RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter Joao Gilberto has died at the age of 88. He was considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova genre that gained global popularity in the 1960s and became an iconic sound of the South American nation.
A fusion of samba and jazz, bossa nova emerged in the late 1950s and gained a worldwide following in the 1960s, pioneered by Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim, who composed the iconic The Girl From Ipanema that was performed by Gilberto and others. His wife Astrud Gilberto made her vocal debut in the song.
He discovered music at age 14 when he held a guitar in his hands for the first time. With his unique playing style and modern jazz influences, he created the beat that defined bossa nova, helping launch the genre with his song “Bim-Bom.”
By 1961, Gilberto had finished the albums that would make bossa nova known around the world: “Chega de Saudade,” ″Love, A Smile and A Flower,” and “Joao Gilberto.”
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