Here are some of the key dates in the life of Brazilian singer-guitarist Joao Gilberto, the bossa nova pioneer who helped put his country on the world’s music map.
He has died at age 88, his son said Saturday.
– June 10, 1931: Joao Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira was born in Juazeiro, Bahia state. At 19, he first recorded in Rio with a small band, “Garotos da Lua.”
– 1957: Gilberto made a name for himself playing guitar on Elizeth Cardoso’s “Cancao do Amor Demais,” composed by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.
– Summer 1958: “Saudade” (nostalgia) invaded the waves, as his 33 rpm “Chega de Saudade” kicked off his career and bossa nova (“new trend”), the syncopated rhythms of samba mixed with cool jazz.
– 1962-1979: After two albums with Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, Gilberto moved to New York, with an interlude of two years in Mexico that included collaboration with Jobim and jazzmen like Stan Getz.
– Autumn 1964: A concert at Carnegie Hall in New York is a huge success. It came after the album Getz/Gilberto, which popularized bossa nova around the world, and the concert featured his then-wife Astrud Gilberto (who would leave him for Getz.) Frank Sinatra would add “Girl from Ipanema” to his repertoire.
– End of 1979: Gilberto returned to Rio, recorded the album “Brasil” with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethania. He performed on world tours until the beginning of the 2010s.
– 2001: Gilberto won a Grammy for best artist in the world music category, for his album “Joao: Voz e Violao.”
– 2008: Final public appearance on stage, in Salvador de Bahia
Source: Agence France-Presse
