How can I recognise if a song is Mambo, Bossa Nova, Samba, or whatever? I was listening to Dean Martin’s Mambo Italiano the other day (a song that’s currently being used on a television commercial). I assume it’s a Mambo? It sounds a lot like Martin’s other songs. Are they Mambos? Is Sway a Mambo?
What are the characteristics of Mambo?
Bossa Nova?
Samba?
According to this Wikipedia article, Bossa is a derivitive of Samba, but it is “more complex harmonically and less percussive”
I agree with this assessment.
In general, Samba and Bossa both have a very rigid base of sixteenth notes, “tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap” going on in the background, with the percussionist throwing in occasional loud thwacks on the off beats. I still haven’t figured out if there is a precise rule for that. After listening to hours of Brazilian music, it seems that one just gathers a general feel as to how to batucar properly along with the music. I know that when I’m in Brazil listening to my wife’s uncle playing Bossa tunes and singing (he’s very good), I join in on the tapping of match boxes and the like with everyone else and nobody gives me strange looks.
The other instruments typically play in a syncopated fashion, often starting the next chord a sixteenth note prior to the measure. There are many Bossa rhythms one can find in books and on the net, but I rarely hear a Bossa tune that follows one fixed rhythm: they draw from many.
If no-one comes up with a better answer by tonight, I’ll look in one of my Brazilian guitar books that I know does give treatment to this subject, with examples.
When I think of Bossa, I imagine something of the style of Vinicius de Moraes, on nylon-string guitar, with lots of interesting jazz chords and harmonizations. Nevertheless, even though I listen to much Brazilian music, both Samba and Bossa-Nova, I do find it difficult to say exactly what the distinction is.
No clue about mambo.
I see that Astrud Gilberto is listed. I know The Girl From Ipanema, so that gives me a reference as to what Bossa Nova is. I’ll see what Wiki says about Mambo.
Let’s waltz this one over to Cafe Society.
samclem GQ moderator
The same problem arises (for me) with Cajun vs Zydeco music. The dance steps are slightly different. If it isn’t obvious, I look around to see what everyone else does.
Well, since this doesn’t have a factual answer, I guess I should ask opinions.
What are some songs of each of the listed styles that are well-known enough that even someone who ‘grew up on New Wave’ might recognise them?
A mambo is loosely defined; it’s generally a song with accents on beats 1, 3, and 4 of each measure. Listen to Mambo #9 by Lou Bega, which is a modern interpretation rather than a classic Latin, but I’ll bet you’ve heard it. Harmonica player Buffalo Norton (J Giles Band) has a solo album with Harmonica Mambo, you might be able to hear a snippet on a CD vendor site with sound bites.
We still have the Bossa vs. Samba problem going on here.
I have parts of a five volume set of Bossa Nova music by Almir Chediak, under the “Songbook” series. Though this set claims to be solely Bossa, it includes many songs that have Samba in their title. The distinction is blurry.
In looking at the contents, the songs I think an average American might be familiar with would be the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (a.k.a. Tom Jobim) – a righteous dude, they even named their airport after him in Rio.
Most folks should have heard these:
Garota de Ipanema/The Girl From Ipanema
Samba de Uma Nota Só/One Note Samba
Jazz aficionados will be familiar with:
Insensatez/How Insensitive
As Águas de Março/The Waters of March
Dindi
Of these, I feel that Insensatez has the true Bossa feel to it, though others might disagree.
You should definitely add a “Tom Jobim Greatest Hits” CD to your collection. Can’t go wrong with Vinicius de Moraes either (A fine collection: O Poeta e o Violão, The Poet and the Guitar).
I can’t hear the difference yet, but according to one ballroom competition I watched, the “I Dream of Jeanie” theme is a samba.