chega de saudade

João Gilberto defined the new style samba with this luxurious expression of profound longing.   Born in 1931 in Juazeiro, Bahia in  in the northeastern Brazil, Gilberto was given his first guitar at the age of fourteen by his grandfather.  He led a group in high school that was influenced by swing jazz, opera, and Brazilian pop.  He moved to the city of Salvador where radio performances led to an invitation for his to join the vocal group Garotos da Lua (Moon Boys) in Rio de Janeiro.  The group kicked him out after a year because he would often skip practices or turn up late.  He is featured on two singles released by the group on the Todamerica lable in 1951:   Quando Você Recordar/Amar é Bom  and  Anjo Cruel/ Sem Ela.  

He released a single under his own name the next year (Quando Ela Sai/Meia Luz on the Copacabana label) only to spend the next several years drifting with no fixed address, staying with friends, and falling prey to chronic depression.  Singer Luiz Telles took him to Porto Alegre in southern Brazil where he regained his confidence.  It was while staying with his sister in Diamantina in the state of Minas Gerai that he developed a new style of singing and playing that transformed traditional samba into something more intimate and melodic.  Around this time, his father had him committed to a mental institution due to concern over his lifestyle and strange manner of singing.  He was released after a week.  

Returning to Rio de Janeiro, Gilberto reconnected with Antonio Carlos Jobim, who was impressed with Gilberto's 'bossa nova' and helped him get signed to Odeon Records.  Jobim produced two singles (Chega de Saudade/Bim Bom  and   Desafinado/Hô-bá-lá-lá) for Gilberto in 1958 before recording his debut album 'Chega de Saudade' the next year.  The sessions featured João Gilberto on vocals and guitar;  Copinha on flute;  Milton Banana on drums;  Rubens Bassini on percussion;  Edmundo Maciel on trombone;  choir by Garotos da Lua;  and  arrangements and piano by Antonio Carlos Jobim.  


'Chega de Saudade' creates a suite of smooth samba grooves as the songs segue into one another seemlessly creating an emotional experience in which you can get lost.  And that's a good thing.  








http://joaogilberto.org/







'Chega de Saudade'
full album: 

https://myspace.com/therealjoaogilberto/music/album/chega-de-saudade-18029999

http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Chega+De+Saudade/3716799

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQC4Ye7hr9Y


side one
00:00 "Chega de Saudade" Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinicius de Moraes 
01:59 "Lobo Bobo" Carlos Lyra / Ronaldo Bôscoli 
03:17 "Brigas, Nunca Mais" Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinicius de Moraes 
05:22 "Hô-bá-lá-lá" João Gilberto 
07:38 "Saudade Fez um Samba" Carlos Lyra / Ronaldo Bôscoli 
09:21 "Maria Ninguém" Carlos Lyra 

side two
11:46 "Desafinado" Newton Mendonça / Antonio Carlos Jobim 
13:47 "Rosa Morena" Dorival Caymmi 
15:52 "Morena Boca de Ouro" Ary Barroso 
17:52 "Bim Bom" João Gilberto 
19:08 "Aos Pés da Cruz" Marino Pinto / Zé da Zilda 
20:40 "É Luxo Só" Ary Barroso / Luiz Peixoto