Gilberto, João

Gilberto, João (João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira), 1931–2019, Brazilian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. With Carlos Jobim and others, he created the cool, sophisticated Brazilian popular music known as bossa nova. Mingling strains of Brazilian samba with syncopated American jazz and pop sounds, the style came to symbolize young Brazil. Gilberto's first bossa nova recording was “Chega de Saudade” (1958). The music became a runaway hit in Brazil and also was popular in the United States, where Gilberto moved in 1963. There he produced a number of hits and helped to create an American dance craze. The most famous of all bossa nova recordings is perhaps “The Girl from Ipanema” (1964, Grammy), a collaboration between Gilberto and American jazz saxaphonist Stan Getz that is sung by Gilberto's wife Astrud.

R. Castro, Bossa Nova (2003).

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