About me: The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil (Temple University Press), by Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha, has been the leading introduction to Brazilian music in English since 1991, and has been translated into German, French and Japanese. An updated, expanded 3rd edition of the book is now available worldwide through Amazon.
About the new edition of The Brazilian Sound:
"Here is an illustrated guide to the rich music of Brazil—its history, styles, performers, instruments, and impact on musicians around the globe. From the boisterous rhythms of samba to the cool elegance of bossa nova to the hot percussion of Bahian axé music, The Brazilian Sound celebrates a world music phenomenon. The acclaimed musical guide also explores choro, maracatu, frevo, forró and other genres less familiar to those outside Brazil, as well as Brazilian rock and jazz, and the music that accompanies capoeira.
"The new and revised edition of The Brazilian Sound includes discussions of developments in samba and other key genres, the rise of female singer-songwriters in recent years, new works by established artists like Milton Nascimento and Marisa Monte, and the mixing of bossa with electronica. This clearly written and lavishly illustrated encyclopedic survey features new entries and photographs, an extensive glossary of Brazilian music terms and more."
The third edition also contains new discussions of:
-música sertaneja and música caipira
-Brazilian funk, rap/hip-hop, and electronic dance music
-important new samba and MPB artists
-new music in the North, including guitarrada and technobrega
-an updated bibliography and glossary, and list of Web resources.
Critical Praise for The Brazilian Sound:
“It continues to be the most informative -- and eminently readable -- book about Brazilian popular music."—Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times
“The coverage is complete.... Above all, this welcome survey is responsible and reliable.”—Charles Perrone, Luso-Brazilian Review
“Well researched...its breadth of coverage is impressive.”—Randal Johnson, Hispanic American Historical Review
"An informed, useful introduction to Brazilian music."—Fernando Gonzalez, The Boston Globe
"A great panoramic description of the whole Brazilian music scene."—Antonio Adolfo, Brazilian composer & music professor
"The definitive reference source on Brazilian music."—Bruce Gilman, Brazzil magazine
"For anyone interested in Brazilian music, this is an essential book -- or, rather, the essential book."—Dave McElfresh, Jazz Now
"A must-have for anyone trying to get a grasp of the extraordinarily diverse music of Brazil...an indispensible book."—Dennis Miller, The Brazilian Monthly
"Enlightening descriptions of musical styles."—Martha Carvalho, Popular Music
"One of the top ten books ever written about Latin music."—Carlos Suarez, Miami magazine
The Brazilian Sound can usually be found at these two bookstores in Rio: Toca do Vinicius in Ipanema (R. Vinicius de Moraes 129; 2247-5227) and Bossa Nova & Companhia in Copacabana (R. Duvivier 37A; 2295-8096).
About the Authors:
Chris (J.C.) McGowan has written about Brazilian music for Billboard, Musician, Pulse!, The Beat and other publications, and was a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (Scribner’s). He authored the digital-media study Entertainment in the Cyber Zone: Exploring the Interactive Universe of Multimedia (Random House), and (as J.C. McGowan) recently published a science-fiction novel, The Big God Network. McGowan has also written about culture, the arts and politics, as well as environmental issues, nature, and alternative energy for such diverse publications as the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles magazine, L.A. Weekly, and the Los Angeles Reader. He currently blogs for The Huffington Post.
Ricardo Pessanha has been a Brazilian music consultant to foreign journalists, music producers, and fillmakers, and a music lecturer for academic programs. He was a musical consultant for Billboard’s Viva Brazil special issue in 1987, which was edited by McGowan and was the first major survey of Brazilian music in an American publication. Pessanha has also worked in the areas of publicity and translation for major Brazilian music and video companies. He is the co-author, along with Carla Cintia Conteiro of Caetano Veloso: L'âme brésilienne (Editions Demi-Lune), a biography of Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso in French, published by Editions Demi-Lune.
