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What would the world be like without bossa nova playing at night? Brazil has a huge culture which has given us bossa nova, samba, MBP (Musica Popular Brasileira) and much more. I love listening to the bossa nova cd's that I've found - from the early bossa nova music by Brazil's musical masters to the modern takes on this passionate music.


The Bossa Nova Exciting Jazz Samba Rhythms Volume 4 has a hot babe to go with great Brazilian rhythms. Bach in Brazil is a cool one! The mix of Bach's classical compositions with Brazilian rhythms makes for a fun disc to listen to. Putumayo's Acoustic Brazil has slower rhythms than the previous Brazilian cd's here. According to their website, "Acoustic Brazil focuses on the more delicate Brazilian music that comes to life in the aftermath of the party."

Putumayo's Samba Bossa Nova is an impressive collection! The more I hear bossa nova, the more I like it. Bossa nova has its roots in samba and jazz but the end result is something totally new. Brasileiro is an excellent mix of samba, bossa nova and musica popular brasileira. Unforgettable songs. Cafe Brasil 2 is a compilation of Brazilian choro music. I'd never heard of choro before and am lucky this was tucked in an Ebay auction that I won. Acoustic rhythm for a desert island!

Brazilian Lounge is Putumayo's latest Brazilian compilation. The back of the cd has this to say - "Seductive Brazilian melodies and subtle electronica mix on this collection of contemporary chill-out rhythms." Passionate and relaxing. The soundtrack to the 1959 film, Black Orpheus, was the first time anyone heard bossa nova. According to the cd booklet, "Its composers, Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, along with the singer, Joao Gilberto, were the creators of bossa nova, and became the most popular musicians from Brazil when the bossa nova wave inundated American popular music." Just as Saturday Night Fever introduced us to disco, Black Orpheus brought us bossa nova. The next cd, Getz/Gilberto, took bossa nova to new heights. Released in 1964, it features the timeless bossa nova classic, "The Girl From Ipanema". Jobim also played a major role in Getz/Gilberto.

Luaka Bop is David Byrne's world music label. Like Putumayo, the cd's come with booklets full of information and perspective on the music. Here are Brazil Classics 1-3. Beleza Tropical, the first in the series, is a compilation of MPB. Next is Samba and finally Forro. Forro is a form of music from Brazil's northeast and according to the cd booklet, is a "mixture of ska and polka with overdrive!"

Beleza Tropical 2 continues where Brazil Classics 1 - Beleza Tropical left off. The Girl From Ipanema - The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook is a collection of songs by Jobim. Some are performed by Jobim and some by other bossa nova and jazz musicians. The artwork has that colorful bossa nova look to it. Brazilian Byrd, by American jazz musician Charlie Byrd, is a 30 minute tribute to bossa nova. The cd has the same songs from the original 1965 release plus one bonus alternate take of the song Engano.

Part of a series of cd's dedicated to fighting AIDS, Red Hot Rio is a collection of modern takes on Brazilian music. The booklet discusses Brazilian music and safe sex and mentions that thanks to this series of cd's, millions of dollars have been donated to AIDS organizations around the world. George Michael, Sting (who does a song with Jobim) and David Byrne each sing a song on Red Hot Rio. Compact Jazz - Stan Getz is a collection of 12 songs by American jazz tenor saxophonist Stan Getz. Nine of the twelve songs are classic bossa nova tunes and three are jazz. Joao and Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Charlie Byrd, Luiz Bonfa and Chick Corea all contribute. The music was recorded from 1962 to 1967 and finishes off with a live version of The Girl From Ipanema performed at Carnegie Hall in 1964.

Nu Bossa is a two disc compilation of nu bossa - a mix of downbeat electronic music and bossa nova. There are some songs that any bossa nova fan will recognize and some that are new to my ears. A great choice for a midnight chillout.


We bought these cd's on our 2007 trip to South America. We saw Trio Melero, Miguez, Iovino at the Notorious Club in Buenos Aires. A bossa nova performance we'll never forget. Notorious is the premier jazz and world music club of Buenos Aires. A classy atmosphere, a bottle of Argentinian wine and smooth sounds. We bought the cd after the show. Same goes for Adriana Rios - she was just as impressive. We went to Notorious four times during our month in Buenos Aires. These two bossa nova shows, a piano jazz show and a saxophone jazz show. We also saw a freestyle jazz show at a Palermo hotel and some Argentinian rock at a San Telmo bar.

I saw the Universal Brasil cd at a music store near Hostel Sol for $1. When I got back to the hostel, I realized the cd was part of a series. I bought 20 more for $1-$3 a piece! All of the biggest names of Brazilian music are covered. I found the Bahia 98 cd in Salta, Argentina. Bahia is a state in northeastern Brazil and the music sounds like carnaval - a dance party.


Our six month trip to South America - including two weeks in Rio and a trip to the Iguazu Falls in the north - got us hooked on Brazilian music. We both wanted more music! Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso and Astrud Gilberto are among the greatest musicians and singers in the world. We bought these cd's in Eilat between late 2007 and the summer of 2008. We don't go a day without Brazilian music.


We bought these two cd's while in Amman, Jordan in June 2008. They cost about $1 each and are great collections of Brazilian music. We didn't go to Jordan to buy Brazilian music! But we bought about 18 cd's of Arab music so these two rounded our music shopping in Amman to 20.


From the same series as the above Astrud For Lovers. This cd has different versions of well known Bossa Nova songs. I appreciate that the booklet has info on each song - when and where it was recorded.


I found Stan Getz - Ballads & Bossa Nova in Orlando in 2008. Its a mix of Bossa Nova and other material. I've no idea what and where the other songs are from as there are no liner notes, but I'll keep looking! Even if I don't know much about the songs that aren't Bossa Nova, this short but sweet cd was a great find! The more I listen to Stan Getz, the more I appreciate his genius.

World Music Forever was created by Kenny Sahr. Be sure to visit Sixties Collection and my personal site.