City Research Online

Abstract

Bossa nova is a musical language influenced by a multitude of musical traditions from different locations and time periods, most notably indigenous Brazilian styles such as samba and North American jazz, while also incorporating elements of nineteenth-century European musical Romanticism. Despite the momentous impact of bossa nova on popular music and the jazz tradition worldwide since the early 1960s, comparatively little has been written about the genre for scholars and practitioners, particularly in English. Moreover, Antônio Carlos Jobim, one of the most famous musicians associated with bossa nova, had a complex relationship with both bossa nova and jazz, which I argue has been underdiscussed in scholarship to date. In this research I also argue that a closer examination of the historical and socio-political context of bossa nova in Brazil, as well as Jobim’s relationship with the genre, will result in a more nuanced interpretation of the repertoire that develops the genre beyond the early recordings of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In my thesis I develop my own personal interpretation of the bossa nova genre and the compositions of Jobim, supported by ideas from semiotics, cultural theory and myth-making. I also examine my own positionality in relation to the genre and discuss how my interpretation is informed by my own background and professional practice as a jazz musician. My practice portfolio demonstrates many of the ideas from my thesis, as well as documenting the development of my interpretation of bossa nova and Jobim’s compositions in practice, with specific reference to the process of adapting the stylistic features of the genre for solo piano performance.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	M Music and Books on Music > M Music M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music M Music and Books on Music > MT Musical instruction and study
Departments:	Doctoral Theses

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