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Bill Beach | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, bossa nova |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instrument | Piano |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Axial |
| Website | billbeach |
Bill Beach (born 1953) is a jazz pianist, vocalist, and teacher.
In 2003, Beach began to study Brazilian music and the Portuguese language. He concentrated on the bossa nova introduced by Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Vinicius De Moraes, Carlos Lyra and João Donato and the later MPB styles of Sergio Mendez, Edu Lobo, Milton Nascimento, and Ivan Lins. He released Letting Go [1] in 2004 on his Axial Records label. This album was his debut as leader of a recording session and featured Beach singing Brazilian standards and playing original instrumentals in a piano trio setting.
In 2008, Beach began writing lyrics in the Brazilian style, and his album Brasil Beat (2010) [2] [3] contained music and lyrics in Portuguese. This was followed by Búzios [4] [5] also original material and also on Axial Records. This album featured Rebecca Kilgore on vocals and Gary Hobbs on drums. [6]
Bossa nova is a relaxed style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a calm syncopated rhythm with chords and fingerstyle mimicking the beat of a samba groove, as if it was a simplification and stylization on the guitar of the rhythm produced by a samba school band. Another defining characteristic of the style is the use of unconventional chords in some cases with complex progressions and "ambiguous" harmonies. A common misconception is that these complex chords and harmonies were derived from jazz, but samba guitar players have been using similar arrangement structures since the early 1920s, indicating a case of parallel evolution of styles rather than a simple transference from jazz to bossa nova. Nevertheless, bossa nova was influenced by jazz, both in the harmonies used and also by the instrumentation of songs, and today many bossa nova songs are considered jazz standards. The popularity of bossa nova has helped to renew samba and contributed to the modernization of Brazilian music in general.
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, also known as Tom Jobim, was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim merged Samba with Cool jazz in the 1960s to create Bossa nova, with worldwide success. As a result, he is regarded as one of the fathers of bossa nova.
João Gilberto was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was often called the "father of bossa nova"; in his native Brazil, he was referred to as "O Mito" . In 1965, the album Getz/Gilberto was the first jazz record to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also won Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Nominated at the Grammy 1978 in the category Best Jazz Vocal Performance, album Amoroso, and winner category in Grammy 2001 with João voz e violão Best World Music Album.
Eumir Deodato de Almeida is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as pop, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, classical, Latin and bossa nova.
Jorge Duílio Lima Menezes is a Brazilian popular musician, performing under the stage name Jorge Ben Jor since the 1980s, though commonly known by his former stage name Jorge Ben. Performing in a samba style that also explored soul, funk, rock and bossa nova sounds, Ben has recorded such well-known songs as "Chove Chuva", "Mas, que Nada!", "Ive Brussel" and "Balança Pema". His music has been interpreted by artists such as Caetano Veloso, Sérgio Mendes, Miriam Makeba, Soulfly and Marisa Monte.
Getz/Gilberto is an album by American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist João Gilberto, featuring pianist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, who also composed many of the tracks. It was released in March 1964 by Verve Records. The album features the vocals of Astrud Gilberto on two tracks, "Garota de Ipanema" and "Corcovado". The artwork was done by artist Olga Albizu. Getz/Gilberto is a jazz and bossa nova album and includes tracks such as "Desafinado", "Corcovado", and "Garota de Ipanema". The last received a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and started Astrud Gilberto's career. "Doralice" and "Para Machucar Meu Coração" strengthened Gilberto's and Jobim's respect for the tradition of pre-bossa nova samba.
Lisa Ono is a Brazilian Japanese bossa nova singer.
Ithamara Koorax is a Brazilian jazz and pop singer. For several years, she was voted one of the best jazz singers of the world by DownBeat Readers Polls. In 2008 and 2009, Koorax placed third on the "Female Vocalist" category on the 73rd DownBeat Readers Polls, with Diana Krall on the first place and Cassandra Wilson on second,, as well as on the 74th Annual Readers Poll.
"Chega de Saudade", also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova song. It is often considered the first bossa nova song to have been recorded. "Chega de Saudade" and "The Girl from Ipanema" were both composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes.
"Waters of March" is a Brazilian song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927–1994) in 1972. Jobim wrote both the Portuguese and English lyrics. The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with "É...". In 2001, "Águas de março" was named as the all-time best Brazilian song in a poll of more than 200 Brazilian journalists, musicians and other artists conducted by Brazil's leading daily newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo. It was also voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the second greatest Brazilian song.
"Desafinado" is a 1959 bossa nova song and jazz standard composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Newton Mendonça.
"Meditation" is a bossa nova and jazz standard song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Newton Mendonça. The English version has lyrics by Norman Gimbel. In Finland, the song was recorded in 1963 by Olavi Virta with lyrics by Saukki under the title "Hymy, kukka ja rakkaus". Erkki Liikanen recorded the song in 1967 with lyrics by Aarno Raninen under the title "Taas on hiljaisuus".
"Manhã de Carnaval", often referred to as "Black Orpheus", is a song by Brazilian composer Luiz Bonfá and lyricist Antônio Maria.
Oscar Castro-Neves, was a Brazilian guitarist, arranger, and composer who is considered a founding figure in bossa nova.
João Donato de Oliveira Neto was a Brazilian jazz and bossa nova pianist as well as a trombonist from Rio Branco. He first worked with Altamiro Carrilho and went on to perform with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto. Because of the area he grew up in Brasil he was able to hear Cuban music on the radio. This influence would manifest itself in many of his compositions, piano, and trombone playing. Donato's most well-known compositions include: "Amazonas", "Lugar Comum", "Simples Carinho", "Até Quem Sabe" and "Nasci Para Bailar".
"Wave" is a bossa nova and jazz standard song written by Antônio Carlos Jobim. Recorded as an instrumental on his 1967 album of the same name, its English lyrics were written by Jobim himself later that year.
"Samba de uma Nota Só", known in English as "One Note Samba", is a bossa nova and jazz standard song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with Portuguese lyrics by Newton Mendonça. The English lyrics were written by Jon Hendricks. It was first recorded by João Gilberto in 1960 for his album O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor.
Astrud Gilberto was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema".
"Once I Loved" is a bossa nova and jazz standard song composed in 1960 by Antônio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. Words in English were later added by Ray Gilbert. In a few early cases, the song was also known as, a translation into English of the original Portuguese title.
"Só Danço Samba" is a bossa nova song composed in 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were later written by Norman Gimbel. On occasion, it has also been known as "Jazz Samba" and "I Only Dance Samba", an English translation of the original Portuguese title.