1959: Frankie Would Say, “IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR!”

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NOVA BOSSA: Red Hot On Verve
by Assorted Artists
released: 1996
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If you have read my review for the album [link> 'Bossa Nova For Lovers' then you know that I’ve only just recently discovered that I’ve been in love with Bossa Nova for pretty much my entire life without ever knowing it. (And if you haven’t read that review, I’d like to know why not! I mean, if you’re not hanging on my every word, then I’m just going to stop nailing them up there. ;o)
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I purchased two Bossa Nova collections as soon as I realized that “Bossa Nova” was the name of the musical genre that my heart has been carrying around for the past 43 years. (I do catch on, but slowly.) I acquired the aforementioned set because I’m a real “lover” -- yeah, bring it on ladies! (But I’m a “fighter”, too, so watch yer step, dude!) And I simultaneously bought “NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE”, and danged if I can tell ya which one I like best, because they’re both Boss! I might prefer this collection overall, only by the slimmest margin, but “For Lovers” includes Astrud Gilberto’s “The Shadow Of Your Smile”, and without that song in my collection, my smile would be turned upside down. :o(
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I found John Carlin’s liner notes included with this compact disc to be very informative, so I’m copying them below:
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“Brazilian music is American music. It comes from the same multicultural fusion that spawned blues, jazz, salsa, reggae and rock. In Brazil it is called samba. Samba fused three sounds that thrived in Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 19th century: West African polyrhythms, Portuguese melodies, and Native American chants. [*By chants were you aware that I’m part Mohawk Indian? I want 40 acres of land and a jackass! Oh wait, I’M the jackass.*]
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"This potent combination was turned into a classic myth by the poet Vinicius de Moraes, whose play [link> “Black Orpheus” brought Afrocentric Brazilian culture and samba to international attention. In the well-known film version, Orpheus dies for love, but his artistic spirit lives on in a young boy who picks up Orpheus’ guitar and plays his song to make the sun rise. The beauty of the music makes the film’s heavy-handed theme credible. Orpheus’ song, “A Felicidade”, composed by a young Antonio Carlos Jobim, comes out of samba culture while effortlessly introducing something new and even more beautiful to the world. That sound later became known as bossa nova, the new wave. It was created by Jobim and de Moraes along with the great singer/guitarist Joao Gilberto. Inspired by samba, along with the sophistication of Debussy and Cole Porter, Jobim began writing simple, beautiful songs that suggested, but were never burdened by their eccentric harmonies, asymmetrical structures and abstract thoughts.
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“Within a few years, American jazz musicians like Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz began to sample these new exotic songs. By 1962, Jobim’s “The Girl From Ipanema” performed by Getz with Joao Gilberto and his wife Astrud, on the Verve label, became the biggest hit in the U.S., the year before the Beatles arrived. [*According to my Billboard book, it was '64.*] The success of the song and the bossa beat created a pop formula capitalized upon by Astrud, Sergio Mendes, Walter Wanderley and others throughout the mid-Sixties. At the same time, Jobim and Gilberto – as well as musicians like the Tamba Trio, Edu Lobo, Baden Powell and Marcos Valle – continued to refine bossa and samba into one of the finest means of expression in the world of pop music.
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“By the late ‘60s, a new generation of artists began to emerge in Brazil from the Afrocentric northeastern state of Bahia. Led by Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, they merged bossa with rock by adding more aggressive beats and avoiding romantic lyrics. This new movement, called tropicalismo, demonstrated the continued vitality of Brazilian music and that samba, like the blues, grew from the multicultural character of the Americas to become one of the great art forms of the 20th century.”
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~ John Carlin
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I saw the movie “BLACK ORPHEUS” in the late ‘80s because I tremendously enjoyed Vince Guaraldi’s song “Cast Your Fate To The Wind”, which I knew had first appeared on his album titled, “Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus.” I don’t recall being much impressed with the movie back then, but seeing it a second time is suddenly a priority for me. (“NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE” begins with Jobim’s “A Felicidade” taken directly from the 1959 “BLACK ORPHEUS” soundtrack. I feel it’s spoiled a bit by the voices and various other audio portions of the film’s soundtrack, but historically, it’s still the perfect opening for a Bossa Nova set. And I can’t tell you how cool I think it is that Bossa Nova was introduced to the world at large in the same year that I entered into it.)
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The so-called “Interludes” on this set are merely 15-30 second snippets of drums, ocean and street sounds, etc. I’m not sure what their purpose is, and I could have done without them, thank you very much. But they don’t diminish my listening pleasure because the tunes are simply Mmmm-Mmmm Good! I swear, I love Bossa Nova. My only wish is that some of the tracks were extended: it seems that no sooner has a particular rhythm and melody enveloped me and begun carving grooves into my heart and soul than it comes to an end and we’re off to the next delicious slice of Bossa Nova. Oh well, “Leave ‘em wanting more” is the old entertainment maxim.
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I dig every song on “NOVA BOSSA: RED HOT ON VERVE”, although Caetano Veloso’s “Superbacana” is pretty goofy. Why do I see The Brady Bunch in my mind when that one plays? No, seriously, why? But this is a funky Fun Fiesta; less Saudade than the 'Bossa Nova For Lovers' disc, which is perfectly fine with me because now I have a Bossa Nova concert for both moods. If you too have a heart for Bossa Nova, I can guarantee your satisfaction with this first-class set.
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And speaking of the heart, always remember what that great Brazilian pianist Yoey O’Dogherty once said to a group of budding Bossa Nova musicians in 1963: “Listen with your heart, speak with your fingers, and love with your -- HEY! Who took my beer?”
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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SHORT ON STORY; LONG ON STYLE AND PERCUSSION

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BLACK ORPHEUS
directed by Marcel Camus
released: 1959
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I had seen BLACK ORPHEUS in the late 1980s and remembered being underwhelmed, but I procured a copy from my library to see it again as I’ve just discovered that I’ve been in love with Bossa-Nova music most of my life. (A long story and not worth retelling.) But my impression of the film remains mostly unchanged.
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BLACK ORPHEUS is of course based upon the Greek myth in which Orpheus -- the offspring of the god Apollo and Calliope -- is able to tame beasts and alter nature with his music, but is unable to save his true love. In this movie, the “beasts” are represented by roosters, goats, kittens, song birds, and puppy dogs (they ALL taste like chicken), and the manipulation of nature is the belief among the poor children residing in the hills above Rio de Janeiro that the sound of Orpheus’ guitar and songs cause the rising of the sun.
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The story takes place in the days leading up to Rio’s famous Carnival and, thus, the sights and sounds of that festive event just explode on the screen. The cinematography is a delight, featuring imaginative camera angles, compositions and movements, and gorgeous panoramic shots above and around Rio de Janeiro. 
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I have very little desire to travel outside of the U.S. (Egypt and The Holy Land being my dream destinations), and other than a couple of misadventures South-Of-The-Border, I’ve stayed “home”. (The accommodations in a Mexican calaboose leave EVERYTHING to be desired -- another long story not worth retelling... or reliving.) But my second viewing of BLACK ORPHEUS has convinced me that an all-expenses-paid trip to Rio offered by a wealthy Brazilian woman desiring a (tired & old) kept man / love slave isn’t something I would automatically reject. Additionally, this is one of the most colorful movies I’ve ever seen; there’s enough color on the screen to turn Walt Disney from blue to green with envy in his cryogenic tube!
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Most of the acting is of the amateur variety and it’s apparent (in ANY language). BLACK ORPHEUS sports two of the more annoying female film characters in my recent memory: Mira (played by Lourdes de Oliveira) and Serafina (played by Lea Garcia). But despite the non-professional status of their performances, Breno Mello (as Orpheus) and Marpessa Dawn (as Eurydice) are watchable: Mello for his charisma and handsome looks, and Dawn for her innocent charm and exotic attractiveness (pretty features and dark skin dressed in a crisp, virginal white dress. Yikes! Put me on her dance card!)
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Orpheus’ true love, Eurydice, is pursued by a mysterious man (the personification of Death) throughout the picture, but nobody -- including Eurydice -- bothers to inquire why. (Ah, them Greek myths -- never overburdened by genuine character motivations.) And there are a few other problems: During the Carnival, it goes abruptly from morning light to the black of night while we’re in the midst of a single dance. (Man, the days are short in Rio, and when its Sun falls, it falls FAST!). And the story (what there is of it) periodically bogs down in excessive lingering over some sequences. (Say what you will about what a moral cesspool the U.S.A. has become, but when we tell stories well on the silver screen -- an increasingly uncommon occurrence in recent decades -- no country tells ‘em better.)
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The truth (according to Stephen T.) is that, really, unless the viewer is paying their admission fee to vicariously experience Rio’s Carnival and/or to enjoy the complex rhythms of the Bossa-Nova beat and the simple beauty of composer Antonio Carlos Jobim's melodic lines, there isn’t a great deal of reason to spend 107 minutes with BLACK ORPHEUS. The score, however, is the main attraction here, and the payoff is rewarding if you’re a fan of Brazil’s great music. (I myself would be willing to view this movie yet again someday, just for that.)
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I’ll add that the final scene wherein three small children begin to reprise the Orpheus / Eurydice story theme while the sun rises to illuminate them gave me a wistful, inarticulate joy -- a kind of Saudade. Their enthusiasm was infectious, making a lovely ending to a so-so movie. But, of course, we know that ultimately Enduring True Love, the “Happily Ever After”, will slip through their hands like a... well... like a myth, as it does to us all. (But I suppose that for me, living in Rio and listening to Bossa-Nova daily as a wealthy Brazilian woman’s kept man / love slave would be the next best thing.)
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GOT BOSSA-NOVA?
[link> Bossa Nova for Lovers
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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