A self-taught guitarist and singer, Gilberto moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1950 and joined the vocal group Garotos da Lua ("The Boys of the Moon") as their lead singer. After a year and a half, he was kicked out of the group for his lack of discipline and spent the next several years in a marginal existence. Eventually, he found his way, creating a new way to express himself in voice and on the guitar. The result of his obsessive experiments became known as bossa nova.
Bossa nova is a refined version of samba, deemphasizing the percussive aspect of its rhythm and enriching the melodic and harmonic content. Rather than relying on the traditional Afro-Brazilian percussive instruments, bossa nova usually utilizes a drum set. João Gilberto often eschews all accompaniment, using only his guitar, which he uses as a percussive as well as a harmonic instrument. The singing style he developed is almost whispering, economical, and without vibrato. He creates his tempo tensions by singing ahead or behind the guitar.
This style, which Gilberto introduced in 1957, created a sensation in the musical circles of Rio's Zona Sul, and many young guitarists sought to imitate it. It was first heard on record in 1958 when João Gilberto accompanied singer Elizete Cardoso in a recording of "Chega de Saudade", a song by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Shortly after this recording, João Gilberto made his own debut single of the same song, followed by the 1959 LP, Chega de Saudade. The song became a hit, launching Gilberto's career and the bossa nova craze.
Besides a number of Jobim compositions, the album Chega de Saudade featured older sambas and popular songs from the 1940s and '50s, all performed in the distinctive bossa nova style. This album was followed by two more in 1960 and 1961, by which time the singer featured new songs by a younger generation of performer/composers such as Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.
By 1962, bossa nova had been embraced by such North American jazz musicians as Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, and Stan Getz, who invited Gilberto and Jobim to collaborate on what became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, Getz/Gilberto. Through this album, Gilberto's wife, Astrud, became an international star, and the Jobim/de Moraes composition "The Girl from Ipanema" became a worldwide pop music standard for the ages.
João Gilberto continued to perform through the 1960s but did not release another studio album until João Gilberto en México, recorded in 1970 during a period of residence in Mexico. João Gilberto, aka the "White Album" (1973), featured hypnotic minimalist execution and is widely considered to be his best album. The year 1976 saw the release of The Best of Two Worlds, a reunion with Stan Getz, featuring singer Miúcha, sister of Chico Buarque, who had become Gilberto's second wife in April 1965. Amoroso (1977) backed Gilberto with the lush string orchestration of Claus Ogerman, who had provided a similar sound to Jobim's instrumental recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As had been the case for all of Gilberto's albums, the album consisted mostly of Jobim compositions, mixed with older sambas and an occasional North American standard from the 1940s.
Having lived in the US since 1962, João Gilberto returned to Brazil in 1980. The following year saw the release of Brasil, with guests Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, who in the late 1960s had founded the Tropicalia movement, a fusion of Brazilian popular music with foreign pop. The 1991 release, João, with orchestrations by Clare Fischer, was unusual in its lack of even a single Jobim composition, instead featuring songs in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, plus old sambas and the solitary contemporary song "Sampa" (Caetano Veloso). Also released in 1991 was the album Canto Do Pajé by Veloso's sister Maria Bethânia on which Bethânia and Gilberto sing an intimate duet Maria/Linda Flor (Barroso, Peixoto, Vogler, Costa, and Pôrto) accompanied solely by his guitar. João Voz e Violão (2000) was an homage to the music of Gilberto's youth as well as a nod to producer Caetano Veloso.
Evenly interspersed with these studio recordings have been the live recordings, Live in Montreux; João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira; Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar; Live at Umbria Jazz, and Live in Tokyo.
While all of Gilberto's albums since Getz/Gilberto have been released on CD, the first three domestic albums were released in 1988 by EMI on a single CD entitled The Legendary João Gilberto: The Original Bossa Nova Recordings (1958-1961). The disc also included three tracks from the singer's 1959 Orfeu Negro EP: "Manhã de Carnaval," O Nosso Amor, and A Felicidade, the latter two merged into a single medley track to fit within the recording time of a CD. After its release, Gilberto successfully sued to have the title removed from sale as an unauthorized release of his artistic works.
João Gilberto has long had a reputation as an eccentric recluse and a nearly neurotic perfectionist. He lives in an apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, refusing all interviews and avoiding crowds. He has been known to walk out on performances in response to an audience he considers disrespectful or out of theaters possessing acoustics below his standards, and at times demands that the air conditioning be turned off at concert venues. Yet he continues to perform to sell-out crowds in Brazil as well as in Europe, North America, and Japan.
Discography:
1959 - Chega de Saudade (Odeon)
1960 - O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor (Odeon)
1961 - João Gilberto (Odeon)
1962 - The Boss of the Bossa Nova (Atlantic)
1963 - The Warm World of João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1964 - Getz/Gilberto (Verve)
1965 - Herbie Mann & João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1974 - João Gilberto en Mexico (PolyGram)
1976 - Best of Two Worlds (Columbia)
1977 - Amoroso (Warner Brothers)
1981 - Brasil (Warner Brothers)
1986 - João Gilberto Live in Montreux (WEA)
1991 - João (PolyGram)
2000 - João Voz e Violão (Universal)
2002 - Live at Umbria Jazz (Egea)
2004 - João Gilberto in Tokyo (Verve)
É Luxo Só
João Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
É luxo só
Quando todo seu corpo se embalança
É luxo só
Tem um não sei quê
Que faz a confusão
O que ela não tem meu Deus,
É compaixão
Olha, essa mulata quando dança
É luxo só
Quando todo seu corpo se embalança
É luxo só
Porém seu coração quando se agita
E palpita mais ligeiro
Nunca vi compasso tão brasileiro
Êta, samba, cai pra lá
Cai pra cá, cai pra lá, cai pra cá
Êta, samba, cai pra lá
Cai pra cá, cai pra lá, cai pra cá
Mexe com as cadeiras, mulata
Seu requebrado me maltrata
These lyrics are from João Gilberto's song É Luxo Só, which talks about a mulata (a mixed-race woman) who is a great samba dancer and has a captivating attitude. The song speaks of the woman's luxurious movements and how she can make her body sway to the rhythm of the samba. The lyrics mention how the mulata has a certain quality that confuses people, but she lacks compassion. Despite this, the song describes her beauty and how her heart beats fast while dancing with a uniquely Brazilian rhythm.
The song also depicts the mulata's hips swinging and making the singer swoon. The chorus talks about the samba and how the mulata is skilled in its movements. The lyrics encourage the mulata to keep dancing, with her hips moving, while the rhythm of the samba takes over the night.
Overall, the song celebrates the sensual and refined culture of Brazil, with a focus on the mulata's beauty and skill as a samba dancer.
Line by Line Meaning
Olha, essa mulata quando samba
This beautiful woman, when she dances samba,
É luxo só
It's just pure luxury
Quando todo seu corpo se embalança
When her entire body sways to the rhythm,
É luxo só
It's just pure luxury
Tem um não sei quê
She has a certain something,
Que faz a confusão
That confuses my mind
O que ela não tem meu Deus,
But what she doesn't have, my God,
É compaixão
Is compassion
Êta, mulata quando, ah
Oh, this beautiful woman when,
Olha, essa mulata quando dança
She dances like this,
É luxo só
It's just pure luxury
Quando todo seu corpo se embalança
When her entire body sways to the rhythm,
É luxo só
It's just pure luxury
Porém seu coração quando se agita
But when her heart starts beating faster,
E palpita mais ligeiro
And it beats more quickly,
Nunca vi compasso tão brasileiro
I've never seen such a Brazilian rhythm
Êta, samba, cai pra lá
Oh, samba, go over there
Cai pra cá, cai pra lá, cai pra cá
Swing back and forth
Êta, samba, cai pra lá
Oh, samba, go over there
Cai pra cá, cai pra lá, cai pra cá
Swing back and forth
Mexe com as cadeiras, mulata
Move those hips, beautiful woman
Seu requebrado me maltrata
Your dancing drives me crazy
Contributed by Alice S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MaGon2009
esse é o verdadeiro mito
@beneditacampos9751
Samba de verdade
@lienzoart9596
aquela paz na voz ...que só ele tinha ..
@mr.f.b9681
João Gilberto é luxo só!
@ricardoserio9862
Eu lembro da Rita Baiana do romance de Aluísio de Azevedo o cortiço!
@GjaP_242
"Que faz a confusão"
@joaoarthur6069
"Porém, seu coração quando palpita e se agita, mais ligeiro nunca vi compasso tão brasileiro"... Belíssima canção, luxo só.
@GjaP_242
GILBERTO, JOAO - O MITO
A pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s, Joao was often called "father of bossa", while in his native Brazil he was referred to as "O Mito" ("The Legend"). This compilation investigates his early career, showcasing the many sides of his sophisticated art.
Source: Shiny Beast
@pedropaulo2428
ORGULHO NACIONAL
@alexandredeoliveira8920
Luxo puro e cristalino...