songs in the style of bossa

NylonDave · November 2017

I wonder if you are being facetious there Bones. But I can kind of hear a way of doing it, how are you hearing it ? I don't think it would be so nice with every note in the melody played in the same place, maybe a few pushes and a few notes dropped to give it space could be nice. Saying that I am hearing it as a Brazilian bossa maybe pretty slow and soft. Are you thinking of it like a Brusque Choro ? I am not sure the head is pretty enough to support even eights at a fast tempo, though no doubt there will be someone to make it sing. Django's lines definitely would work as Choro though.

I won't be doing it on guitar though, but thanks for the suggestion. I haven't really listened carefully to that track before.

And it's fun tonight to try to turn it round my sleepless head to see if it could ever be played slow and soft instead, and slow and low not watch it go but reach with arms apart so when it lands meet not mere hands but pierce a tender heart.

D.

Jazzaferri · November 2017

If you want to understand the roots of bossa check out the work of Django contemporary Oscar Aleman

Bones · November 2017

Hey ND, no seriously. I'll try it myself and if I can get set up to record it somehow I'll post. I'm just thinking a straight GJ style 'bossa' medium tempo would 'work' for sure. The bridge might be weird-ish but might switch back to a swing for that but actually now that I am thinking about it maybe some sort of legato rhythm just on the down beat of each measure or something like that for the bridge. Hmmmm, interesting project.

Quadropenta · November 2017

Search blue bossa gypsy on Youtube for Stochelo, Jimmy, Andreas and others playing the standard "Blue Bossa"

Jazzaferri · November 2017

Accckk no not Blue Bossa .....noooooooooooooo

NylonDave · November 2017

Jazzaferri wrote: »

Accckk no not Blue Bossa .....noooooooooooooo

All this prejudice, no wonder it's blue.

NylonDave · November 2017

Jazzaferri wrote: »

If you want to understand the roots of bossa check out the work of Django contemporary Oscar Aleman

Bossa Nova is a worthy worm hole to go down. I would add in addition to the great Argentinian there are also some Brazilian composers and performers to check out.

Villa Lobos, Garoto, Luiz Bonfa and Baden Powell, in that order.

There is an excellent instructional DVD by another guitarist significant in Brazil called Romero Lubambo where he explores the history of the style starting with Bonfa and explaining how the style and its rhythms evolved from Samba and incorporate elements of traditional Brazilian percussion.

A wonderful explanation of the style is contained in 'The Brazilian Guitar Book by Nelson Faria'. In addition there is The Latin Real Book by Sher Publications.

D.

Jazzaferri · November 2017

Oscar started to transition from Choro/Samba that he likely learned early on and was influenced by US jazz a la Django. The Nazi's confiscated his National steel guitar when he was leaving to go back home.

NylonDave · November 2017

Have you played any Garoto Jay ? Beautiful stuff and it so obviously bridges the gap between the classical folk influenced style of Villa Lobos and the, at the time avante garde Baden Powell.

Not sure how but his set of Mandolin variations found it's way into the Gypsy jazz fake book. That's real fun to play and in terms of melodic construction it is pretty much identical to Gypsy Waltzes. And this style is rooted in Choro, it's Bach with a bit of a chromatic twist, lovely stuff.