João Gilberto: Monk of Bossa Nova — or Its Mad Genius? cover art

João Gilberto: Monk of Bossa Nova — or Its Mad Genius?

João Gilberto: Monk of Bossa Nova — or Its Mad Genius?

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This week, Lost Samba goes straight to the source — to the man who didn’t just create Bossa Nova… he whispered it into existence.João Gilberto was no ordinary musician. He was a musical monk. A sonic alchemist. A barefoot sorcerer with a nylon-string guitar and a sixth sense for silence.Born in the dry backlands of Bahia, João was as eccentric as he was brilliant:🔹 He could hear a buzzing no one else could — even when it was the subway five blocks away.🔹 He showed up to concerts four hours late, or not at all.🔹 He redefined Brazilian music while living like a recluse, locked away with only a cat and a guitar (and legend says even the cat tried to escape).🔹 He called people at 3am just to talk.🔹 He made Miles Davis' jaw drop.João didn’t play music — he bent time with it. His rhythms were strange. His chords, unnameable. His voice, barely there — and yet somehow unforgettable.In this episode, we trace the odd, obsessive path of a true genius: from the dusty towns of Bahia to sold-out halls around the world… from samba to silence, from folklore to international legend. And we ask: can a man who seemed so detached from the world actually have shaped it more than anyone else in Brazilian music?🎶 Featuring the haunting classic Wave🎧 Tune in, breathe out — João Gilberto is waiting.

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