Bossa Nova and the Rise of Brazilian Music in the 1960s

Out of the literally hundreds of CDs devoted to the history of bossa nova, this is quite possibly the most informative and entertaining. By no means comprehensive (important artists missing include Luiz Bonfa, Astrud Gilberto and Laurindo Almeida), these 34 tracks assume the listener already knows in a general sense what bossa nova was. What makes it different is that Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960s does an excellent job of putting the music into a historical, social and political context: the music was not just about lolling about on Ipanema beach, but about Brazil's mid-century headlong plunge into the modern urban world from the stifling rural poverty that had previously defined the country. The liner notes by compiler Gilles Peterson (a well-respected British radio personality with a deep understanding of the birth and maturation of bossa nova) do a fine job of sketching out both the liberal political mindset that gave birth to this optimistic musical style and the darker aftermath of the right-wing 1964 military coup that made bossa nova artists begin couching their political messages in more coded language. But crucially, this is 90 minutes' worth of utterly spellbinding music that makes plain how adaptable and emotionally varied the style was. Anyone looking for a place to go after exploring the Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto catalogues should start here.