The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil [Paperback]

Chris McGowan (Author), Ricardo Pessanha (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 1998

At the second International Song Festival in 1967, Milton Nascimento had three songs accepted for competition. He had no intention of performing them he hated the idea of intense competition. In fact, Nascimento might never have appeared at all if Eumir Deodato hadn't threatened not to write the arrangements for his songs if he didn't perform at least two of them. Nascimento went on to win the festival's best performer award, all three of his songs were included soon afterward on his first album, and the rest is history. This is only one anecdote from "The Brazilian Sound", an encyclopedic survey of Brazilian popular music that ranges over samba, bossa nova, MPB, jazz and instrumental music and tropical rock, as well as the music of the Northeast.The authors have interviewed a wide variety of performers like Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Carlinhos Brown, and Airto Moreira, U.S. fans, like Lyle Mays, George Duke, and Paul Winter, executive Andre Midani; and music historian Zuza Homem de Mello, just to name a few. First published in 1991, "The Brazilian Sound" received enthusiastic attention both in the United States and abroad. For this new edition, the authors have expanded their examination of the historical roots of Brazilian music, added new photographs, amplified their discussion of social issues like racism, updated the maps, and added a new final chapter highlighting the most recent trends in Brazilian music. The authors have expanded their coverage of the axe music movement and included profiles of significant emerging artists like Marisa Monte, Chico Cesar, and Daniela Mercury. Clearly written and lavishly illustrated with 167 photographs, "The Brazilian Sound" is packed with facts, explanations, and fascinating stories.For the Latin music aficionado or the novice who wants to learn more, the book also provides a glossary, a bibliography, and an extensive discography containing 1,000 entries. Author note: Chris McGowan was a contributing writer and columnist for Billboard from 1984 to 1996 and pioneered that publication's coverage of Brazilian and world music in the mid-1980s. He has written about the arts and other subjects for "Musician", "The Beat", the "Hollywood Reporter", the "Los Angeles Times", "L. A Weekly", and the "Los Angeles Reader".He is the author of "Entertainment in the Cyber Zone: Exploring the Interactive Universe of Multimedia" (1995) and was a contributor to "The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture" (1996). Ricardo Pessanha has worked as a teacher, writer, editor, and management executive for CCAA, one of Brazil's leading institutes of English-language education. He has served as a consultant to foreign journalists and scholars on numerous cultural projects relating to Brazil. He has contributed articles about Brazilian music to "The Beat" and other publications.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Two new books on popular music present contrasting approaches to the diverse world of Hispanic music. Aparicio's (Spanish and American culture, Univ. of Michigan) work, aimed at an academic audience, deals with salsa and Puerto Rican culture in a feminist context. McGowan, targeting a general audience, presents a comprehensive history of popular music in Brazil. Aparicio analyzes salsa, boleros, and other popular musical forms in terms of cultural issues (race, gender, class), drawing on her own experiences, and those of typical listeners, to explore these issues. Readers may find their views on salsa altered by reading this book. A recommended choice for academic Hispanic studies collections and for music collections with a strong Hispanic emphasis. McGowan and Pessanha here update their original edition (Billboard Bks., 1991), bringing their extensive experience writing on Brazilian popular music for Billboard and other magazines to this extensive survey covering local jazz and rock as well as better-known forms. The accessible writing style and lavish use of illustrations help achieve the authors' goal of inspiring interest in this music. Updates cover recent music and musicians, provide more social analysis, and expand the discography to 1000 titles, adding much to the original edition. The best work on the topic, this is recommended for both academic and public library music collections.?James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This book, the first of its kind, is much more than a pioneering work...The Brazilian Sound is both an enthusiastic introduction for the newcomer and a thoughtful analysis for the confirmed fan." oAlan Ryan, The Beat "An informed, useful introduction to Brazilian music." oFernando Gonzalez, Boston Globe "A great panoramic description of the whole Brazilian musical scene." oAntonio Adolfo, Brazilian composer and music teacher "An excellent book." oDon Heckman, Los Angeles Times "[T]his book has been revised and expanded again to be bigger and better than the previous highly praised incarnations. Ten years on, the music is still evolving, with many new artists and hybridizations, and McGowan and Pessanha are certainly keeping up with the changes. Their book features new coverage of funk, rap, and hip-hop and profiles new samba artists as well as artists on the rise in electronic dance music and other genres. Now that the Internet has made it easier to find and explore once-exotic musical genres, people looking for information about all the kinds of music in Brazil will love this book. Lavishly illustrated with 175 black-and-white photos, 12 maps, and 12 figures, it covers the remarkable breadth of Brazilian music in a highly readable, lively manner. Highly recommended for all public libraries and world music collections, even those owning an earlier edition." Library Journal, 15th November 2008 " An excellent resource on some of the most popular music in Brazil...Clearly written and offering information valuable for understanding Brazilian music in general...Anyone interested in the evolution of Brazilian popular music and some of its most prolific artists of the past centuries will appreciate this title."CHOICE

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (February 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566395453
• ISBN-13: 978-1566395458
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,494 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, enjoyable summary of Brazilian music, November 9, 1999

By 

Mom (Mercer Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Brazilian Sound (Paperback)

An excellent book for anyone who wants to explore Brazilian music beyond the well-known classics. Helps place current and past musicians in their historical contexts; helps you understand who influenced whom, etc. The book will pay for itself just by helping you guide your ever-growing collection of Brazilian CD's (hard to stop once you get started)!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Standard Reference For Brazilian Music, February 10, 2003

By 

Evan Sanders (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil (Paperback)

The best book about Brazilian music in English, The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil is a beautifully written, in-depth guide to samba, bossa, choro, forró, maracatu, and other Brazilian genres. The 2009 edition, the book's third, upgrades an already invaluable musical resource, and adds background about popular contemporary styles like funk carioca (including its "proibidão" banned form), música sertaneja (Brazilian country music), electronic-dance music, Brazilian rap, and a wave of talented new MPB female singer-songwriters. There is a section on the music of Belém in the north (carimbó, technobrega, guitarrada), which has received scant coverage inside or outside of Brazil. And McGowan and Pessanha introduce a wide range of new stars, such as Bebel Gilberto, Lenine, Marcelo D2, Ana Carolina, Yamandú Costa, Hamilton de Holanda, Ivete Sangalo, Banda Calypso, MV Bill and Fernanda Porto, who have gained fame since the book's last version. This adds to already existing descriptions of venerable figures like Pixinguinha, Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Elis Regina, Marisa Monte, Sergio Mendes, and Hermeto Pascoal. The music is richly described, in both musical and cultural terms. One gets a vivid sense of how it sounds, and a clear understanding of its rhythmic, harmonic and melodic ingredients. "The Brazilian Sound" brings to life both the current and past greats of Brazilian music. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved The Interviews & Quotes, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil (Paperback)

"The Brazilian Sound" is a great read and very informative. I especially liked the quotes from the interviews the authors did with Brazilian musicians like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento and Carlinhos Brown, as well as Americans such as Lyle Mays and Herbie Mann who have long been associated with Brazil's music.