July 10, 1958 │ Chega de Saudade │ João Gilberto ~ 78 rpm. 1'59'' that changed everything in Brazilian Popular Music ( MPB) Over the years, memories become (in most cases) distorted, distant and/or blurred, but curiously I keep in my memory clearly and clearly, when and where I first heard João Gilberto . That specific moment that marked my life forever, happened in my youth. Specifically, the first time I heard João Gilberto was in a Pub called " Woody " (now disappeared), which was located on Joaquín García López Street in the Argüelles neighborhood, my neighborhood │ Madrid.
Apparently it was just another weekend, where some friends met to listen to the latest international news.
They were imported vinyl records in LP format, which were practically impossible to find in the national market.
To get them, we made sporadic trips to Andorra (when our limited finances allowed it). They were the frenetic 70's...!
Interestingly, each of us was a "specialist" in a type of music.
In the musical sessions for " Woody ", to give some clear examples, you could hear the latest album by James Taylor, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young in " Harvest ", the Symphonic Rock of Emerson, Lake & Palmer in " Tarkus ", the legendary " Closed to the Edge " by the group Yes, the extravagant Jethro Tull, the always recurring The Beatles, or the avant-garde Rock of a new British band called Deep Purple in their gold double LP recorded live called " Made in Japan ". Lately I was obsessed with a guitarist who played new, different music. The rhythmic basis of this American band was Latin percussion, where the instrumental and crystalline "solos" of the Gibson guitar of the young Carlos Santana stood out.
At that time the album " Abraxas " by Grupo Santana was one of the most requested in the " Woody " auditions.
My friend Vilches, who was the " disc-jockey " of the place, was a connoisseur of Jazz.
Unforgettable sessions by MIles Davis, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane and Ray Charles...
At the time, we were not yet aware of how lucky we were to have access to all that musical information and to be able to appreciate all that fantastic universe of talent. Privilege reserved only for a few.
And between records, a melody emerged that I had never heard before.
At that precise moment, I remember that I was surprised, paralyzed, excited, as if spellbound, without understanding that.
I asked: What is this, Vilches...? │ It was João Gilberto ...!
It was the discovery of a new sound. That strange rhythm of that violão (guitar), accompanied in time and out of time with the soft tone of that unknown voice, produced in me such a special hypnotic sensation that from that day on, I made Bossa Nova the philosophy and musical thesis of my life. life.
Since then and over the years, I set a priority, a clear objective:
Physically obtain the most famous Bossa Nova album, the one that was released in 1958 with the song " Chega de Saudade " on the side (A) and " Bim Bom " on the side (B).
It was released by the Rio record label Odeon with serial number 14,360.
Initially marketed on vinyl as a compact 78 rpm format.
That vinyl is João Gilberto 's masterpiece , old and extremely rare.
My dream was to be able to one day have in my hands the " Bossa Nova unicorn ", that original vinyl with which it all historically began...!
A couple of decades after (approx.) " Woody ", the Internet arrived. I began to search for him routinely and obsessively, and how could it be otherwise I found him in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil. Due to my great anxiety and fanatical desire to have the album immediately in my possession, I assumed too many risks from its remote purchase, transportation, to its final delivery.
And due to the cruel whims of fate, odeon14360 arrived in Madrid broken. When I opened that careful packaging and tried to pick up the rigid structure of the record, the vinyl fell apart in my hands, as if it had fainted...! Trembling, I unpacked the last part, with the raw and tragic feeling of someone who has lost a "loved one" in a traffic accident. Enormous sadness…, we both cried (he knew of my great passion). I carefully supported him on the table, and his side (A) " Chega de Saudade " │ " Enough of Nostalgia " in cruel irony, stared at me as if asking for forgiveness for having arrived in that lamentable physical state. After so many contacts, efforts, trips and years of waiting, the authentic, original odeon14360 arrived in Madrid broken into exactly 10 pieces...! After the “shock” and the tremendous initial pain passed, I realized that in reality, things had not changed much.
I had there right in front of me, a practically extinct collector's item. It was real 3D proof of the physical existence of a legend. The vinyl I always loved. With the certain awareness that this mythical album is " La Mona Lisa" by Bossa Nova, I decided to frame it between red and gold silks, as it deserves...!
My friend Agustín Valle's framing workshop did a perfect job.
Here is the original vinyl " odeon14360 ", proudly showing the world that it still preserves within its microgrooves a different Samba, a new, sophisticated and unknown music that changed everything in Brazilian Popular Music (MPB), influencing to various other musical styles, mainly and decisively Jazz. The vinyl "odeon14360" is the synthesis and beginning of Bossa Nova , that music that was born in Rio de Janeiro to later seduce, excite and conquer the rest of the musical planet.
Comment " after the fact ", that due to those whims of fate (once again), on 07/08/2019 João Gilberto 's funeral took place at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro (RJ).
This theater is located just 50 meters from the recording studio of the old Odeon record company in Cinelândia, where another 07/10/1958 (almost exactly 61 years ago), a practically unknown musician, entered said recording studio accompanied only by his violão, to show the world an intimate, different, transgressive and revolutionary rhythm. Also a new way of singing... That day an unknown musical genre was officially born, Bossa Nova, which contains in essence and synthesis all the best of Brazil.
Eternal gratitude to João Gilberto with great emotions felt, and say that without you João , this story would not exist...! ❤
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