Bossa nova, a genre birthed by samba and jazz together, is one of the many musical genres that familiarized the world to Latin music. It also emphasized the South American culture to foreigners.
João Gilberto is known as the “father of Bossa Nova” for inventing the genre. It took place mostly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s capital, where he would compose and release bossa nova albums.
The bossa nova album “Getz/Gilberto,” created in 1964, was a hit worldwide and shaped the genre’s reputation. The album is a collaboration between Gilberto and Stan Getz, an American saxophonist with a deep love for bossa nova. “The Girl from Ipanema,” the most popular bossa nova song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim, was made with the help of features by Gilberto’s wife, Astrud. The album created a bridge between American listeners and the Brazilian side of Latin music.
