Chris McGowanThe Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova, and the Popular Music of Brazil

Truly epic research and incredible history of Brazilian music and its evolution over the decades. Sometimes these books can read dry and technical like a history book. This one does not - the artists and groups are brought to life and connected to the environment in which the music emerged. I love all forms of Brazilian music and this book opened my ears to new artists and genres I was previously unaware of. Definitely worth your time and money. Great read!

"The Brazilian Sound" is THE book on Brazilian popular music, valuable to both neophytes and aficionados of the magnificent music of Brazil. Arguably the world's most musical nation, where music is the very fabric of life, Brazil influences musical styles worldwide. This book is thorough yet concise, with tons of photos, a priceless primer as you explore the genres and legendary musicians in the land of samba, bossa, chorinho, frevo, axe, and on and on. I have both the earlier softcover edition (heavily underlined and annotated) and the newer Kindle edition. I use them as references for a Brazilian music program that I cohost on a Pittsburgh station. We refer to this little book as "the Bible."

The Brazilian Sound is good as far as it goes - a who's who list and discography of 20th century Brazilian music. Although, the book has the feel of a junior college textbook, it's written in plain language. It would be a relatively easy read if it were not that a parenthetical list of Brazilian names breaks up every third or fourth paragraph. There are some very informative passages - notably the chapter on Bossa Nova and the "Escolas de Samba" section of Chapter 2. At their best, the authors provide clear and comphrensive explanations of the geneology and sociological context of the music.Unfortunately, unless a person is willing to spend countless shopping hours and a couple of thousand dollars building up collection of Brazilian records, he or she will gain almost no insight from this book into what the music feels like. The authors describe individual works and artists in only vague terms - terms often identical to those previously used to describe others. They beat the term "syncopation" into irrelevance - it's clear only that all Brazilian music is syncopated. The authors habitually refer to folk music genres and song forms ala "Composer X's work is all based on the Y song form..." But they provide no practical examples or definitions of those genres or forms.The authors stridently dumb-down their text, accepting as axiom that one has to "hear it to believe it" and that it is meaningless to describe Brazilian music in technical terms. They generally refrain from even using common musical terms - bar, measure, pulse, key, etc. - to give the reader a clearer understanding of Brazilian rhythmic and harmonic structures. They use few effective musical comparisons or verbal metaphors. It is understandably difficult to describe music in writing. But it is possible. Judicious use of metaphor, comparisions, and technical descriptions would have greatly fleshed out what in the end comes off as a skeletal text.This 1998 edition serves as the update to the first, apparently published in 1990 or 1991. However, the amendments appear to have been quite minor - embodied by an isolated paragraph here and there, and four meager pages in the final "More Brazilian Sounds" chapter. It's as if nothing has really happened in the evolution of Brazilian music since 1990 - an impression that must be wrong.The Brazilian Sound catalogs decent research, but is neither good writing nor effective music history.

An excellent book for anyone who wants to explore Brazilian music beyond the well-known classics. Helps place current and past musicians in their historical contexts; helps you understand who influenced whom, etc. The book will pay for itself just by helping you guide your ever-growing collection of Brazilian CD's (hard to stop once you get started)!

I am always fascinated by the impact history has had on the arts and how all performance is both affected and affects history. This book is great read if you love music, dance of perfoming arts in general.

There is so much music from Brazil that Americans have never heard nor heard of. This is WAY past Girl From Ipanema!

This is a very good book to have but it reads more like a dictionary so I use it only for reference. Also it should have an appendix with the lyrics of songs discussed in English. Students find the book a problem because of the two points above..

You could fill a book with all the information I _don't_ know about Brazilian music... In fact, these guys already have! Concise, conversational, informative and very well laid out, this is an exceptionally readable book. Chapters on samba, bossa nova, tropicalia, forro and jazz include focused biographical sketches of dozens of key artists, as well as succinct historical information about the progress of Brazilian music from its European and African folk roots into its bewildering and often beautiful modern offshoots. The book's focus is nonpartisan: although there is plenty of room for aesthetic criticism within the various styles, the authors generally hold their preferences and dislikes to themselves. They do, however, give readers a good sense of which recordings might be best to check out -- an invaluable service considering how little of Brazil's vast musical output makes it to the United States. Highly recommended! Certainly the best English-language guide to Brazilian pop that you will find in print (online is a different matter), this is great for casual listeners and hardcore fans alike.

If you are looking into getting into the Brazilian music and its culture, this little book is a big help!It takes you on a cultural journey, introducing the masters of Brazilian music. It has really opened my eyes to the richness of the culture through music. Love it!

This book has to be the ideal place to begin to study Brazilian music & I learned so much from reading it. To find and listen to the artists/music listed in this superb book is going to take me on a very long and enjoyable journey.

A very good guide to Brazilian music

ブラジル音楽を演奏する方は全員読むべき。