It was during this underachieving bohemian period that Gilberto kept an extremely low profile. Evidently, Gilberto was such charming company that his emotional carelessness and fiscal apathy were never an issue - either that or he had extremely patient and generous friends. For years he had no fixed address, drifting from friend to friend and acquaintance to acquaintance, living off their kindness and rarely, if ever, contributing to the household expenses. After his dismissal from the group, Gilberto lived a semi-nomadic life.
Gilberto was frequently late for rehearsals and performances, and in a move reminiscent of American pop star Sly Stone, would occasionally not show up at all. He was fired after the rest of the group couldn't take any more of his lackadaisical attitude. Although he was given the opportunity to sing, instant stardom was not in the offing, but his brief appearances on the radio brought him to the attention of Antonio Maria, who wanted Gilberto to become the lead singer for the popular radio band Garotos da Lua (Boys from the Moon) and move to Rio de Janeiro. At 18, Gilberto gave up on his small town life and headed to Bahia's largest city, Salvador, to get a foothold in the music industry performing on live radio shows. During this time, Gilberto was absorbing the rhythmic subtlety of the Brazilian pop songs of the day, while also taking in the rich sounds of swing jazz (Duke Ellington and Tommy Dorsey), as well as the light opera singing of Jeanette MacDonald.
Within a year of near-constant practicing, he was the leader of a band made up of school friends. His grandfather bought him his first guitar at age 14 (much to the dismay of João's father). In his native country he was called "O Mito" (The Legend), a well-deserved nickname: Since he began recording in late '50s Gilberto, with his signature soft, near-whispering croon, set a standard few have equaled.īorn in 1931 in Juazeiro in the northeastern state of Brazil known as Bahia, Gilberto seemed obsessed with music almost from the moment he emerged from the womb. And if Jobim got credit for laying the foundation of bossa nova, then the genre was brilliantly reimagined (and, arguably, defined) by the singer/songwriter and guitarist João Gilberto. However, as is often the case, others come along and took the genre in a new direction, reinventing it through radical reinterpretation, be it lyrically, rhythmically, or in live performance, making the music theirs. With songs like "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Desafindo," Jobim pretty much set the standard for the creation of the bossa nova in the mid-'50s. When talking about bossa nova, perhaps the signature pop music sound of Brazil, the first name that comes to mind is that of Antonio Carlos Jobim.
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