meansalways, butoften-asa basisforimprovisation. Com-
posersand arrangers facilitated
thisby creating harmonicstructures that
lentthemselves to use ofthebluesscale.In doingso,theydid notlookto
thebaido,widelyperceived in thesecirclesas a kindofcornpone thathad
passedquickly from unkempt to
rusticity popbanality. (Jodo Gilberto's
1958
recording ofhisbossabaido"BimBom"jarredlisteners preciselybecausehe
delivered thiscountrifiedrhythm in suchan urbanefashion.) Nordidthey
lookto capoeiraladainhas, or anyotherlocalfolkloric genre characterized
byoccasionaluse ofmelismaandbentnotes.Instead, theylookedtoNorth
American jazz anditsbasisintheblues.
JazzinCopacabana
ThemusicsceneinRiode Janeiro inthesecondhalfofthe196oswasboom-
ing.Dozens of new local recordlabels viedfortalent, crankingoutpress-
as
ings quickly as bandleaderscould puttogether a new act.Copacabanawas
dottedwithnightclubs,particularlyin thenarrow streetsnearthePragado
Lido,eachone featuringliveentertainment. Boththestartup recordcom-
paniesandthenightclubs overwhelmingly featuredmusic thatexploredthe
grey zonebetween samba and jazz,or thezone where these two were
genres
brought tooverlapthrough theeffortsoflocalmusicians.
Muchofthemusictheymadewasuptempo, jumping, brash, in-
featuring
strumental thatcalledattention
improvisations to theirown technicalprow-
ess-"hot" music.Thiscontrastedin obviouswayswiththe"cool"approach
pioneeredin 1957byJoaoGilberto,ofvocal restraint,
gentleswing,and nary
a solo fromGilberto's
acousticguitar.
Bytheend ofthedecade,Gilberto's

26 Luso-BrazilianReview44:2
style, particularlyhisrenditions ofthemusicofJobim andViniciusde Mo-

was
raes, already recognized to have defined a new genrecalledbossanova.
Many of themusicians inCopacabana did not see themselves as participating
inthesameenterprise, anddidnotwanttheirmusiclumpedintothisemerg-
ing market category, which theyperceived as faddish. Giventheirreserva-
tionsitis tempting toapplythebossanovalabelonlytothemusiccreated by
ordirectly following fromtheJoaoGilberto/Jobim/Vinicius model,andcall
themusicofthepianotriosthatjammedintheCopacabanaclubsandtheir
ilksamba-jazz. Someofthekeypractitioners ofthatstrain, suchas thesax
player J.T.Meirelles,have suggested as much in their own terminology.
Butthiswouldmerely tradegeneralization forimprecision. Specifically,
it wouldinventa separation betweenthecool and thehot,betweenJoao
Gilberto's batidadevioldo-hisseductive pattern ofgently-plucked chordson
theacousticguitar-andthedriving pianoofTen6rio Jr.,another samba-jazz
pioneer, where no separation truly existed. All members of the bossa nova
triumvirate weredeeplyfamiliar withthesoundoftheCopacabanaclubsand
alldrewonitindifferent ways.Musicians likeMeirelles andTen6rioJr. drew
evenmoredirectly fromthetriumvirate. Musicians rarely gettonametheir
owngenres, moreover, andbossanova,despitetheobjections ofwould-be
splitters,has incommon practice come to describe allthe samba-jazz sounds
ofthelate195osandearly196os,as wellas thesubsequent national andinter-
national legacyofthemusicofthetriumvirate, inparticular.
It is worthremembering, however, the sheer rangeofapproaches sub-
sumedunderthatlabel,manyofwhichfadedatleasttemporarily intoobscu-
rity after the riseto preeminence ofthe Joao Gilberto sound. Musicologist
AndreLuisScarabelot has described thefoundation ofbossanovain this
fashion: "Wecan say,in principle, thatbossanovaincorporated threedis-
tinctpillarsin itsformation: Joao Gilberto, interpreting sambas in a unique
way, Tom Jobim, with his erudite experience, and the jazzistascomingfrom
Copacabana.'6Ofthethreepillarsin thisusefulschematic formulation, the
thirdhasreceived theleastattention, anditself comprised a broadrangeof
or
jazz-inspired jazz-inflected approaches. These approaches andtheirlink
toblues-based playing are worth reviewing.
To begin,manyof thefledgling recordlabelshiredestablished popu-
lararrangers and conductors to churnoutrecordings suitablefordancing,
andin doingso theyoftenincorporated jazz instrumentation andoftenin-
cludedjazz standards. Thefigure ofthearranger-conductor remained highly
prestigious in Braziljustas itwasfadingintothebackground oftheNorth
American popularmusicscene,making thenotionofa recognized conduc-
torleadinga bigband ofmostlyuncreditedmusiciansthrougha repertoire of
Brazilianand NorthAmericanstandardsinexpensiveto produceand highly
marketable.All oftheseconductorshad extensiveexperienceon Brazilianra-

McCann 27
towriting
dio,wheretheywereaccustomed ambitious
arrangementsquickly,
andthebesthad developedtheirownstyle.Thatstylebecamethemarkof
in otherwise
individuality Theircoverillustrations
highlysimilarrecords.
invoked
usually a worldofhigh-society through
nightlife, photographsof
in
dancingcouples eveninggowns,goldcigarettecases,brimming cocktail
glasses.And theirtitleswereoftensimply"Danqando com..." alongwiththe
nameoftheconductor, or"ParaDanqar." TheseLPsoften featured an A-side
ofshortselections thatmightbe playedon radio,and a B-sideconsisting
entirelyofa singlemedleyofpopularhits.TheseB-sides, inparticular, often
included jazz-blues tunes.
A typical example isZezinhoe os Copacabana,UmCoquetel, UmaDanya,
recorded in1957forImperial Discos.SideA featured primarily orchestral in-
terpretations ofsambastandards likeAryBarroso's "Faceira."SideB featured
a medleystarting offwith"WabashBlues.''7 In thiscase,as in othersofthis
genre,neither thesambasnorthejazz tunesincludedextensive improvisa-
tion.Therecordings flirted witha big-band jazz sound,counterposing warm
reeds,feisty brassand swinging percussion, whilekeepingsoloistsunder
wraps.In theirexploration ofjazz tonalities, manyoftheseconductor-ar-
rangers looked directly to the Stan Kenton Orchestra forinspiration, emerg-
ing with dense collages of sound whose subtlety beliedtheirrapidproduc-
tion.Thesearrangements oftenusedbotha twelve-bar bluesstructure and
thenotesofthebluesscaleinchordalandcontrapuntal voicings.
Keypractitioners inthisvein,inaddition toZezinho,included LeoPerac-
chi,Lindolpho Gaya, Zaccarias and LuizArruda Paes.Waldir Calmon, while
primarily known as an organist, rather than an arranger,made a specialtyof
thisstyle,cranking out a number ofbig-band dance records in the second
halfofthe195os.Theveinwas so richthatevenCarolinaCardosode Me-
nezes,a classically-trained concert pianistwhohadpioneered theincorpora-
tionofworksbypopularcomposers likeErnestoNazareth in theBrazilian
concertrepertoire, mineditsuccessfully. Cardosode Menezes's1958album
TapeteMdgico, on the Odeon label, featured herownpianoin a small-band
but
setting, in other ways followed the"Para Dangar"format. Thealbumfea-
turesmedleys ofsome60 compositions, including jazz-bluesstandards like
"Honeysuckle Rose"and"SweetGeorgiaBrown."
Thearranger-conductors all followed in thefootsteps ofRadamesGnat-
tali,thelongtime RidioNacionalorchestrator whohadplayeda pioneering
roleinmelding sambawitharranging techniques inspired byjazz bigbands
backin the193os.Gnattali himself was not left behindbythenewtrend.
Amonghisextraordinarily richoutputas a composer, pianistandarranger
in the1950swerea numberof subtleshortpiecesexploringthetonalitiesof
jazz saxophonein a way not previouslyincorporatedinto Brazilianmusic.
Gnattaliwrotehis "Brasilianano. 7" in 1957specifically
fortenorsaxophonist

28 Luso-Brazilian
Review44:2
SandovalDias.Gnattali,whoalways prizedcomposition aboveimprovisation

(hardly fora
surprising classically-trained composer) reportedly intended to
writesomething thatwouldshowthatalltheverve,invention andapparent
spontaneityofan extended saxophonesolo couldbe brought intoa fully-
composedpiece.PaulGonsalves' tenorsax solo on "Diminuendo andCre-
scendoinBlue,"withDukeEllington's bandatNewport in1956,hadrecently
createdaninternationalbuzz.TheliverecordingofGonsalves' 28-chorus solo
wasquickly its
making away around theworld amongjazzbuffs, revivingen-
thusiasm bandin theUnitedStatesandhelping
forEllington's to createen-
thusiasmforextended, blues-basedsaxophone improvisation internationally.
Gnattali's
response,inan approach typicalofhiswork,might be heardas an
Brazilianization
elegant andformalizationof thatenthusiasm.
The threemovements of "Brasilianano. 7" are all based on Brazilian
forms,as evidencedby theirtitles,"Variaq6essobreum temade viola,"
"Samba-Cangao" and "Choro"'butthesecond,in particular, drawsheavily
ofjazz tenorsax.Thiswasa samba-jazz
on thetonalities markedly different
fromthestyleGnattali had createdwithhisbig-bandarrangements ofthe
late 1930sand early1940s.Here thefocusis overwhelmingly
on theexpres-
ofa singleinstrument,
sivecapabilities atlength
explored insubtlevariations
on a shorttheme.As playedwitha jazz inflection,
thepiecesoundslikean
buteverynoteis compositionally
improvisation, perfect.8
Twoyearslater,Gnattali tookthistrajectory
further,
recordingan album
ofhisownshortworksfeaturing PauloMouraon altosax,accompanied by
Gnmttalihimselfon piano,a youngBadenPowellon electric guitarand a
rhythm sectionofdrumsand bass.Throughout thealbum-PauloMoura
InterpretaRadamiesGnattali-Moura adopts a bluesy tone, slurringand
bendinghisnotes,ridinggently alongthelopingrhythms. Again,thepieces
soundlikejazz improvisations, on
particularly thesamba-cangao "Sempre
a Sonhar"andtheballad"Devaneio," whichcloseswitha bluesriff.Thisis
a longwayfrombothEuropeanconcertsaxophoneand thekindofchoro
saxophoneplayedinthesameyearsbyPixinguinha.9 Moura'srangeoftimbre
is farmoreextensive,
andinflection vocalandapparentlyspontaneousthan
Brazilian
previous sax had
players contemplated His
attempting. and
skills
innovative
approach wouldmakehimoneofthekeyplayers inthetransfor-
mationofBrazilian musicintheseyears.
Mostsimilarto Gnattali in thiscompositionalveinwastheclarinetand
saxplayerK-Ximbinho de
(Sebastido Barros). K-Ximbinho wasprimarily a
and
chorocomposer musician, buthis and
compositions recordings of the
1950sbetrayedan increasinginfluenceofjazz and blues.His 1956LP Ritmoe
Melodiaevenincludeda renditionof"RockAroundtheClock,"demonstrat-
ing he was farfromstuffy in his enthusiasmforblues-basedinnovations.
K-Ximbinhowas well-knownas one of themostaccomplishedjazz players

McCann 29
on Rio scene,andhiscompositions incorporated a strong jazz bluesinflu-

ence.His "Ternura," forexample, recallsThelonious Monk'sblues"Round
Midnight" in itsphrasing, as wellas otherMonkblueslike"Straight no
Chaser"and "BlueMonk"in itsascending chromatic lines.K-Ximbinho's
adventures in thisveinstrongly influenced younger collaborators and fans
likeMouraandJ.T.Meirelles.
Theloungestylings ofvocalists likeDickFarneyandLtcioAlveshad a
moredirecteffect on theyoungmusicians whowouldcometodefine bossa
nova.Farneyand Alves,bothdeeplyinfluenced byFrankSinatra, favored
smallgroupsas theirbackinggroups, piano,bass,drumsand oc-
featuring
casionallytrombone, and
trumpet saxophone. Thesewereessentially jazz
ofa
combos,equallycapable swinging renditionofa chestnut fromtheU.S.
popularsongbook like"AllofMe"anda sambalike"BeijaMe."Indeed,the
musicians withinthem-including Farneyhimself, a skilledjazz pianistas
wellas a crooner-prided themselves on theirabilityto switch fromoneto
theothereffortlessly.TheirCopacabananightclub showsdepended precisely
on thistacticofswitching moodsandrhythms withno apparent warning.
Thecombostendedtohaveflexible rosters-musicians driftedfromone
comboto another as gigsandrecording sessionsdemanded, a practicethat
therapidspreadofmusicalideas.Theirmembers
facilitated werealmostex-
clusivelyyoung, intheirlateteensorearlytwenties, andtendedtohavesome
formalmusicaltraining. A few,likeMouraand MoacirSantos,had either
extensive conservatory trainingor valuableexperience in arranging large
groupsina variety ofstyles.Butas a cohorttheywereincreasingly interested
in smallgroupjazz,withan emphasison technical prowessandindividual
improvisation.
Pittman
and Company
Whotaught theseyoungmusicians to playtheblues?Theylearneda great
dealfrom records,ofcourse.Buttheyalsofounda fewmusicians withexten-
sivepriorexperience on handto showthemthesubtleties andpossibilities
ofthegenre.Foremost amongthesewasthesaxandclarinet playerBooker
Pittman.Itwouldbe difficult
to a
invent musician a
with greater in
pedigree
thecategoryofcultural transmission. BookerPittman wasthegrandson of
BookerT. Washington, schooledfrombirthinbothAfrican-American mu-
sicanditspoliticalandhistorical context.BookerT. Washington's
daughter,
Portia,wasan aspiringconcertpianist,trained inconservatories
inNewEng-
landandBerlin.Portiamarried an architectandTuskegeegraduatenamed
WilliamSidneyPittman, and thecouplenamedtheirsecondson,bornin
1909, Booker.Theylivedbriefly in Washington DC, andthenspentmostof
Booker'schildhood inDallas,wherePortiataught pianoandSidneyPittman

30 Luso-Brazilian
Review44:2
pliedhistradeas an architect. Portiareturned toTuskegee in thelate192os,

butbythattimehersonwasalready ontheroadas a working jazz musician.
(Stewart)
BookerPittman touredwitha numberofbig bandsin theAmerican
Southin thelate1920os and early1930s,playingclarinet, altoand soprano
In
saxophones. 1933, he found his way to France, reportedly withtheLucky
Millinder big band. In France, Pittman sat inwith JazzBand Sul-Americano,
a bigbandledbytheenterprising Brazilian saxplayer RomeuSilva,whohad
initiallycreated thebandinRioin1923.Pittman joinedtheSilvabandforits
return to Brazilin 1935,playing at Rio'sCassinoAtlintico formuchofthat
(Stewart)
year.1'
Pittman's biography islesseasytoestablish overthenexttwenty years.He
madea fewrecordings inArgentina intheearly1940sunderthenameBooker
Pittman's Boys. But he appears to have spentmostoftheperiodin Brazil,
working intermittently as a musician, but farfromthelimelight. He suffered
fromtuberculosis, complicated of
byheavyusage alcohol, cocaine andmari-
juana,largely disappeared from the publiceye, and was twice reported dead
byBraziliannewspapers. In theearly1950os, he resurfaced in Parana,play-
ing blues and in
boogie-woogie illegalgambling clubsin Londrina andsur-
rounding towns. By his own account, he drank four or fiveshots ofcachaga
between everyset,a practice whichhelpstoexplainhisinconsistency."
Latein 1956,he hadmadehiswaybackto Riode Janeiro, probably with
thehelpofsomeofthewell-connected cariocajazzfanswhohadheardabout
his adventures in Paranai. Pittman, a well-traveled, hard-drinking African-
American jazzman, with a direct connection to the Dixieland, blues and
polyphonic jazz sound of the American South, quickly became a favoritein
thenewlyvibrant jazz scene of the The
mid-195os. jazz criticsat the Revista
da MtisicaPopular, inparticular, championed Booker's arrival in Rio as the
returnofan icon.
CriticLfcioRangelhadfounded themagazinea fewmonths and
earlier,
hadalready established itas Brazil'smostseriousvenueformusicjournalism.
In contrast to starvehiclesliketheRevistado Rddioand Rddioldndia, the
Revistada MtisicaBrasileira had fewphotos,littleaboutthepersonallives
ofitssubjects, andfewadvertisements. Instead, ithaddetailed, 5,ooo-word
articleswithtitleslike"Anthology ofBrazilianMusic"and "SelectedDis-
cography ofTraditional Jazz."Themagazineranportraits offoundational
figures in both the Brazilian and North American traditions, suchas Is-
maelSilvaand Fats Waller. But it also included notes on who was playing
in Copacabana,as wellas whohadplayedrecently atBirdland in NewYork
of the cur-
City.In short,the magazinewas a detailedcriticalinvestigation
rentstateof Brazilianand NorthAmericanpopular music in a historical
context.12

McCann 31
Rangel's cohort, particularlyhisnephewSergioPortoandthewealthy so-

cialitejazz patronandcriticJorge Guinle,celebrated Pittman. As onearticle
intheRevista da MasicaPopularputit,"TohearMr.Pittman improvise ona
bluesthemewas,truly, something unforgettable forthe richness of imagina-
tionand creative force."13Rangelhimself celebrated Pittman's return in an
effusive articlein Senhormagazine, wherehe decalredthatPittman's talent
on sopranosaxwasrivalled onlybythatofSidneyBechet.14 PortoandGuinle
helped to reintroduce Pittman to Rio'smusic scene, and in particular tothe
up-and-coming generation ofambitious jazz cats.Naturally,Pittman putto-
gether hisownbandandbeganplaying theCopacabanaclubsandbeyond.
A 1960recording froma showin a Sao Paulovenuecaptures thefeelof
thoseperformances. Therecording consistsoftwosets,thefirst featuring
DickFarneyas pianistleadinga smallcombo,playing jazz standards with
bebopchanges andimprovisation. Thesecondsetfeatures Pittman leadinga
different combo,playing saxandoccasionally singing,running through early
jazz standards like"TigerRag,""St.LouisBlues"and"SweetGeorgiaBrown:'
Pittman's playing is infectiouslygood-humored, fluent andemphatic, andal-
waysheavily based in the bluesscale.
His vocalsaretheatrical andapparently
improvised, to theapparent delightoftheaudience.Theperformance is a
quick master's class in blues-basedimprovisation, New Orleans polyphony
andjazz showmanship."5
TheSao Paulorecording revealsPittman in a strictly
jazz presentation,
butin othervenueshe eagerly assimilated Brazilianmusic,and had been
doingso sincehistravels withSilva'sband.In Parana,forexample, he was
playing samba, marcha, choro,jazz-whatever seemed necessary under the
circumstances. Thisthoroughly prepared Pittman for thebossa nova explo-
sion,andhe wasoneofthefirst US-bornjazzmentoblendimprovisational
jazz withtheJoaoGilberto-style batidade violdo.Honoring thiscontribu-
tion,Vinicius de Moraesincluded BookerPittman inthelistofmusicians on
whomhe conferred blessingsinhisspokenmonologue during hisrendition
of"Sambada BenCto," debutedin theshowO Encontro atthenightclub Au
BonGourmet, inAugustof1962.16
In 1963,Pittman andhisteenaged stepdaughter, ElianaPittman, recorded
an albumentitled NewsFromBrazil,including standards ofthenewgenre,
like"O Barquinho" and"N6se o Mar,"theDukeEllington jazz standard "It
Don'tMeana Thing," anda bouncing swing bossa nova entitled"Mister Bossa
Nova,"perfect forBooker'simprovisational style.Bookerand Elianawere
joinedby the Tamba Luiz
Trio,featuring Eqa on piano,Bebetoon fluteand
bass,andHl1cioMilitoondrums-aseminal bossacombomadeupofmem-
bers of theyoungergenerationof carioca musiciansinfluencedby Pittman
in thelate1950s. LindolphoGayawrotethearrangements, bringingPittman's
sax solos and Eliana'svocals to the fore.Pittman,forall his virtues,lacked

32 Luso-Brazilian
Review44:2
theadventurous confidence ofStanGetz,Cannonball Adderley andHerbie

to
Mann,theotherUS-bornreedmen recordbossa nova in 1962 and'63.He
remained closertothebluessoundoftheSouthern bigbandshehadtoured
withinthelate1920sandearly1930s.The recording isnonetheless oneofthe
gems of the early196os, foritsenthusiastic
hybridity andfor the revelation of
ElianaPittman, whowouldgrowintoa renowned samba-soul singer laterin
thedecade.The1963recording alsodocuments Elianaas oneofthefirst sing-
erstoscattobossanova,a distinction sheshareswithLenyAndrade andElza
Soares(seebelow).Notsurprisingly, hervocalimprovisation closelyfollows
theblues-based modelofherstepfather. Bookerlaterclaimedthatatfifteen
Elianacouldalready scatan entireCharlieParkermelodyafter a singleaudi-
tion,a facility
evidenced byhereasy,offbeat eight-notephrasing inhervocal
improvisation on thisalbum."
BookerandElianarecorded anotherLP,forMocamborecords, titled
sim-
plyEliana e Booker Pittman. The bluesinfluenceis even more striking here,
on renditions of"St.LouisBlues,""TheBirdsandtheBlues," and a curious
medleyofthetraditional country-blueschestnut"MamaDon'tAllow"with
"Sambade UmaNotaS6'"TheMocamboLP is undated, andunmentioned
inanydiscography untilitsurfaced onthearchival website Loronix in20oo6.
Theimmaturity of Eliana's voice heresuggeststhat theMocambo LP pre-
ceded NewsFromBrazil.'8
Cariocamusicianswerecertainly
familiar
withblues-based
improvisation
beforePittman's
returnto Rio,andhadevenheardthisapproach
appliedto
Brazilian viatheBudShank/Laurindo
material, Almeidarecordings
of1953.
Almeida,a guitarist
from Rio,hadjoinedtheStanKenton bandinthelate
1940s,andquickly became ontheWestCoastjazzscene.Almeida
a fixture
andShank'sBrazillianceLP,recordedinLosAngeles in1953,haslongbeen
as a
recognized key forerunner ofbossanova. Almeida's guitarstylings,a
smooth variationonthetraditionalsambapattern, presaged Joao Gilberto's
moreseductive approacha fewyears AndShank's
later. laidback,WestCoast
reedplayingestablisheda modelforthecolossally successfulapproach of
StanGetztoJobim's compositions intheearly196os.Brazilliance includes
a tuneentitled"BlueBai-o,"thatmakesexplicitthesimilaritybetween the
bentnotesandthoseoftheblues,
baido's aswellas a blues-tinged rendition
ofAryBarroso's "Terra TheAlmeida-Shank
Seca."l9 collaboration isa land-
mark,andinretrospectcanberecognized asa clearindication bossawas
that
onitsway.
inevitably Inthemid-195os, however,itwaslessinfluentialamong
Rio'smusicians-particularly inimprovisational
thoseinterested jazz-than
thereturnofBooker Pittman,ontheonehand,andthearrival ofthelatest
NatKingColerecords,ontheother.
closeattention
Payingparticularly toNatKingColewasAlfredoJos6da
knownas Johnny
Silva,already Alfbythemid'50s.Alfwasprototypical
of

McCann 33
theyoungjazz-oriented crowd.RuyCastro's Chegade Saudadecaptures the

importance ofthe Farney-Sinatra Fan Club, theearly 1950s club organized
bya groupofteenagers inRio'sTijucaneighborhood to celebrate themusic
oftheirtwoidols.As Castroshowsin richdetail,theFarney-Sinatra Club
becamea meeting-place formanyofthemusicians whowouldinventand
propel bossa novalaterin the decade, including Donato,PauloMoura,
Jodo
D6risMonteiro andtheyoungpianistJohnny Bymid-decade,
Alf.20 Alfwas
moreintoColeandGeorgeShearing thanFarney andSinatra, andthosein-
fluences beganto surface in hisplaying. Bytheendofthedecade,Alfwas
writing compositions thatblendedsamba,jazz tonalities andambitious har-
monies.To sayhiscompositions weredeeplyinformed by the blues would
be truebutan oversimplification-Alf wasas inventive andas open-minded
as Jobim in drawing on multiple popularanderuditesources.Buthisbest
knowncompositions, including thoselike"RapazdeBem"and"Eue a Brisa,"
whichwouldbecomebossanovastandards, useflatted-fifthswithin harmon-
icallycomplexjazz song structuresto createdissonance and tension at the
moments ofgreatestemotional emphasis. Alf'swistful, sparkling elegance
andhissparebutdecisive useofbluenotesareremarkably similar tothoseof
hismodelsColeandShearing, andexerted greatinfluence ontheearlybossa
novacrowd.
Joining Pittman andAlfinthevanguard ofsamba-jazz hybridity wasthe
saxplayerMoacirSantos,a musician witha deepfamiliarity withBrazilian
genres, an advancedtheoretical knowledge ofharmony, and a passionfor
jazz.SantoswasborninPernambuco andas a teenager hadworked brieflyas
an itinerant musicianinthePernambucan sertdo.He madehiswaytoRioin
the1940s,wherehisextraordinary skillandversatilitywonhima position in
theprestigious RidioNacionalorchestra. MuchofSantos'theoretical train-
ingcameon thejob,working withRadioNacionalarrangers likeGnattali
andLyrioPanicalli.He alsostudiedwithHansJoachim Koellreutter, oneof
thekeybehind-the-scenes figuresin thebirthofbossanova.Koellreutter, a
Germancomposer whohad settled in Rio de Janeiro,wasan inspiring and
challenging professorofharmony, whobelievedthatrigorous training in
advancedharmony wouldenablehisstudents to discover theirownsound,
whichmightdrawheavily on popularas wellas eruditesources.His train-
ingoftheyoungJobimin theearly1940os helpedlaythegroundwork for
bossanova.Andhisinstruction ofSantos-aswellas PauloMouraandsev-
eralotherinnovative musicians ofthelate1950s-produced an enormously
diverse setofmusicaladventures.
Santosflourished, becoming theonlyBrazilian ofcolortojointheaugust
ranksofRidioNacional'smaestros. He alsocontinued tohonehischopsas
a player,andinsiders rankedhimamongthebestjazz saxophonists in Rio.
LikePittman, mostofhisworkfrom thelate1950s waseither unrecorded or

34 Review44:2
Luso-Brazilian
uncredited. Intheearly196os,hebegantogainmoreattention as anarranger.

Finally,in1965herecorded analbumofhisowncompositions as bandleader,
arranger andaltosaxplayer. Thislandmark album,entitled simply Coisas,or
Things, would make him the samba-jazz composer of the 196os most difficult
to fitevenwithinan expansive bossanovacategorization. Santoseschewed
theGilberto batida,theimprovisational soundofthebossanovacombos,
and thedeceptively simplemelodiesofbossanovastandards likeRoberto
Menescal's "O Barquinho" and Marcos Valle's"Samba de Verdo."
Instead, thecompositions on Coisas,giventhedeliberately blanktitlesof
"Coisa "Coisa2,"etc.,
1," featured intricatebig-bandarrangements ofchal-
lenging melodies and with little
harmonies, relatively space improvisa- for
tion,in comparison withthetypicalCopacabanacombo.Santos'approach
had morein commonwiththatof StanKentonthanwiththatof Duke
Ellington, tendingtowardscomplexsoundscapes layeredto offset a brief
featured improvisation. Santos and his participating musicians usedblues
tonalities as oneofthekeyingredients in crafting thisrichsoundscape. The
trombone on "Coisa4,"forexample, slidesbetweenflatandnaturalnotes,
creating tensionthrough dissonant tonalshading, in a waypreviously un-
commonamongBraziliantrombonists. The sax and trumpet interplay in
"Coisa8'," and thetrumpet, sax and electric of
guitarimprovisations"Coisa
9" dipdeeplyintotheblueswellofslurred, growled, andbentnotes.Coisas
effectively brings to the forethe hybrid experimentation inwhichSantoshad
beenengagedfora decadeoutofthelimelight, a processofexperimentation
thatdemonstrated theendlesspossibilities forrecombinations ofjazz and
Brazilian music.21
Although Santoswasoneofthemostaccomplished musicians inRioand
becameone ofthegreatcomposers oftheperiod,he was notthebluesiest
altosax-playing MoacirinCopacabanainthelate1950s.Thattitlewouldgo
toMoacyrSilva,likehisnearnamesake a blacksaxplayer from theprovinces
(in thiscase,MinasGerais)whohadfoundhiswayto Rio'snightclub scene
andcarvedoutan identity forhimself as a bossaltoblowerplaying primarily
jazz andblues.Or he carvedouttwoidentities, rather: Silvafrequently re-
cordedunderthealiasBobFleming, inparttoescapecontractual exclusivity
withanysinglelabel,andin parttoborrowa littleNorthAmerican cachet.
Moacyr Silva is thus not tobe confused with Moacir Santos: he is Bob Flem-
His
ing. 1958 record Bob FlemingQuartet, Sax in Hi Fi on the Masterpiece
label,forexample, includesonlyjazz standards like"Stormy Weather" and
"I Geta KickOutofYou."Buthis1961LP forMusidisc, entitled simply Bob
Fleming, is a more compelling hybrid.It takesthe Hammond B3 organ, bass,
drumsand sax lineup thathad recentlybecome one of the most popular
formations in jazz, via groupslike thatof StanleyTurrentine
and Big John
Patton,and adds to itBrazilianrhythm and percussion.Thematerial,all Bra-

McCann 35
zilian,includesbotholdersambastandards "I LuxoS6,"Lupi-

likeBarroso's
cinioRodrigues' "Se AcasoVoceChegasse" andrecent Jobimcompositions
like"Meditaqgo." Silvaplaying
As always, as Bob Flemingdrawsheavilyon
thebluesidiomforhisflourishes on theseBrazilian
compositions.22
Forthesereasons,Pittman, Santos,Alf,Mouraand Silvawerethemost
important musiciansinbringing sideofthejazzidiomintocom-
thebluesier
monparlance inRiodeJaneiroanddemonstrating thewaysinwhichitcould
be blendedwithBraziliansounds.TheShank/Almeida collaborations
were
a
moreof parallelphenomenon, reachingthesamejumping-off pointfrom
a differentdirection.
BluesWalk
In theearly196os,themusicians jamming alongwithPittman, Moura,San-
tosandAlf,andlearning theirtricks,
honednotonlytheirownsoundbut
theirownrepertoire. Liketherepertoire ofallimprovisational musicalsub-
itwasnotso mucha catalogoftreasures
cultures, tobe recitedadoringly,but
an argotofcommonphrasesusedto launchspontaneous innovations.This
repertoireincludedthefamedbossanovasthatwerebecoming hitsaround
theglobe,like"S6 DangoSamba," butalso includedjazz tunesthatforun-
predictablereasonsbecameparticularly relevant in Copacabana,as wellas
a raftoflocally-wrought still
compositions relatively unknown beyondthe
Copacabananightclubs.
Foremostamongtheformer was "BluesWalk,"a twelve-bar bluesby
jazz trumpeter Clifford Brown. "BluesWalk" is typicalof theblues"heads"
learnedby jazz musiciansas a springboard forimprovisation-simple,
catchy,andcontaining a basicmelodicideathatcanbe reworked within the
bluesscaleinmanydifferent The
ways. Copacabana combos musthave played
"BluesWalk"thousands oftimesintheearly196os,giventhefrequency with
whichitshowsup on recordings fromthatperiod.In 1963,theBossaTres,a
prototypicalCopacabanatriofeaturing LuisCarlosVinhasonpiano,Edison
Machadoon drumsandTidoNetoonbass,recorded a swinging samba-jazz
version.Netoplaysa bedrocksambabassline,whileMachadoplaysa funky
jazz patternwithsambaadornments, and Vinhasimprovises basedon the
bluesscale.WhenNetosolos,Machadoswitches to a sambapattern, then
leavesoffentirely to allowNetoandVinhasto tradephrases, untilthetrio
reconnects toclosethetune.23
In 1964,"BluesWalk"wasrecorded byanimpromptu ensemblethatbilled
themselves as Os Cobras.Thegroupincluded Meirelles andMouraonreeds,
Ten6rioJr.on piano,RobertoMenescalon guitar,
Raul de Souza on trombone
and MiltonBanana on drums,along witha fewmore mainstaysfromthe
scene-the creamof the Copacabana crop.Theirrenditionof Brown'stune

36 Luso-Brazilian
Review
44:2
is a relatively
straightforward jazz blowing session,wheretheensemble plays
theheadtwice,thenseveralinstrumentalists takean energetic one-chorus
soloin turn,thentheensemble playstheheada finaltime.Therhythm sec-
tionintheOs Cobrasversion a 4/4
plays jazz swing rhythm, with no obvious
invocation ofsamba.24
Thatsameyear,organist Ed Lincolnrecorded thetunein a pop-samba
vein.Lincoln's recording makesroomfortrumpet andorgansolos,butthe
emphasis is on the samba percussion and the infectious ensemble sound.25
Thesethreemarkedly differentrecordings of "BluesWalk" in less than two
years demonstrate both the prevalence of bossa-blues in the early1960s,
and itsmanyvariations. (BobbyTimmons's "Moanin'"and MiltJackson's
"Bluesology" ifnotas commonas "BluesWalk,'wereotherbluesheadsthat
becamestandards ontheCopacabanascene.)
LocallycomposedtunesthathadnotyetmadeitbigoutsideCopacabana
included"EstamosAi,""BatidaDiferente" and "Disa" all melodieswritten
bytheharmonica playerMauricioEinhorn, withharmonies written byDu-
rvalFerreira, in thecaseofthefirst two,andJohnny Alf,in thecaseofthe
latter.Allthreemelodiesaredeeplyinformed byEinhorn's passionforjazz,
thestandards ofjazz songbookand themelodiesofCharlieParkerin par-
ticular.Thefirst twoareuptempo jazz heads,designed togenerate ideasfor
improvisation rather thantobe playedas a complete, unrevised statement.
They would be entirelyat home in a bebop Neither
setting. is a twelve-bar
blues-rather, theirstructure isthe32-bar, AABAstructure ofjazz standards.
Butlikethosestandards, bothhavepassagesthatinvitebluesphrasing-as
evidenced, forexample, inCannonball Adderley's approach to"BatidaDife-
rente"fromhis bossanovaalbumof 1962.Adderley uses a vocabulary of
bluesandbeboplicks,playedwithbuoyant verve,to turnthecomposition
intoa rollicking altosaxvehicle.Adderley's bossanovaalbumalsoincluded
a version ofEinhorn andFerreira's "Sambop," a moreovertattempt toblend
CharlieParker-inspired bebopphrasing with samba.26 Perhaps because of
itschallenging offbeat runs,"Sambop" never became a standard of the bossa
novarepertoire.
A yearlater,LenyAndraderecorded "BatidaDiferente" on a four-song
extended playing record,accompanied bythe same Tamba Trio thataccom-
panied Booker and Eliana Pittman on their 1963recording. Like Eliana, Leny
Andrade wasa youngsinger-twenty yearsold,inLeny's case-drawntoboth
sambaandjazz,andeagertoimprovise vocallyoverbossanovachanges. Her
scatsoloonherdebutperformance of"BatidaDiferente" istantalizingly brief
butnonetheless voluptuous-she confidently usesbothmelismaandsingle-
note, hornlike scatting, including a seriesof fasttriplets, to craft a swinging
soloovertherecording's coda.27Andradehadclearly already learneda great
dealfrom EllaFitzgerald recordings, andwasapplying thoselessonstoa new
setofchangesina different rhythm, withtremendous success.

McCann 37
ThiswouldsoonbecomeAndrade's trademark, andthecompositions of

Einhorn andhiscohortgavehersomeofherbestopportunities toputitinto
effect.Herfirst big hit came withher 1965 recording of"Estamos Ai,"offering
a muchlongervocalsolo,showing thefullrangeofAndrade's improvisatory
mastery.28 Andrade's stylepresentsa striking contrastwiththebossanova
norm:oneofthegreatvocalists ofthebossanovaexplosion wasfarfrom the
restrained, subtly shiftingphrasing of Joao Gilberto and thesultry whisper-
ingofNaraLedothatbecameso closelyidentified withthegenre.Andrade,
incontrast, wasa bluesandbebop-based firecracker, onbossanovain
riffing
muchthesamewayCannonball Adderley did.
Andradesharedan affinity withElzaSoaresinthatregard. Whileknown
primarily as a more traditionalsamba singer, Soares frequently recorded
bossanovaas well,including herlandmark BossaNegraalbum,from1961.
Thecompositions arestraight-ahead samba,andtheorchestration is in the
gafieira style-abrass-heavy, dancehall bigband.Theprimary linktobossa
nova comesin thetitle,in theambitious arrangements ofmaestroAstor
Silva,andperhapsironically, in Soares'blues-based scatvocals.Soares'style
recallsLouisArmstrong morethanEllaFitzgerald, growling, grumbling and
bending lownotes.29
Giventhepopularity of"BluesWalk"inbossanovacircles, itis notsur-
prising that Brazilian composers beganwriting theirown 12-barblues. Meire-
lies'"Blue Bottle's"of 1964, writtenin homage to the Copacabananightclub
Bottle's,showedthatRio'sinstrumentalists hadfully assimilated thepractice
ofwriting straightforward 12-barheadsthatcouldbe usedas a vehiclefor
open-ended in
improvisationa nightclub setting.
Andif"Sambop"hadnotbeenexplicit enoughin itshybridity, Einhorn
andFerreira alsocomposed"Samblues" a twelve-bar bluesthatbecameone
ofthestandard bluesheadson theCopacabanascene.Like"BluesWalk,"
"Samblues" was playedfrequently and recordedon severaloccasions,by
younglionslikeEumirDeodatoon one ofhis earliestrecordsin 1964,as
wellas bytheclassicCopacabanatriosliketheMiltonBananaTrio.Perhaps
themostintriguing recording,however, is onefrom1965bytheSambalango
Triocomprising CesarCamargoMarianoonpiano,AirtoMoreiraondrums
andHumberto Clayberon bass.ThisstandsoutnotonlybecauseMariano
andMoreirawouldgo on toprolific careers andinternational fameas musi-
cian'smusicians, butforitsstyle.Rather thanusing"Samblues" as a headto
launchimprovisation, theSambalanqo Triousesitas theopeningstatement
ofa briefmedley, inthestyleofthe"ParaDangar"albums.After "Samblues,"
run
they through Moacir Santos'funky "Nan,"Jobim's "O Morro NdoTem
Vez,"thewistful WandaSAbossanova"O AmorQue Acabou," andseveral
othermelodies.In theprocess, theyeffortlessly shift
fromdriving bluesto
swinging to
jazz, gently swaying bossa nova, to funky samba, never losing
control. Thebrevity ofthemedleymeansthatitis notreallydanceable, ex-

38 Review44:2
Luso-Brazilian
ceptas an exercise.
Instead,itseemstobe primarily a displayofmastery
of
multiple and
styles their The
hybridity. medleyfinally swingsbackaround
and Marianotakesa briefbluessolo whileClayberplaysa
to "Samblues,"
steadybasslineandMoreiraplaysbotha 4/4timeon bassdrum,snareand
cymbal andsyncopated percussiveaccentson a woodblock.TheSambalanqo
Triodemonstrated thatthiswasno longera caseofmusicalborrowing-all
andwerereadyin thebagwhenever
styleshad beenfullyassimilated, they
wereneeded.30
Lyraand jobim
Theemerging sub-genre ofbossa-blues provedinfluentialevenamongcom-
posers more firmly associated with the "classic"
bossa nova sound,likeCar-
los Lyraand Jobim himself. Thisis perhapsmildlysurprising in regardto
Lyra, who in theearly1960s was a founder and in
keyparticipanttheCentro
Popularde CulturaoftheUnidoNacionaldos Estudantes, thefamedCPC
da UNE. TheCPC espouseda visionofnationalpopularculture informed
by a strictreading of Marxist cultural
theory, and looked with suspicionon
bothinternational cultural influenceandthedemandsofthemarket.31 Bossa
nova'scleardebttojazzprovoked considerableanxietywithin theCPC.Lyra's
"Influencia do Jazz"of1961 expressed thatanxiety andseemedtomakefun
ofitatthesametime-thelyrics lamentthat"poorsamba"hasgotten mixed
up with jazz and Afro-Cuban genres,but the melody betrays the influenceof
bothjazz swing, during the verse,and Cuban rumba, inthechorus. The lyrics
of"Influ&ncia do Jazz"thushavetheairofonewhoprotests toomuchagainst
a passionhe woulddeny.itis impossible todetermine whether Lyrahadhis
tonguein hischeekwhenhe wrotethis,orwhether itsironyis unintended.
Certainly, LenyAndradeinher1964madethejazz influence as explicit
and
celebratory as possible, a
unreelingswinging scat improvisation bringing a
roundofapplausefrom theliveaudience.32 of
Regardless Lyra's initial
intent,a
year aftercomposing do
"Influ6ncia Jazz" he wrote anotherbossa nova classic
bearing evenmorepronounced NorthAmerican influence.
In 1962,Lyrateamedup withViniciusde Moraes to writePobreMenina
musicalaboutanimpoverished
Rica,a romantic migrant wholivesina squat-
andwhofallsinlovewitha richcitygirl.Theplaydulyhonors
tersettlement
CPC understandingsofclassidentity
andtheexploitation ofthesurplus la-
borvalueofthepoor.One ofitsmostmemorable compositions a
is bossa-
"MariaMoita,"narrated
bluesentitled bythecharacter ofthesamename,
companion oftheleaderofthesquattersettlement."MariaMoita"is nota
twelve-barblues,althoughits repeatingmelodiccells,leadingto increasing
tensionand resolution,bear greatsimilarities
to a standardblues structure.
The influenceis clearerin themelody,richin minorthirds,flattedfifths
and
dominantsevenths.Lyra'ssubtleharmonicstructure, typicalofthebestbossa

McCann 39
nova,presents theoretically sophisticated chordchanges inan accessible and

flexibleway,allowing interpreters to take thecomposition anyin of several
directions.
The Bossa JazzTrio,anotherCopacabanacombo,featuring Amylson
Godoyon piano,Jurandir Meirelles on bass,and JoseRobertoSarsanoon
drums,choseto emphasizethebluesinfluence. In a 1965recording, they
played "Maria Moita" as a dark, rocking blues,with no obviousgesture of
rhythmic allegianceto Brazil. They took Lyra'swork farfrom the nationalist
utopiaoftheCPC,intothebowelsoftheCopacabanaclubscene.33
In contrast to thejournalists of theRevistada MtisicaPopular,who
viewedthebluesas theauthentic expression ofan African-American cul-
ture,ennobledthrough centuries ofsuffering,Lyra did not apparently con-
siderbluesas analogousto samba,noras a conscioussourcematerial for
a CPC production. Thebluesinfluence of "MariaMoita"mayhavebeen
entirely unintentional. As a sophisticated student ofWestern classicalhar-
mony,Lyra was deeply familiar with the mystique of the tritone, includ-
ing both condemnation of it during the renaissance and use ofit to create
productive dissonance sincethelateeighteenth century. According to Lyra,
whenJobim was composing "Amorem Paz" he and Jobim toyed with the
harmony, deliberatelyincluding chords with flattedfifths and dominant sev-
enths,precisely becauseit challenged therulesof orthodoxcomposition.
Thisclosecollaboration wasnotunusual,norwasitsresult: Jobim arranged
themusicfortheoriginal production of"PobreMeninaRica,"andusedthe
sameapproach.According to Lyra,Jobimincludedflatted fithsin thear-
for
rangement Lyra's "Samba do Carioca" and "Primavera," jokingwithLyra
thatthiswas considered "thedevil'sinterval," and thattheywouldbothbe
excommunicated.34
Theseanecdotessuggest thatbothcomposers weredrawnto theflatted
fifthas a toolforcreative dissonance primarily viatheirfamiliarity witheru-
ditemusic,andindeedthatinfluence seemstobearmoreheavily on Jobim's
"Amor emPaz"andon Lyra's "Sambado Carioca"and"Primavera." Butthey
werealso highlyattunedto themusichappening aroundthemin Copa-
cabana.Theynoted,forexample, thatSergioMendes-barely outofhigh
but
school, already a budding talentonthebossanovascene-wasalsofond
offlatted fifthsanddominant sevenths. Mendes,in contrast withhissenior
colleagues, was more directly influenced byjazz,particularly thefinger pop-
pin'blues-based sound of Horace Silver,Mendes' idol. Two traditions-the
Western classicaland theblues-wereconverging in Copacabanato make
theflatted fifth
increasingly hip.
These anecdotesbegin to show the circularity of influencein the field.
was
Jobim clearlyLyra'sgreatestinfluence, but Jobim was also open to influ-
ence fromLyra,claiming,forexample,thathis "Discussto"was inspiredby
Lyra's"Voca e Eu."35Perhapsitis notsurprising,
then,thatnotlongafterLyra

40 Luso-Brazilian
Review
44:2
wrote "MariaMoita'Jobim composed a similar tune.Like"MariaMoita,"

Jobim's "O Morro Nao Tem with
Vez"-again, lyrics byVinicius deMoraes-
isa bossa-blues with a melodic linethatsnakes upthrough thebluesscalein
repeating cells,
climbing toa dissonant peakandthenresolving. Inthiscase,
Lyra claims to have convinced Jobim to alter the composition precisely to
makeitlessbluesy: "There wasalsoa timewhenI suggested thathechange
a notein'O MorroNaoTemVez.'Hismelodic phrase wasclosertoblues,
andheendedupusingwhatI showed him,andhesaid,'Thisismorelike
something from the people, from thehill,it'snolonger likesomething from
somehillintheUnited States, somebusiness from BeverlyHills, thishillis
morecarioca."36
Thisallegation, taken from a 1996interview, maywellbemildly distorted
by time. The dialogue attributed here to Jobim seems more inline withthe
CPC'sunderstanding of foreign musical influence than with that of Jobim.
Regardless, itis entirely plausible thatLyrasuggested an alteration in "O
MorroNaoTemVez,"andthatJobim agreed. Ifso,andiftheeffect wasto
makethecomposition lessbluesy, thechange wasmorethanlikely toturn
a B natural intoa C natural forthesyllable "der" intheline"Quando deram
vez" or toturn an an E flatto an E natural in the "ao,"
syllable in the phrase
"aomorro todoo morro." Inthefirst case,thiswouldhavemeant changing
a minor thirdtoa majorthird ina melodic phrase drawn from theA blues
scale,ina section ofthecomposition inAminor. Inthesecond case,itwould
havemeant changing a flatted fifthtoa major fifth.
Whilethisisfascinating forbossanovajunkies, ithadnegligible overall
effectonthebluesinfluence in"O Morro Nao Tem Vez."The bridge ofthe
tune,which shiftsto D minor, shares an even more obviousaffinity the
with
blues,notleastintheflatted fifthonthesyllable "tam" in"tamborim vaifalar."
Whatever Jobim and/or Lyra intended, countless musicianshaveemphasized
thebluesy possibilitiesinthecomposition. Foroneparticularly polished ex-
ample, see HelioDelmiro's version from his disc
compact Compassos. Delm-
irotakestheaffinity onestepfurther, substituting manyofJobim's chords
withchords rooted intheflatted oftheoriginal
fifth chord-acommon jazz
practice known as tritone substitution-thereby making thetritone a more
emphatic presence inthetune.Beyond hisharmonic alterations,Delmiro's
electric guitarflourishes and improvisations are firmlyrooted in a blues-jazz
tradition.37
The OtherSide ofthe Coin

Notsurprisingly,
US-based tookthisaffinity
jazzmen withthebluesandran
withit.Theaforementioned
Cannonball and HerbieMannbossa
Adderley
nova recordings
from1962 and 1963aboundwithbluesplaying.HerbieMann

McCann 41
evenrecorded a bossanovaversionof"BluesWalk"withSergioMendesin
theearly196os.Itshouldbe notedthatStanGetz'sbossanovaplaying, par-
ticularlyon the1963Getz/Gilberto LP thatremains themostfamousalbum
inthebossanovacatalogue, drawsrelatively littleonthebluesincomparison
withAdderley andMann.Guitarists CharlieByrd, JoePassandBarnieKessel
weresimilarly early adherentsto bossa nova, more inkeeping withAdderley
and Mannin theincorporation ofa blues-based vocabulary. Thiswas not
surprising-these musicians essentially playedbossanovain thesamevein
manyoftheirBraziliancounterparts hadbeenplaying already. To be sure,
theydrew on many on other resources-Mann gestures towards themodal
playingincreasingly common in jazz circles in the for
early196os, example.
Butthenature oftheirimprovisatory approach isnotradically differentfrom
thoseoftheCopacabanamusicians. Morestriking, perhaps, is thealacrity
withwhichUS jazzmenstarted tocomposebossanova.
ClareFischer's "Pensativa," 1962,is a bossanovawiththebreakneck,
of
abstrusechordchangestypicalofthehard-bopstyle-albeithere,typical
ofbossanova,matchedto a relatively simple,alluring melody. Trumpeter
Freddie Hubbard's liverenditions of"Pensativa," often for
extending upwards
offifteen minutes, hurtlingthrough a catalogueofmelodicideasincluding
butbyno meanslimited tothebluesscale,quickly madeita hardbopstan-
dard.J.T.Meirelles didthesameforthecomposition withinBrazilin 1965,
albeitwitha relativelystraightforward rendition, with little
spaceforimpro-
visation,emphasizing thesoulful qualities of the melody.38
KennyDorham's1963"BlueBossa"invitedblues-based improvisation
bothwithitstitleand withitschordchanges.Like"Pensativa,' thetune
quicklybecamea stapleofbothhard-bop circlesintheUnitedStatesandthe
internationalbossanovascene.
HoraceSilverprovedbothmoreassiduousandmorecommercially suc-
cessfulthaneitherFischeror Dorhamin hisenthusiasm forbossanova.It
probably hadsomething todowiththewayhewasraised:Silver's father,
Joao
Tavares was
Silva, a CapeVerdean immigrant toConnecticut. Silver'sbaptis-
malnameis HoraceWardMartinTavaresda Silva,buthadhisfather con-
vincedhisAfrican-American mother to return withhimto CapeVerde,he
might havebecomeknownas Horaicio da Silva.Evengrowing upinNorwalk,
Connecticut, Silverwas exposedto themusicoftheLuso-Atlantic triangle
earlyon,through hisfather,an amateur musician. Tavaresda Silvahadleft
CapeVerdein1898,butevenbefore theriseofrecorded music,CapeVerdean
stylesborecloseresemblance to thoseofBrazil,and Braziliansheetmusic
andmusicians themselves circulated in theCape Verdeanarchipelago. This
helpsexplainwhySilverperceiveda paternalresonancein samba.39
Beforethebossa nova boom, Silverexperimented in thisvein,recording
a tune entitled"Swingin'the Samba" on his debut album in 1956.Visiting

42 Luso-Brazilian
Review44:2
Riointheearly1960s-where he stayedwithSergioMendesandjammedin
Copacabana-enabled Silverto achieve successon hisnextattempt.
greater
His "SongformyFather," of1965,wasoneofthejazz hitsofthatyear, andno
doubtthecatchiest bossa-blueswrittenbya US jazzman.TypicalofSilver's
work,boththemelodyandSilver's on theoriginal
improvisation recording
aredeeplysteepedin theblues.40 Silveralsowrotelyr-
Uncharacteristically,
ics forthetune,thankfully omitted fromtheoriginal recording andalmost
everyrendition. in a
Theydescribe, fairly plodding manner reminiscentof
"Jazz'n' Samba,"howSilver's voyageto Brazilprompted himto writethis
bossanovabeatforhisfather.
Silverfollowedthesuccessof"SongformyFather" withseveralfurther
effortsin thesamevein,including theinfectious
"CapeVerdeBlues."More
thananyother jazzman,Silverhelpedtomakeblues-based improvisationthe
firstresortofmanyjazz playersconfrontingbossa nova.
Thishelpsto explainsaxplayerLee Konitz'sreaction to Jobim's
"Wave."'
According to harmonica greatToots Thielemans,Konitz oncesaidto him,
"Toots,we'vebeenplaying 'Wave'forfortyyears.It'stwochorusesofblues
witha beboprelease." Jobim's
41 Again, ofthebluesin thetwelve-
invocation
barfirstsectionof"Wave"mayhavebeenunintentional. Butmusicians well-
versedintheidiom,bothBrazilian andNorthAmerican, couldnothelpbut
perceive itinthatwayandtoplayaccordingly.
TheLoronix
Effect
"BlueBossa;'"SongformyFather" and"BatidaDiferente" haveallbeenre-
cordeddozensoftimes,to saynothing of"Wave"and "O MorroNao Tem
Vez."Theever-renewed supplyofrenditions ofthesestandards meansthat
thebossa-blueshas neverfadedfromearshot. Yetithasreceived lessatten-
inpartbecausesomanyoftheearlyefforts
tionthanitdeserves, quickly went
outofprint.Thedigitalagenowprovides a remedy. WebsiteslikeLoronix,
SabadabadaandAbracadabra-LPs do Brasil,dedicatedtotheBrazilianmu-
sic ofroughlythelate1950os the
through early197os, have suddenly created
an enormous earlybossanovaarchive outofthousands ofscattereddiscs.42
In manycases,thismeansbringing LPs to a broadaudience-atleastgeo-
speaking-for
graphically time.Itwouldbe an exaggeration
thefirst to say
thatalbumslikeDionysioe Seu Quinteto, Romance no TexasBar,issuedby
theInternacionallabelin 1959havebeenforgotten, as theywereprobably
neverheardbymorethana fewhundred fanstobeginwith.YetRomance no
TexasBar,a swinging collection
ofBrazilianandjazz standards performed
bya smallcombo,includesnotonlytheeponymousDionysioon altosax and
thegreatEdisonMachado on drums,buta youngBaden Powellon guitar.43 It
is typical,in thisregard,ofthehundredsofLPs putout on thestartuplabels,

McCann 43
printed in smallquantities, barelydistributedbeyondCopacabana,notad-

vertised,andrarely notedin thepress.Considered as a group,
thesealbums
offersomething ofa hidden historyofbossa one
nova, revealing therichness
oftheCopacabanasceneduringtheyearsofthisgenre's andits
explosion,
fertile
experimentation withhybrids ofsamba,bluesandjazz.Theposting of
suchmusic-longoutofprint-onsiteslikeLoronix is akintothediscovery
ofpreviously unknown recordingsofThelonious MonkandJohn Coltranein
theSmithsonian collection
a fewyearsearlier.
Whatmusic, a Britishlabel,goesthewebsites onebetter bypurchasingthe
rightstotheselosttreasures, remasteringthem, andproducing anddistribut-
ingnewCDs. Whatmusic's venture hashelpedprodsomeoftheolderBra-
zilianlabelsto minetheirownvaultsto reissuekeyrecordings. SomMaior,
originallabel of the Sambalanqo Trioand many of the Copacabanacombos,
hasreissued an entire seriesofgemsfrom themid-196os. OdeonandPhilips
havealso reissuedlandmark, butlesser-known, recordings fromtheearly
bossanovaexplosion. AndtheBrazilian labelDubashas reissued keyearly
bossanovaclassics.
In 2001, saxplayer Ze Nogueira andcomposer andarranger M~rioAdnet
initiateda MoacirSantosrevival. Theirproduction ofOuroNegro, a two-CD
setincluding thecompositions from theCoisasalbumandseveralotherSan-
toscompositions, withguestappearances bystarslikeDjavanandGilberto
Gil,exposedmany fansofBrazilianmusic toSantos'workforthefirst time.44
In thewakeofOuroNegro's success,Santosreturned fromLos Angelesto
Brazil,and Coisasitself wasreissued.Younger artists,likeharmonica player
GabrielGrossi, havesincerecorded ambitious
Santos'[s] As a
compositions.
result,Santos--whodied in August2006--hasnow moved out ofthe back-
groundintotheforeground
ofa generalunderstanding
ofsamba-jazz
inthe
1960sand beyond.45
A facsimileeditionofthecomplete runoftheRevista da MlisicaPopular
in 2007byFunarte andBem-te-vi EditoradidmuchthesameforBrazilian
musicjournalism.A magazine thatwasavailable
onlyina handful oflibraries
andcollectionsfordecadesis nowrelativelyeasyto consult.Itspagesofjazz
reviewsanddebatesaboutthehistory ofthebluesrevealhowpresent these
topicswerein themindsofthemostassiduousclientele ofCopacabana's
nightclubsin theyearsjustbeforethebossanovaboom,and showsthata
reverencefortradition couldeasilycoexistwithan enthusiasm forinnova-
tionandtransnational hybridity.46
Thesearenotantiquarian concerns.DurvalFerreira cameoutofretire-
mentto makehisfirst albumas a leaderin decadesin 2004.Whilemostof
theselectionson BatidaDiferente
arefromthe1960s, Ferreiraand his guests,
includingLeny Andrade singingthe titletrack,bringfreshreadingsto the
material,emergingwitha cutting-edge recording.Ferreira's
returnto promi-

44 Luso-Brazilian
Review44:2
nenceisparticularly poignant givenhisdeathinJune2oo6-musicalfashion

camearoundjustintimetoprompt himintocreating oneofthegreatworks
ofthedecade.47 Ferreira'sformer partner MauricioEinhorn hasalsorecently
recorded as a leaderforthefirst timesincethe198os.Similarly, in 20oo6J.T.
Meirelles launcheda CD entitled Sambajazz! thatrevives and extendsthe
experimental hybrids hehelpedpioneerforty yearsearlier.48
Perhapsmostinventive in pushingthismatrix in a newdirection, how-
ever,hasbeenFlivioChamis,a composer whohadno connection totheini-
tialbossanovawave.Chamisis an arranger andassistant conductor forthe
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and thusobviously brings a vasttheoretical
sophistication tohiswork.Andindeed,thecompositions onhis2006 CD Es-
peciariashowgreatcompositional verveandmastery, often moving through
multiple and
keys challenging harmonies. Like the best bossa nova, however,
themelodiesarebuoyant andcatchy, andtherhythm seductive. Participation
by the renowned singerJoyce helps to anchor the venture in thebossanova
field.One ofthemostintriguing compositions on theCD, however, remains
difficultto classify. "Tristan Blues"usesthemusicofRichard Wagner as the
basisforanintrepid of
explorationblues-jazz tonalities. Wagner's operaTris-
tanundIsolde,debutedin 1865,marksa watershed in theuseofthetritone
to createproductive dissonance. Thefirst chordoftheoperaconsists ofthe
notesF,B,D#andG#.Theinterval between F andB is an augmented fourth,
ora flatted fifth, ora tritone. Musicologistshave debated the nature and sig-
nificance ofthischordat greatlength, butthankfully itis notnecessary to
understand thosedebatestohaveatleasta tentative grasp of the way Chamis
usesthechord.Ifplacedina singleoctave, thenotesoftheTristan chordcan
be understood as a partial in
bluesscale F,giving the
us root, theminor third,
theflatted fifth andthedominant seventh (morelikelyto be written F,Ab,
B,Eb). Thus,therootandthethreediminished notes-theheartandsoulof
thebluesscale.
Chamisusesthesenotestolauncha riveting exploration oftheharmonic
possibilities of the Tristan but
chord, usingjazz instrumentation andtonal-
ities-themelodyis playedbyHendrikMeurkens on harmonica. In some
ways, this is far from bossa-blues. The rhythm is not bossa nova, and there
is no improvisation-Meurkens offers a heartrending buthighly faithful in-
terpretation of Chamis' score. In another sense,however, Chamis' "Tristan
Blues"markstheretaking andfulfillment oftheexploratory promiseofthe
early196Os. Musicians likeS6rgioMendesandMauricioEinhorn cametothe
tritone primarily through their for
passion jazz-blues. Musicians likeTom
Jobim andCarlosLyracametoitprimarily their
through familiarity withthe
Westerncanon.Thosetendenciesconverged,and informedsomeofthemost
enduringworksof theearlybossa nova boom. Now theyconvergeagain in

McCann 45
Chamis'work, propelling theworkofoneofthemostexciting Brazilian

com-
posers to come along indecades.49
Thesemultiple reissues,rediscoveries
and newenterprises havemade
bossanovahipagain.Theyare,ofcourse,onlypartofthestory-hipness, at
leastinregardtomediacachet, hasbeenguaranteed morebythetechno-bossa
stylingsofbandslikeBossaCucaNova andofBebelGilberto thanbythebrief
returnof DurvalFerreira. Moreseriously, the
perhaps, under-recognized
bluesinfluence in bossanovais also onlypartofthestory. Bossanovawas
so harmonically and stylistically
inventivethatto pinitssuccesson a sin-
evensomething
glecharacteristic, as fundamentalas JoaoGilberto's
batida,
wouldbe to misstherichness ofthegenre.Buttherecanbe no doubtthat
within thisrichness,thebluessoundsthatservedtogroundandorient some
ofthefinest musicians andmostintrepid composers on thescenedeserve,
atlonglast,theirdue.In thelate1950sandearly196os,Rio'smusicians took
a blueswalk,and mostfansoutsideCopacabanadidn'tknowit,andmany
whodidknowlaterforgot. Uncovering therecordofthatadventure a half-
century laternotonlyhelpsto revealthemethods andpassionsofthesome
ofbossanova'searliest butthegrowth,
practitioners, evolution
andrevival of
thegenreinsubsequent decades.
Notes
1. On Africaninfluence in theblues,see Kubik.O'n African influencein samba

andotherBrazilian see
genres, Fryer.
mayfindthisexplanation
2. Musicologists painfully Thenature
oversimplified.
ofthe"bluenote"theprecision ofpitchand theimportance ofmicrotonal shad-
ing withintheblues scale,the of
relationship theblues scaleto thepentatonic scale,
and theexistence ofAfrican sourcesforthebluesscaleareall matters ofserious
scholarlydebate.Nonetheless, musicians
practicing andmusicmethodbooksagree
thatthesearethenotesin thebluesscale,andthatfurther subtleties
arebestleftto
be workedoutin theheatofthejam sessionor thecool ofthelibrary. Thisbasic
understanding ofthebluesscaleis sufficienttounderstand theusesBrazilian musi-
ciansmadeofthebluesin theinitialbossaexplosion. Fortheoreticaldebates,see
Kubik.
3. Usageoftheterm"bluenote"isinconsistent, andagain,musicologists debateits
butthisis themostcommonly
significance, accepted usage.
debateregarding
4. Musicological thetritoneanditsputative diabolicalaffinities
is evenmoreextensive thanthatregarding thetritone.Again,thiscapsuledefinition
presentsthemostcommonly acceptedusage.Forfurther seetheentry
analysis, for

46 Review44:2
Luso-Brazilian
"Tritone"
in Stanley
SadieandJohnTyrrell,
TheNewGrove ofMusicand
Dictionary
Musicians
(NewYork:
Oxford Press,
University 2oo3).
5. On thebaiaoanditstonalproperties,
seeCamaraCascudo.
6. AndreLuis Scarabelot, brasileira
"Mfisica e jazz: o outrolado da hist6ria,"
RevistaDigitalArt&,3:3,April2005,accessedat http://www.revista.art.br/site-
numero-o3/trabalhos/o7.htm
ofLoro-
7. See http://loronix.blogspot.com/2oo7_o7_o8_archive.html,
posting
nix,28 June2007.
8. See,forexample, LeoGandelman's recent onLeoGandelman,
recording, Rada-
mese o sax,BiscoitoFino,2007.
9. Forfurther analysisofRadamesGnattali's approachtosaxophone,seePinto.
lo. For information on RomeuSilva'stravels,see DaniellaThompson, "The
Globetrotting Romeu Silva," accessed at http://daniellathompson.com/Texts/
Investigations/Romeu_Silva.htm on herauthoritativewebsiteon Brazilianmusic,
MusicaBrasiliensis.
11.Pittman, 139.OpheliaPittman's memoir includesabundantmaterial
ostensibly
writtenin thevoiceofherdeceasedhusbandBooker, muchofitexcerpted directly
fromletters and otherscrapsleftbyBookerPittman. becausesomeofthis
Partly
materialhasbeenparaphrased, andmostly becauseBookerPittman'sownmemories
oftheyearsbetween and
1940 1956 were understandablyhazy,this
cannotbe consid-
eredperfectlyreliable.
12. ColepFoRevistada MasicaPopular, Facsimile (RiodeJaneiro:
Edition, Funarte,
Bem-te-viEditora,2006).
13. Unidentified "O muitovivoMr.BookerPitman"(sic),Revistada
Author,
MtisicaPopular,1:5,Fevereiro,1959,38-39. The articlewas likelywrittenby S6rgio
Porto.
14. ummuisico
Rangel,"BookerPittman, de jazz,"Senhor,
Julho,1959,re-
Lticio LacioRangel:samba,jazz & outrasnotas(Rio de Ja-
producedin SergioAugusto,
neiro:EditoraAgir,2007) 199-205.
andDickFarney,
15. BookerPittman JamSessiondasFolhas,RGE1961.
16. http://daniellathompson.com/Texts/Reviews/Bon_Gourmet.htm
andElianaPittman,
17. BookerPittman NewsFromBrazil,Odeon,1963.
18. BookerPittmanand ElianaPittman,
Eliana e BookerPittman,
Mocambo,
date unknown.Accessedat http://loronix.blogspot.com/2oo6/12/eliana-e-booker
pittman-eliana-e.html
19. Bud Shankand LaurindoAlmeida,Brazilliance,Blue Note,1953.
20. Castro,31-45.
21. Moacir Santos,Coisas,Forma,1965.
Sax inHi-Fi,Masterpiece,
22. MoacyrSilva,akaBob Fleming, 1958,andMoacyr
Silva,akaBobFleming, BobFleming,
Musidisc,
1961.
Audio Fidelity,
23. Bossa Tres,Os Bossa Tr&s, 1963
24. Os Cobras,Os Cobraso LP,RCA,1964.
25. Ed Lincoln,A Voltade Ed Lincoln,Musidisc,1964.
26. CannonballAdderley,Cannonball'sBossa Nova,Blue Note,1963.
27. LenyAndrade, LenyAndrade, RCA,1963.

McCann 47
28. LenyAndrade,EstamosAi,Odeon, 1963.

29. ElzaSoares,BossaNegra,
Odeon,1961.
30. SambalangoTrio,SambalanqoTrio,Som Maior,1965.
31. FordetailsontheCPC,seeBarcelos.
32. LenyAndrade, A ArteMaiordeLenyAndrade, RCA,1963.
33. BossaJazz Bossa
Trio, Jazz Trio,Som Maior, 1965.
34. LuizRobertoOliveira, interview withCarlosLyra,1996,Clubedo Tomweb-
site,accessedathttp://www.jobim.com.br/clyra/lyra3.html
35. Oliveira, withCarlosLyra,Clubedo Tom.Indeed,"Vocee eu" and
interview
"Discussdo"havestrikinglysimilar ofrepeating
patterns melodiccells.
36. Oliveira, withCarlosLyra,Clubedo Tom.
interview
37. HdlioDelmiro, Compassos, Deckdisc, 2004.
38. See,forexample,FreddieHubbard's rendition of"Pensativa"
onArtBlakey,
Free
ForAll,BlueNote,1964,andJ.T. Meirellese Os Copa5,O NovoSom,Elenco1965.
39. Fordetailson Silver's
earlylifeandhisvoyagetoBrazil,seeSilver.
40. Horace Silver,SongForMyFather,Blue Note,1965.
41. JazzTimes,March2007,"Before andAfter" blindfold
testwithTootsThiele-
mans,administered byLarry Appelbaum. Itisworth thatThielemans
noting recalled
thisremark to a recording
whilelistening ofStevieWonderplaying a medleyofthe
Viniciusde Moraes/Baden Powell"afro-sambas""Berimbau" and"Consolacdo."One
might wellconsiderthe"afro-sambas,"
basedalmostentirelyonminorseventh chords
thatinvite
improvisationaluseofthebluesscale,a particularly
strongmanifestations
ofthebossa-bluessensibility.
42. http://loronix.blogspot.com/, http://
http://www.abracadabra-br.blogspot.com/,
www.sabadabada.com/.
43. Dionisioe Seu Quinteto,Romanceno TexasBar,Internacional, 1958.Forin-
formation see http://loronix.blogspot.com/20o7_o7_15_archive.html,
postingof 16
July2007.
44. MoacirSantos,OuroNegro,2001.
45. MarcoPereira
andGabrielGrossi,
Afinidade,BiscoitoFino,2005.
46. ColeqdoRevistada MasicaPopular,FacsimileEdition,(Rio de Janeiro:
Fu-
narte,Bem-te-viEditora,2006).
47. DurvalFerreira,
BatidaDiferente,
Guanabara,2004.
48. MauricioEinhorn,Conversa deAmigos, Delira,2005andJ.T.Meirelles
e Os
Copa 5,Samba]azz!,Universal,
2005.
49. FlavioChamis, Biscoito
Especiaria, Fino,2006.
ofCitedRecordings
Discography
Cannonball.
Adderley, Cannonball's
BossaNova,BlueNote,1963.
Andrade,
Leny.LenyAndrade.RCA,1963.
Leny.A ArteMaiordeLenyAndrade,
Andrade, RCA,1964.

48 Review44:2
Luso-Brazilian
Andrade, Leny.Estamos AL.Odeon,1965.

Art.
Blakey, Free ForAll.
BlueNote,1964.
BossaTres,OsBossaTres, AudioFidelity,
1963.
Cardosode Menezes,Carolina.Tapete Mdgico. Odeon,1958.
Cobras,Os. Os Cobraso LP.RCA,1964.
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Blues and Samba: Another Side of Bossa Nova History

Author(s): Bryan McCann

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Bluesand Samba:AnAlternative ofBossaNova

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Gimbelmight havemadeus situp andtakenoticehadhewritten "blues

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ofthemajorscaleall comedownonehalf-step in thebluesscale(although

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Theflatted fifthwasbyno meansunknown inBrazil-itis foundfrequently

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style, particularlyhisrenditions ofthemusicofJobim andViniciusde Mo-

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SandovalDias.Gnattali,whoalways prizedcomposition aboveimprovisation

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on Rio scene,andhiscompositions incorporated a strong jazz bluesinflu-

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pliedhistradeas an architect. Portiareturned toTuskegee in thelate192os,

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Rangel's cohort, particularlyhisnephewSergioPortoandthewealthy so-

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theadventurous confidence ofStanGetz,Cannonball Adderley andHerbie

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theyoungjazz-oriented crowd.RuyCastro's Chegade Saudadecaptures the

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uncredited. Intheearly196os,hebegantogainmoreattention as anarranger.

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zilian,includesbotholdersambastandards "I LuxoS6,"Lupi-

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ThiswouldsoonbecomeAndrade's trademark, andthecompositions of

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nova,presents theoretically sophisticated chordchanges inan accessible and

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wrote "MariaMoita'Jobim composed a similar tune.Like"MariaMoita,"

The OtherSide ofthe Coin

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printed in smallquantities, barelydistributedbeyondCopacabana,notad-

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nenceisparticularly poignant givenhisdeathinJune2oo6-musicalfashion

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Chamis'work, propelling theworkofoneofthemostexciting Brazilian

1. On Africaninfluence in theblues,see Kubik.O'n African influencein samba

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28. LenyAndrade,EstamosAi,Odeon, 1963.

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Andrade, Leny.Estamos AL.Odeon,1965.

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