Baden Powell was one of the towering figures of the Brazilian Bossa Nova idiom. His music was enjoyed throughout the whole world, and his collaboration with the poet Vinicius de Moraes and interpretations of the work of other composers ensure Baden Powell a place among the masters of Latin music. Many famous Bossa Nova songs were co-written by Baden Powell include Samba de Pintinho, Quaquaraquaqua, Fim de Linha, Valse No. 1, Samba Triste, Tempo Feliz, Cidade Vazia, Babel and Casa Velha. His songs written with Vinicius de Moraes include Para uma Menina com uma Flor and Samba da Bno which were included on the soundtrack of the 1966 Cannes film festival winner, A Man and a Woman.
The middle years of the twentieth century saw the Brazilian dance music known as Bossa Nova take the world by storm. It is basically the Brazilian Samba informed musically by the chords and harmonies of American jazz. Bossa Nova, which means "new trend" in Brazilian is thought by many to owe its existence to Antonio Carlos Jobim who had an overwhelming love of jazz. Guitar player, Baden Powell, contributed many compositions to the Bossa Nova idiom, and also added his depth of experience absorbed from the world of the classical guitar.
The Bossa Nova might have remained an exclusively Brazilian phenomenon if it had not been for the 1959 movie, The Black Orpheus. This movie proved to be a considerable international success and introduced to the world the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa. The popularity of Brazilian music in the wider world was sealed as famous jazz musicians Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd began recording their own interpretations of Bossa Nova music.
Baden Powell, named after the founder of the Boy Scouts, was born in 1937 and soon showed himself to be a natural guitarist. Inspired not only by the music of his country but also by American jazz. Heavily influenced by jazz guitar player, Django Reinhardt and pop guitarist Les Paul, he found himself playing electric guitar professionally by the age of thirteen. About seven years later, Baden Powell fell in love with the classical guitar and decided to devote all his musical energies to that instrument.
Brazil was a hotbed of musical interest in the nineteen sixties, seething with various modes of expression through Brazilian, American and European musical idioms. Jazz became Baden Powell's musical medium expressed using classical guitar technique, and he found himself recording his own version of music by Thelonious Monk and Jerome Kern.
At the same time Baden Powell did not isolate himself from the informal music which was appearing spontaneously all around him. His enjoyment of Brazilian street music no doubt stopped his guitar playing from becoming to stilted due to his classical training. He can even be heard on records scat singing along with his guitar like a typical jazz performer.
Baden Powell, along with jazz guitar player Charlie Byrd, has been an enormous influence in maintaining the acoustic guitar's presence in the world of popular music.
By: Ricky Sharples
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