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42-571: Luiz Floriano Bonfá (17 October 1922 – 12 January 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer . He was best known for the music he composed for the film Black Orpheus . Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in Rio de Janeiro . He began studying with Uruguayan classical guitarist Isaías Sávio at the age of 11. These weekly lessons entailed a long, harsh commute (on foot, plus two and half hours on train) from his family home in Santa Cruz, in

84-627: A coffee table book containing two CDs which included previously unreleased material of the Black Orpheus soundtrack, and a DVD. Also in 2008, Universal Music released The Brazilian Scene , Braziliana and Black Orpheus celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bossa nova. Bonfá's major legacy continues to be his compositions from the Black Orpheus soundtrack, most notably the instantly recognizable bossa nova classic "Manhã de Carnaval". But Bonfá's discography also attests to his uniquely inventive mastery of Brazilian jazz guitar. Bonfá's guitar style

126-638: A Bonfá composition, "Almost in Love" with lyrics by Randy Starr in the 1968 MGM film Live a Little, Love a Little . Also of note is his " The Gentle Rain ", with lyrics by Matt Dubey, "" Non-Stop To Brazil "" (recorded by Astrud Gilberto ) and "Sambolero". From 1990 to 1999, Bonfá worked with singer Ithamara Koorax on several recordings and concerts, appearing live with her as special guest at several venues in Rio de Janeiro such as Teatro Rival, BNDES Auditorium and Funarte-Sidney Miller Hall. They also recorded together, in 1996,

168-470: A composer and as a guitarist, Bonfá played a pivotal role in bridging the incumbent samba-canção style with the innovations of the bossa nova movement. Bonfá's instrumental "Seville" from his 1967 LP Luiz Bonfa Plays Great Songs is the basis for the 2011 hit " Somebody That I Used to Know " by Belgian-Australian musician Gotye . Gotye's song charted number one in 27 countries. Many other Bonfá's songs have been heavily sampled by MCs, rappers and DJs of

210-477: A composer and performer, Bonfá was an exponent of the bold, lyrical, lushly orchestrated, and emotionally charged samba-canção style that predated the arrival of João Gilberto 's more refined and subdued bossa nova style. Jobim , João Donato , Dorival Caymmi , and other contemporaries were also essentially samba-canção musicians until the sudden, massive popularity of the young Gilberto's unique style of guitar playing and expressively muted vocals transformed

252-470: A deal with Milestone Records in 2000 and released two albums produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro for the San Francisco-based label: "Serenade In Blue" (2001, featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Azymuth, Eumir Deodato, Jay Berliner, Marcos Valle) and "Love Dance" (2003, with John McLaughlin, Dom Um Romão, João Palma, Marcos Valle, Jurgen Friedrich, Azymuth). In 2009, "Bim Bom - The Complete Joao Gilberto Songbook,"

294-674: A duo session with guitarist Juarez Moreira, received rave reviews in the New York Times, Cashbox, Billboard, Jazz Hot, Jazz 'n' More, All Music Guide, and many other magazines, websites and newspapers. Another CD, "O Grande Amor," recorded during a European tour with the Peter Schärli Trio in 2010, was also released with critical acclaim, receiving a 4 and 1/2 star review in the May 2011 issue of DownBeat magazine and 5-star ratings in several other magazines like Jazz 'n' More. Later on, O Grande Amor

336-416: A four course instrument was popular among aristocrats. In the early nineteenth century there the guitar enjoyed a surge of popularity when composer/performers such as Fernando Sor , Napoléon Coste , Mauro Giuliani , and many others published thousands of pieces for the concert hall and home gatherings. The classical guitar enjoyed another period of popularity in the twentieth century when recordings amplified

378-552: A monthly music magazine devoted to the guitar, also published their list of 100 greatest guitarists in the book Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time from the Pages of Guitar World Magazine . Different from the Rolling Stone list, which listed guitarists in descending order, Guitar World divided guitarists by music genre —such as "Lords of Hard Rock" for hard rock artists or "Jazzmen" for jazz players. Despite

420-399: A person who plays the guitar . Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars , acoustic guitars , electric guitars , and bass guitars . Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar by singing or playing the harmonica , or both. The guitarist may employ any of several methods for sounding the guitar, including finger-picking , depending on

462-892: The Peter Scharli Trio, was voted one of the best releases of 2011, receiving a four and one half raving review. In the January 2008 issue of DownBeat (page 54, list "Best CDs of 2007"), her "Brazilian Butterfly" album was voted one of best releases of 2007, receiving a 4-star review. She was born to a family of Polish Jews who fled Europe during World War II. In her youth Koorax studied piano, opera, and classical music while listening to her parents' collection of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Brubeck, George Shearing, and Teddy Wilson. For influences she has cited Elizete Cardoso , Elis Regina , Betty Carter , Carmen McRae , and Flora Purim , particularly Purim's album Stories to Tell , which inspired her choice of careers. When she

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504-1073: The Theatro Minicipal do Rio de Janeiro (RJ) with the Petrobras Symphony and at the Ibirapuera Auditorium (São Paulo) with the Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica. In 2010, she performed 47 concerts in Brazil and 51 abroad, having toured Europe and Asia. On tour in August 2010, she recorded Arirang with Korean pop stars, Brazilian musicians Rodrigo Lima, Arnaldo DeSouteiro and Wilson Chaplin, and American jazzmen Lee Ritenour and Alan Broadbent . Koorax's crossover classics project Opus Classico (2013) contained works by Rachmaninoff , Chopin , Wagner , Debussy , Fauré , Ravel and Brazilian composers Heitor Villa-Lobos , Delza Agricola , Chiquinha Gonzaga and Machado de Assis . Her album All Around

546-624: The World (2014) was recorded live in Rio, London, Paris, Sofia, Munich, Tokyo, and Seoul, with songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim , Jorge Ben , Marvin Gaye , Herbie Hancock , and Jimi Hendrix . Ithamara Koorax Sings The Jazz Masters, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder and dedicated to the audio engineer was released in 2017, featuring pianists Rodgers Grant and Norman Simmons, followed by 60 Years of Bossa Nova in 2018. Several singles have been released in 2023 and 2004, such as Feel Like Making Love (a celebration of

588-723: The album Almost In Love - Ithamara Koorax Sings The Luiz Bonfá Songbook , featuring Bonfá on acoustic guitar plus special guests Larry Coryell , Eumir Deodato , Ron Carter , Marcos Suzano , and Sadao Watanabe . The sessions, produced by Arnaldo DeSouteiro , were filmed for a Japanese TV broadcast presented by Sadao Watanabe . Bonfá wrote soundtracks for two dozens of movies, such as Black Orpheus , O Santo Módico , Os Cafajestes , The Gentle Rain , Pour Un Amour Lointain , Le Ore dell'Amore , Carnival Of Crime and Prisoner Of Rio (on which he collaborated with arranger Hans Zimmer ), among many others. He died of prostate cancer at 78 in Rio de Janeiro on January 12, 2001. At

630-489: The appearance in other magazines like Billboard , this publication by Guitar World was criticized for including no female musicians within its selection. However, Guitar World recently published a list of "Eight Amazing Female Acoustic Players", including Kaki King , Muriel Anderson and Sharon Isbin . Following the death of Les Paul , Time website presented their list of 10 greatest artists in electric guitar . As in Rolling Stone magazine's list, Jimi Hendrix

672-410: The bass. Often adorned with mother-of-pearl inlays, the instrument was once primarily played using the fingertips alone. Over time, however, guitarists began to use a combination of fingernail and flesh to achieve a clearer, more expressive sound, and allowing for many different changes in sound quality (or timbre). This guitar tradition dates back at least to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when

714-621: The cuatro is an ensemble instrument for secular and religious music, and is played at parties and traditional gatherings. Christian Nieves is a Puerto Rican cuatro player and is recognized by the Institute of Puerto Rican culture as the most talented young of their national instrument, the Puerto Rican cuatro . Ithamara Koorax Back in 2002, Koorax had already placed fourth in the 67th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll (December 2002 issue, page 56). Koorax once again appeared many times as one of

756-594: The greatest guitarists—for example The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine, or 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Guitar World magazine. The first in this list is the American guitarist Jimi Hendrix , introduced by Pete Townshend , guitarist for the Who , who was, in his turn, ranked at #10 in the list. In describing the list to readers, Paul MacInnes from British newspaper The Guardian wrote, "Surprisingly enough for an American magazine,

798-470: The groups Azymuth, Gazzara and Os Cariocas, the big bands Amazon and Rio Jazz Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras "Petrobras" and "Jazz Sinfonica". From 1990 to 2003, Koorax record over 10 songs for the soundtracks of Brazilian TV soap operas such as Riacho Doce (1990), Araponga (1991), Pedra Sobre Pedra (1992), Renascer (1993), Fera Ferida (1994), Cara & Cora (1995), Estrela Guia (2001, singing

840-486: The hip-hop generation. "Bonfá Nova" was sampled by Brazilian rapper Marcelo D2 on the hit song " À Procura da Batida Perfeita ," "Jacarandá" was sampled by the group Planet Hemp on " Se Liga ", "Bahia Soul" was sampled by the British band Smoke City on their biggest hit " Underwater Love ". "Saudade Vem Correndo" became the hip-hero anthem " Runnin' " recorded by The Pharcyde . In 2021, JPEGMAFIA sampled different parts of

882-628: The main theme, "Cristal", which became a radio hit in Brazil) and Celebridade (2003, for which she recorded a previously unreleased song written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Absolut Lee"), and O Rico e O Lázaro (2019), among others. Koorax also recorded the soundtracks for four films directed by movie director Silvio Tendler: Glauber, O Filme - Labirinto do Brasil (2003), JK - O Menino Que Sonhou Um País (2002), Tzedaká - 80 Anos do Froein Farain (2003), Marighella - Retrato Falado do Guerilheiro (2001). Koorax also sings on

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924-577: The material from the legendary album "Getz/Gilberto" (1964) recorded by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, and the dance-oriented electronic project "Ecstasy," were also released in 2013. Koorax has performed in the U.S., Japan, Korea and many European countries (England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Portugal), appearing at jazz festivals in London, Seoul, Belgrade, Funchal, Helsinki, and Indijja. She has performed classical and fusion concerts with symphony orchestras, appearing at

966-643: The music of the day into the music of the future. Camus' film and Gilberto's and Jobim's collaborations with American jazzmen such as Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd did much to bring Brazilian popular music to the attention of the world, and Bonfá became a highly visible ambassador of Brazilian music in the United States beginning with the famous November 1962 Bossa Nova concert at New York's Carnegie Hall . Bonfá worked with American musicians such as Quincy Jones , George Benson , Stan Getz , and Frank Sinatra , recording several albums while in U.S. Elvis Presley sang

1008-563: The relatively quiet instrument. There are many classical guitarists listed as "notable" in their respective epochs. One of the most renowned flamenco guitarists in recent decades was Paco de Lucía . Flamenco music is a popular traditional music associated with the Andalucia region of southern Spain. It is characterized by intricate syncopated rhythms intimately informed by a gypsy dance style. Flamenco guitarists also often accompany flamenco singers performing " cante jondo " (deep song). De Lucía

1050-453: The same song in "DIKEMBE!", which was included in the offline version of his " LP! " album and afterwards released in streaming services in his EP " OFFLINE! ". Japanese DJ Nujabes ヌジャベス also sampled "Shade of the Mango Tree" (from 1980's Bonfa Burrows Brazil ) in his track " Lady Brown " on the album " Metaphorical Music " in 2004. Guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player ) is

1092-415: The soundtracks of Mãos de Afeto (1990, directed by Gilberto Gouma), Policarpo Quaresma - Herói do Brasil (1997, directed by Paulo Thiago), and Apenas Meninas (2021), directed by Bianca Lenti for HBO. Koorax's debut solo album, "Luiza - Live In Rio" was recorded in 1993, followed by "Rio Vermelho" (1995), which features Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Marcos Valle, Ron Carter, Sadao Watanabe. Her third album

1134-472: The time of his death, he was working in the soundtracks for a movie produced and starred by Karen Black and for a Broadway show titled Brazilian Bombshell based in the life of Carmen Miranda and to be starred by Sonia Braga . In 2005, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings released an album of Bonfá's work, entitled Solo in Rio 1959 , which included previously unreleased material from the original recording session. In 2008, Universal Music France released

1176-413: The top 10 is fair jam-packed with Yanks", though he also noted three exceptions in the top 10. The online magazine Blogcritics criticized the list for introducing some allegedly undeserving guitarists while forgetting some artists the writer considered perhaps more worthy, such as Johnny Marr , Al Di Meola , Phil Keaggy or John Petrucci . In 2011, Rolling Stone updated the list, which this time

1218-553: The top singers from the 65th DownBeat Readers Poll (December 2000, page 54), to the 77th Annual Readers Poll (category Female Vocalist, page 60) , receiving similar acclaim in magazines from the UK (Jazz Journal), France (Jazz Hot), Japan (Swing Journal), Korea (Jazz People) and Switzerland (Jazz 'n' More), among others. In the January 2012 issue of DownBeat magazine (page 48, list of "Best CDs of 2011", her album "O Grande Amor", recorded in Europe with

1260-619: The type of strings used (either nylon or steel ), and including strumming with the fingers, or a guitar pick made of bone, horn, plastic, metal, felt, leather, or paper, and melodic flatpicking and finger-picking. The guitarist may also employ various methods for selecting notes and chords , including fingering, thumbing, the barre (a finger lying across many or all strings at a particular fret), and guitar slides , usually made of glass or metal. These left- and right-hand techniques may be intermixed in performance. Several magazines and websites have compiled what they intend as lists of

1302-434: The vocal group Quitandinha Serenaders in the late 1940s. Some of his first compositions such as "Ranchinho de Palha", "O Vento Não Sabe", were recorded and performed by Brazilian crooner Dick Farney in the 1950s. Bonfá's first hit song was "De Cigarro em Cigarro" recorded by Nora Ney in 1957. It was through Farney that Bonfá was introduced to Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes , the leading songwriting team behind

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1344-409: The western rural outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the teacher's home in the hills of Santa Teresa . Given Bonfá's extraordinary dedication and talent for the guitar, Sávio excused the youngster's inability to pay for his lessons. Bonfá first gained widespread exposure in Brazil in 1947 when he was featured on Rio's Rádio Nacional , then an important showcase for up-and-coming talent. He was a member of

1386-517: The world. Among them: Tom Novy, Parov Stelar, Cargo, Tetsu Shibuya/Brisa. During 2010, Ithamara performed 47 concerts in Brazil and 51 abroad, having toured Europe and Asia. Koorax's jazz-pop album "Got to Be Real," produced and arranged by Arnaldo DeSouteiro, was released worldwide in March 2012 by IRMA Records, with critical acclaim and immediate sales. A bossa nova album, "The Girl from Ipanema - Ithamara Koorax Sings Getz/Gilberto," on which she revisited

1428-538: The worldwide explosion of the great Bossa Nova in the late 1950s to 1970s, becoming a fever in the US. Bonfá collaborated with them and with other prominent Brazilian musicians and artists in productions of de Moraes' anthological play Orfeu da Conceição , which several years later gave origin to Marcel Camus ' film Black Orpheus ( Orfeu Negro in Portuguese). In the burgeoning days of Rio de Janeiro's thriving jazz scene, it

1470-583: Was a collaboration project with Luiz Bonfa, "Almost In Love - Ithamara Koorax Sings The Luiz Bonfá Songbook" (1996), featuring Bonfa himself on guitar plus special guests Eumir Deodato, Larry Coryell, Sadao Watanabe, Torcuato Mariano. "Wave 2001" (1997) was recorded in Tokyo, with Japanese musicians such as Tomonao Hara and Eijiro Nakagawa, during an Asian tour the previous year. It was followed by "Bossa Nova Meets Drum 'N' Bass" (1998), recorded in New York. Koorax signed

1512-539: Was also one of the first to have successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz. The cuatro guitar is a family of Latin American string instruments played in Puerto Rico , Venezuela and other Latin American countries. It is derived from the Spanish guitar . Although some have viola -like shapes, most cuatros resemble a small to mid-sized classical guitar . In Puerto Rico and Venezuela,

1554-423: Was brassier and more penetrating than that of his major contemporary, João Gilberto, and Bonfá was a frequent and adept soloist whereas Gilberto plays his own suave, intricate brand of rhythm guitar almost exclusively. Bonfá often played solo guitar in a polyphonic style, harmonizing melody lines in a manner similar to that made famous by Wes Montgomery in the US, or playing lead and rhythm parts simultaneously. As

1596-431: Was chosen as the greatest guitarist followed by Slash from Guns N' Roses , B.B. King , Keith Richards , Jimmy Page , and Eric Clapton . Gigwise.com , an online music magazine, also ranks Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist ever, followed by Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Keith Richards and Kirk Hammett . The classical guitar is traditionally strung with gut or nylon strings for the treble notes, and wound strings for

1638-416: Was chosen by a panel of guitarists and other experts with the top 100 consisting of Eric Clapton , Eddie Van Halen , Keith Richards and Tony Iommi . Artists who had not been included in the previous list were added. Rory Gallagher , for example, was ranked in 57th place. The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time is mentioned in many biographies about artists who appear in the list. Guitar World ,

1680-535: Was commonplace for musicians, artists, and dramatists to collaborate in such theatrical presentations. Bonfá wrote some of the original music featured in the film, including the numbers "Samba de Orfeu" and his most famous composition, " Manhã de Carnaval " (of which Carl Sigman later wrote a different set of English lyrics titled "A Day in the Life of a Fool"), which has been among the top ten standards played worldwide, according to The Guinness Book of World Records . As

1722-914: Was eighteen years old, she worked as a backup singer for commercials and for pop stars in Brazil. Among those artists were Tim Maia and Vicente Viola. She has recorded solo albums for the IRMA, Milestone, Mercury, EMI, JVC, King, Huks and Motéma labels, besides fourteen soundtracks for movies and TV series, and also took part in more than 200 special projects and compilations. Koorax has worked with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, Elizeth Cardoso, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, John McLaughlin, Sadao Watanabe, Hermeto Pascoal, Marcos Valle, Peter Scharli, Jay Berliner, Edu Lobo, Martinho da Vila, Jürgen Friedrich, Claus Ogerman, Dave Brubeck, João Donato, Dom Um Romão, Thiago de Mello, Mario Castro-Neves, Raul de Souza, Chris Conway, Eumir Deodato, Lou Volpe, Laudir de Oliveira, Rodgers Grant, Gil Goldstein, Art Farmer, Eddie Gomez,

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1764-559: Was elected one of the "Best CDs of 2011" in the January 2012 issue of DownBeat. Ithamara Koorax has performed in the USA, Japan, Korea and many European countries (England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Portugal etc.), appearing at jazz festivals in London, Seoul, Belgrade, Funchal, Helsinki, Indijja and many other cities. Koorax has also performed classical and fusion concerts backed by Symphony Orchestras. Her recordings have been remixed by DJs from all over

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