The indefatigable Alain Gerber, now in his early 80s, has written (in the space of three months apparently) an exhaustive survey of bossa nova which roams far beyond the “birth” of his title. A hundred pages take us through the origins and “the founding fathers” (Vinicius De Moraes, Jobim and Gilberto) before another 30 introduce us to “other male singers” who are mostly Brazilian, although Jon Hendricks manages to creep in there. A dozen, mostly Brazilian, female singers are then briefly evaluated before a move north takes us to New York and Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd.
Thereafter, the emphasis is on Americans rather than Brazilians. After noting the early involvement of Gillespie and Herbie Mann and others not usually associated with the “Bossa Nova Explosion” in the USA, Gerber devotes around 70 pages to the year 1962 (“Année De La Bossa Nova Craze”). Here he evaluates individual recordings by Getz (obviously) and by two dozen others ranging from Hawkins and Sims to Charlie Rouse and Ike Quebec, from Davis and Shorty Rogers to Brookmeyer and George Shearing. A few records from 1963 are then considered before 20 pages allow a thoughtful analysis of Stan Getz, as person and musician, and consideration of the significance of his relationship with bossa nova.
The book must have involved much research and includes a great deal of factual information. All is, however, brought to life by Gerber’s lively prose and subjective commentary (readers have been warned before about his extensive vocabulary…) and it would be hard to imagine a better book than this about the bossa nova and its connections with jazz – in any language!
Naissance De La Bossa Nova, by Alain Gerber. Frémeaux et Associés, pb, 308pp. ISBN 9782382608
