Brazil is a country of great diversity and for that reason of immeasurable array of rhythms, sounds and musical culture. Meanwhile, because of its long period as the country’s capital, the city of Rio de Janeiro concentrated the Brazilian musical expression and it was its synthesis and doorway internationally. Today, because of globalization, other Brazilian musical styles establish presence outside of Brazil coming from other national, cultural centers, but the roots of Bossa Nova have to do with Rio de Janeiro and with the external visibility that the city had for its time as Brazil’s window to the world.
Since the end of 19th Century, the music from Rio de Janeiro already showed creativity. The Maxixes, Polkas, and Lundus of Chiquinha Gonzaga, Ernesto Nazaré, Joaquim Antonio Callado, Manuel Aranha Correa do Lago and Antonio Jose dos Santos, notably, already were heating up the cafés, and lifting the dust of the city’s other dance clubs, when the gas lamps still lit up the streets and the discussions between Monarchists and Republicans still heated the national politics.
Afterwords, nearing the 1930’s, Choro and Samba came along, imported from Bahia. The latter progressively invaded the middle class households, barefooted, with its rhythm and melody, and through the first radio waves that reproduced the buzzing sounds of the 78 rotation plates. With lyrics that mirrored everyday life more so than other styles, the Samba integrated with the everyday of the Brazilian working class and the emotions of the urban homes. So many are the names that we render ourselves unjust when citing Donga, Noel Rosa, Ary Barroso, Lamartine Babo, Pixinguinha, Dorival Caymmi, Adoniran Barbosa, Cartola, Moreira da Silva, crossing time periods and getting to Paulinho da Viola, Martinho da Vila, and Zeca Pagodinho, because Samba has not yet died out.
Mixing with these styles there were the Modinhas, Marchinhas of Carnaval, and the Sambacancao. The last, slower and more romantic, created, in the 1940’s, Hollywoodian environments in the movies produced in the Cinedia studios. At that time, Brazilian music already made itself known internationally through the interpretations of some of its national composers via the voice of Carmen Miranda and the Bando da Lua, which in 1939 embarked temporarily for a Broadway Musical but ended up never returning home. Signing onto new contracts in the movie industry and show business, Carmen never again lived in Brazil. She passed away in 1955.
The “Bando da Lua”, formed in 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, was the first vocal and instrumental band in Brazil to harmonize, following the footsteps of American groups. They recorded various records with Carnival Marchinhas during the 1930’s (38 between 1931 and 1940) and began to accompany Carmen Miranda still in the 1930’s. Together, in the United States, they made eight movies and numerous shows. In 1944 they desintegrated, but was reformulated by Aloysio de Oliveira, four years later, by decedents of “Anjos do Inferno”, integrates by Aloysio de Oliveira (guitar and vocals) Lulu (guitar), Vadeco (vocals, and pandeiro) Nestor Amaral (guitar, banjo and vocals), Harry Vasco de Almeida (drums, flute, piston), Armando Osório (guitar) and Stenio Osório (cavaquinho). From that moment the greatest emphasis was given to the North American vocal performance and the Brazilian songs sung in English. The dissolution happened in 1955 with Carmen’s death.
Brazilian music has always been filled with “bossa” (posh). So why did Bossa Nova (new posh) make a difference? We can attribute it to its creativity, harmony and godfathers. The creativity comes from Brazilian music itself from the end of the 19th century until the mid 1950’s. Bossa Nova simply utilizes this inheritance with a new harmony and a particular rhythm. Bossa Nova’s harmony is compatible with harmony that exists in Jazz and for that reason there aren’t that many barriers to go beyond Jazz only to return to it. The godfathers were, on one end, Americans who knew Brazilian music in the movies and films of Carmen Miranda, the Bando da Lua, and others. On the other end, there were Brazilians too, who, living in the United States, foresaw the market that Bossa Nova would represent to both country’s musical future. Among them, we can say that one of the pioneer godfathers was actually Aloysio de Oliveira from the Bando da Lua.
Aloysio de Oliveira was born to a middle class family in Rio de Janeiro. He was a dentist who never practiced his profession. His passion was music. When he joined the Bando da Lua in 1929, still a teen, he knew that his future would come from Brazilian popular music. His long stay in the US (1939-1956) was not restricted to Carmen Miranda, with whom he had an affair or the direction of Bando da Lua. He worked as a narrator, and dubbed cartoon, including Hook (from Peter Pan) and Zé Carioca, who some say was created by him and Walt Disney together. He built a strong relationship with the North American business and artistic world, including company directors that became multi-national record companies. But he never stopped integrating himself and accompanying the evolution of Brazilian popular music.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1956, after Carmen Miranda’s death, he became the artistic director of international record companies such as Odeon and Philips until he founded his own record company, Elenco, in 1963, responsible for a relevant portion of the artistic production of Bossa Nova in Brazil. In 1959, he produced the record “Chega de Saudade”, by João Gilberto: the key mark of the genre. He introduced various composers and artists, such as Silvinha Teles (whom he married), Edu Lobo, Nara Leão, Nana Caymmi, and Vinicius de Morais (as a singer). Classic Bossa Nova records, such as “Vinicius & Odete Lara”, “Caymmi visits Tom”, “Vinicius & Caymmi in Zum Zum”, “Edu & Bethânia”, “Maysa (live at Au Bon Gourmet)” were all produced under his direction.
Besides his business creativity, Aloysio remained a singer, together with Aurora Miranda and Vadeco on the radio station Mayrink Veiga, still in the 1950’s, and a composer, in the 1960’s, writing renowned songs together with Tom Jobim, such as “Dindi”, “So Tinha de Ser com Você”, “Inútil Paisagem”, “Eu Preciso de Você”, among others.
Although details are unknown, Aloysio’s role, because of his contacts in the music industry and show business as well as in American recording, was fundamental to the dissemination of Bossa Nova in the US. In 1968, when Elenco was extinguished, Aloysio returned to the US, where he produced many records of Brazilian artists under Warner label.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1972, he was the musical producer of many record labels, such as Odeon, RCA, Victor and Som Livre, but he always served as the bridge connecting Brazilian artists and the US. He moved to Los Angeles, where he spent the last few years of his life until his death, at age 80, in 1995.
O Bando da Lua and Aloysio de Oliveira tell a relevant portion of the history of the rising role of Bossa Nova and Brazilian music to the US. But they do not explain which were the transmission channels of this process within the US and the progressive rooting of Bossa Nova in that country. Such is what we will try to investigate and tell you in the upcoming stories.
Since the end of 19th Century, the music from Rio de Janeiro already showed creativity. The Maxixes, Polkas, and Lundus of Chiquinha Gonzaga, Ernesto Nazaré, Joaquim Antonio Callado, Manuel Aranha Correa do Lago and Antonio Jose dos Santos, notably, already were heating up the cafés, and lifting the dust of the city’s other dance clubs, when the gas lamps still lit up the streets and the discussions between Monarchists and Republicans still heated the national politics.
Afterwords, nearing the 1930’s, Choro and Samba came along, imported from Bahia. The latter progressively invaded the middle class households, barefooted, with its rhythm and melody, and through the first radio waves that reproduced the buzzing sounds of the 78 rotation plates. With lyrics that mirrored everyday life more so than other styles, the Samba integrated with the everyday of the Brazilian working class and the emotions of the urban homes. So many are the names that we render ourselves unjust when citing Donga, Noel Rosa, Ary Barroso, Lamartine Babo, Pixinguinha, Dorival Caymmi, Adoniran Barbosa, Cartola, Moreira da Silva, crossing time periods and getting to Paulinho da Viola, Martinho da Vila, and Zeca Pagodinho, because Samba has not yet died out.
Mixing with these styles there were the Modinhas, Marchinhas of Carnaval, and the Sambacancao. The last, slower and more romantic, created, in the 1940’s, Hollywoodian environments in the movies produced in the Cinedia studios. At that time, Brazilian music already made itself known internationally through the interpretations of some of its national composers via the voice of Carmen Miranda and the Bando da Lua, which in 1939 embarked temporarily for a Broadway Musical but ended up never returning home. Signing onto new contracts in the movie industry and show business, Carmen never again lived in Brazil. She passed away in 1955.
The “Bando da Lua”, formed in 1931 in Rio de Janeiro, was the first vocal and instrumental band in Brazil to harmonize, following the footsteps of American groups. They recorded various records with Carnival Marchinhas during the 1930’s (38 between 1931 and 1940) and began to accompany Carmen Miranda still in the 1930’s. Together, in the United States, they made eight movies and numerous shows. In 1944 they desintegrated, but was reformulated by Aloysio de Oliveira, four years later, by decedents of “Anjos do Inferno”, integrates by Aloysio de Oliveira (guitar and vocals) Lulu (guitar), Vadeco (vocals, and pandeiro) Nestor Amaral (guitar, banjo and vocals), Harry Vasco de Almeida (drums, flute, piston), Armando Osório (guitar) and Stenio Osório (cavaquinho). From that moment the greatest emphasis was given to the North American vocal performance and the Brazilian songs sung in English. The dissolution happened in 1955 with Carmen’s death.
Brazilian music has always been filled with “bossa” (posh). So why did Bossa Nova (new posh) make a difference? We can attribute it to its creativity, harmony and godfathers. The creativity comes from Brazilian music itself from the end of the 19th century until the mid 1950’s. Bossa Nova simply utilizes this inheritance with a new harmony and a particular rhythm. Bossa Nova’s harmony is compatible with harmony that exists in Jazz and for that reason there aren’t that many barriers to go beyond Jazz only to return to it. The godfathers were, on one end, Americans who knew Brazilian music in the movies and films of Carmen Miranda, the Bando da Lua, and others. On the other end, there were Brazilians too, who, living in the United States, foresaw the market that Bossa Nova would represent to both country’s musical future. Among them, we can say that one of the pioneer godfathers was actually Aloysio de Oliveira from the Bando da Lua.
Aloysio de Oliveira was born to a middle class family in Rio de Janeiro. He was a dentist who never practiced his profession. His passion was music. When he joined the Bando da Lua in 1929, still a teen, he knew that his future would come from Brazilian popular music. His long stay in the US (1939-1956) was not restricted to Carmen Miranda, with whom he had an affair or the direction of Bando da Lua. He worked as a narrator, and dubbed cartoon, including Hook (from Peter Pan) and Zé Carioca, who some say was created by him and Walt Disney together. He built a strong relationship with the North American business and artistic world, including company directors that became multi-national record companies. But he never stopped integrating himself and accompanying the evolution of Brazilian popular music.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1956, after Carmen Miranda’s death, he became the artistic director of international record companies such as Odeon and Philips until he founded his own record company, Elenco, in 1963, responsible for a relevant portion of the artistic production of Bossa Nova in Brazil. In 1959, he produced the record “Chega de Saudade”, by João Gilberto: the key mark of the genre. He introduced various composers and artists, such as Silvinha Teles (whom he married), Edu Lobo, Nara Leão, Nana Caymmi, and Vinicius de Morais (as a singer). Classic Bossa Nova records, such as “Vinicius & Odete Lara”, “Caymmi visits Tom”, “Vinicius & Caymmi in Zum Zum”, “Edu & Bethânia”, “Maysa (live at Au Bon Gourmet)” were all produced under his direction.
Besides his business creativity, Aloysio remained a singer, together with Aurora Miranda and Vadeco on the radio station Mayrink Veiga, still in the 1950’s, and a composer, in the 1960’s, writing renowned songs together with Tom Jobim, such as “Dindi”, “So Tinha de Ser com Você”, “Inútil Paisagem”, “Eu Preciso de Você”, among others.
Although details are unknown, Aloysio’s role, because of his contacts in the music industry and show business as well as in American recording, was fundamental to the dissemination of Bossa Nova in the US. In 1968, when Elenco was extinguished, Aloysio returned to the US, where he produced many records of Brazilian artists under Warner label.
Upon returning to Brazil in 1972, he was the musical producer of many record labels, such as Odeon, RCA, Victor and Som Livre, but he always served as the bridge connecting Brazilian artists and the US. He moved to Los Angeles, where he spent the last few years of his life until his death, at age 80, in 1995.
O Bando da Lua and Aloysio de Oliveira tell a relevant portion of the history of the rising role of Bossa Nova and Brazilian music to the US. But they do not explain which were the transmission channels of this process within the US and the progressive rooting of Bossa Nova in that country. Such is what we will try to investigate and tell you in the upcoming stories.
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Some of the records were detailed in Aloysio de Oliveira's self-biography named “De Banda para a Lua”, published in Brazil by the Record Editor, 1983.
André Medici
