Caetano Veloso

Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaeˈtɐ̃nu emanuˈɛw viˈɐ̃nɐ ˈtɛlis veˈlozu]; born August 7, 1942), better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship. He has remained a constant creative influence and best-selling performing artist and composer ever since.

Veloso was born in the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação, in Bahia, a state in the northeastern area of Brazil, but moved to Salvador, the state capital, as a college student in the mid-1960s. Soon after the move, Veloso won a music contest and was signed to his first label. He became one of the founders of Tropicalismo with a group of several other musicians and artists—including his sister Maria Bethânia—in the same period. However the Brazilian government at the time viewed Veloso's music and political action as threatening, and he was arrested, along with fellow musician Gilberto Gil, in 1969. The two eventually were exiled from Brazil, and went to London, where they lived for two years. After he moved back to his home country, in 1972, Veloso once again began recording and performing, becoming popular outside of Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s.
Veloso was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, the fifth of seven children of José Teles Veloso (1901–1983) and Claudionor Viana Teles Veloso (1907-). His childhood was influenced greatly by artistic endeavors: he was interested in both literature and filmmaking as a child, but focused mainly on music. The musical style of bossa nova and João Gilberto, one of its most prominent exponents, were major influences on Veloso's music as he grew up.

Veloso first heard Gilberto at 17 years old, and describes the musician as his "supreme master. He recognizes Gilberto's contribution to Brazilian music as new—"illuminating" the tradition of Brazilian music and paving the way for future innovation. Veloso moved to the Bahian port city of Salvador as a teenager, the city in which Gilberto lived and a center of Afro-Brazilian culture and music.
1n 1965 he moved again to Rio de Janeiro, with his sister Maria Bethânia, also a musician. Shortly after the move, Veloso won a lyrics contest for his composition "Um Dia" and was signed to Philips Records. Beginning in 1967, with collaborators including Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, and Os Mutantes, Veloso developed Tropicalismo, which fused Brazilian pop with rock and roll and avant-garde music. Veloso describes the movement as a wish to be different—not "defensive" like the right-wing Brazilian military government, which vehemently opposed the movement.

Leftist college students also condemned Tropicalismo because they believed it commercialized Brazilian traditional music by incorporating musical influence from other cultures, specifically the United States. Even though Tropicalismo was controversial among traditional critics, it introduced to Música Popular Brasileira new elements for making music with an eclectic style.
Veloso studied philosophy at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, which influenced both his artistic expression and viewpoint on life. Two of his favorite philosophers were Jean-Paul Sartre and Martin Heidegger.[5] Veloso's leftist political stance earned him the enmity of Brazil's military dictatorship which ruled until 1985; his songs were frequently censored and some banned. Veloso and Gil spent several months in prison in 1969 and then were sent into exile.

He said that "they didn't imprison us for any song or any particular thing that we said," ascribing the government's reaction to its unfamiliarity with the cultural phenomenon of Tropicália—they seemed to say "We might as well put them in prison. The federal police detained the two and flew them to an unknown destination. Finally, Veloso and Gil lived out their exile in London, England. When Caetano was asked about his experience there he says, "London felt dark, and I felt far away from myself." Nevertheless, the two improved their music there and were asked to make a musical production with the producer Ralph Mace.
Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent merging not only of international styles but of Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. His popularity grew outside Brazil in the 1980s, especially in Israel, Greece, Portugal, France, and Africa. His records released in the United States, such as O Estrangeiro, helped gain him a larger audience.

To celebrate 25 years of Tropicalismo, Veloso and Gilberto Gil released a CD called Tropicalia 2 in 1993. One song, "Haiti", attracted people's attention during the time, especially because it included powerful statements about sociopolitical issues present in Haiti and also in Brazil. Issues addressed in the song included ethnicity, poverty, homelessness, and capital corruption in the AIDS pandemic. By 2004, he was one of the most respected and prolific international pop stars, with more than 50 recordings available including songs in film soundtracks of Michelangelo Antonioni's Eros, Pedro Almodóvar's Hable con ella, and Frida, for which he performed at the 75th Academy Awards but did not win. In 2002 Veloso published an account of his early years and the Tropicalismo movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil.
His first all-English CD was A Foreign Sound (2004), which covers Nirvana's "Come as You Are" and compositions from the Great American Songbook such as "The Carioca" (music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn), "Always" (music and lyrics by Irving Berlin), "Manhattan" (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart), "Love for Sale" (music and lyrics by Cole Porter), and "Something Good" (music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers). Five of the six songs on his third eponymous album, released in 1971, were also in English.

Veloso has contributed songs to two AIDS benefit compilation albums produced by the Red Hot Organization: Red Hot + Rio (1996) and Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon (1998).
In 2011, he again contributed two songs to the Red Hot Organization's most recent compilation album, "Red Hot + Rio 2." The two tracks include Terra (Prefuse 73 '3 Mellotrons In A Quiet Room' Version) and Dreamworld: Marco de Canaveses, in collaboration with David Byrne.
His September 2006 album, Cê, was released by Nonesuch Records in the United States. It won two Latin Grammy Awards, one for best singer-songwriter and one for Best Portuguese Song, "Não Me Arrependo". With a total of five Latin Grammys, Veloso has received more than any other Brazilian performer.
Veloso has been called "one of the greatest songwriters of the century and "a pop musician/poet/filmmaker/political activist whose stature in the pantheon of international pop musicians is on a par with that of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and Lennon/McCartney".
Veloso has won five Latin Grammy Awards.

Veloso's first marriage in 1969 was to a dance student named Andréa Gadelha, known as Dedé, who was the sister of Gilberto Gil's ex-wife Sandra Gadelha. With Dedé, he had his first son Moreno, born in 1972. In 1982 Veloso started a relationship with Paula Lavigne. Veloso's marriage with Gadelha ended in 1983 and he married Lavigne in 1986 when she was 17. The couple had two sons: Zeca (born 1992) and Tom (born 1997). Veloso and Lavigne divorced in 2004.
Veloso's home, Bahia, has had a decisive role in his music. He praises Bahia for its importance in Brazil's colonial period—when the Portuguese first came—as well as for Bahia's contribution to Brazilian music. He has cited among his musical influences Amália Rodrigues, Cole Porter, the Rolling Stones 1969 tour, and above all, João Gilberto.
Veloso says that he is unable to make a comparison between his musical style in the 1960s, at the height of Tropicália, and his current work. He does note, however, that he has been able to accomplish music of a higher quality later in his career; that he is "better at everything.



Caetano Emanuel Vianna Telles Veloso (n. el 7 de agosto de 1942 en Santo Amaro de Purificação) es un conocido músico brasileño.
Veloso nació el 7 de agosto de 1942 en Santo Amaro de Purificação, una pequeña ciudad del estado de Bahía, (Brasil). La suya fue una numerosa familia amante de la música integrada por ocho hijos, dos de ellos adoptados. Caetano aprendió en su casa a tocar el piano y a los nueve años compuso su primera canción, un baião. Cuando llegó el momento de los estudios universitarios, junto a su hermana María Bethania, se trasladó a Salvador de Bahía, donde pasó su juventud y estudió arte en la universidad.

A fines de 1966 acompañó a su hermana María Bethania, quien había sido invitada a cantar en una obra musical en Río de Janeiro; obtuvo su primer éxito cuando su hermana grabó su primera composición.
Rápidamente ganó algunos premios y pudo grabar su primer álbum con Gal Costa: Domingo. En 1968, junto a Gilberto Gil, fue uno de los primeros emprendedores del tropicalismo, movimiento cultural cuyo objetivo era la reevaluación de la música tradicional brasileña. Grabó en 1968 su primer álbum solista llamado Caetano Veloso, y su música cruzó las fronteras con su controvertida É proibido proibir.
Le fueron otorgados varios premios en distintos festivales de televisión. Un año después, logró con su álbum Tropicalia que surgiera el movimiento musical conocido como tropicalismo, del que forman parte algunos músicos de Bahía como Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa o María Bethania.
En 1969 debido a la dictadura que asolaba Brasil, Veloso se vio obligado a exiliarse a Londres (Reino Unido), Madrid (España),Tel Aviv (Israel); tres años más tarde regresó a Brasil y grabó Araca azul, un disco experimental.
En 1976 formó un grupo con Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa y María Bethania, e hicieron una gira por Brasil con el nombre de "Doces bárbaros".
Bicho fue lanzado en 1977 influenciado por el contacto que tuviera con la cultura nigeriana, donde había estado algunos meses antes. Ese mismo año fue publicado Alegría, un libro que es una colección de artículos y poemas que abarca desde 1965 hasta 1976.
En 1981 se hizo con su primer éxito con Outras palavras, y a partir de entonces su fama se extendió a todos los rincones del mundo.

En el año 1986 graba en conjunto con el compositor, cantante y ahora director de cine Fito Páez el disco Corazón Clandestino, un maxi simple que supuso el primer contacto de Veloso con el rock argentino.
Ya en 1989 fue lanzado Estrangeiro. En 1991 fue lanzado un nuevo álbum llamado Circuladô. La letra que dio nombre al álbum fue un poema de Haroldo Campos, poeta brasileño. El diseño de la tapa de Circuladô ao vivo fue idea de Caetano y fue lanzada en 1992 como una pieza maestra. En 1993 fue lanzado Tropicalia 2 con Gilberto Gil. Fina Estampa aparece en 1995 y Noites do norte en 2001.En 2006 lanza un su álbum "Ce", con canciones inéditas de su autoría.
En 2003 colaboró con Nelly Furtado en su segundo disco Folklore en la canción Island of Wonder.

Maria Bethânia

Maria Bethânia Vianna Telles Veloso (born 18 June 1946 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia Brazil), better known as Maria Bethânia (Portuguese pronunciation: [maˈɾiɐ beˈtɐ̃niɐ]), is a singer and sister of Caetano Veloso. She started her career in Rio de Janeiro in 1964 with the show "Opinião" ("Opinion"). Due to its popularity, and the popularity of her 1965 single "Carcará", the singer became a star in Brazil, with performances all over the country. She has released over 30 albums to date.

In her childhood, Bethânia had aspirations to become an actress. However, her mother was a musician, so music was prevalent in the Veloso household. Though Bethânia was born in Santo Amaro da Purifição, her family moved to Salvador, Bahia when she was 13 years old. The move allowed her to experience the bohemian, intellectual circles of the city as well as to visit theaters. When she was 16, her brother Caetano Veloso invited her to sing in a film for which he was producing the soundtrack, but she refused. However, the film's director, Álvaro Guimarães, liked her voice and invited the young musician to perform in a 1963 performance of a Nélson Rodrigues musical. She began performing again with her brother, as well as Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Tom Zé, at the opening of the Vila Velha Theater in the next year. During one of these performances, the bossa nova musician Nara Leão offered her an opportunity to take her place in a series of performances titled "Opinião". She released her first single, a protest song named "Carcará", in 1965, the same year as her brother released his first recording.

After releasing "Carcará" Bethânia returned from Rio de Janeiro, where she had gone to attend college, to Bahia. This was to only be a brief visit, as around that time she was performing at nightclubs and other venues throughout Brazil. This song also got her an offer from an RCA Records representative to record for the company. However Bethânia continually changed record labels throughout the 1970s. In 1973 Bethânia released Drama, Luz Da Noite, in which she performed traditional Brazilian songs, as well as incorporating literary elements. In 1977 Bethânia went on tour and released a gold-certified album, both with the name of Pássaro da Manhã. She released Álibi a year later which was also gold-certified with over a million copies sold. Around the end of the 1970s, Bethânia became more artistically conservative, moving away from the Tropicalismo music her frequent collaborators, including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, had been playing. During the 1980s and '90s Bethânia continued to record and perform, with 1993's As Canções Que Você Fez Para Mim becoming the year's most successful album in Brazil.

In 2005, Música Popular Brasileira supergroup of the same name. It was recorded June 24 of that year at Anhembi Stadium in São Paulo. Its members were Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia and Gal Costa, four of the biggest names in the history of the Music of Brazil. The band was the subject of a 1977 documentary directed by Jom Tob Azulay. In 1994, they performed a tribute concert to Mangueira school of samba.
French filmmaker Georges Gachot completed a documentary film "Musica é perfume" about her which was worldwide distributed. In 2008 she recorded an album with the Cuban singer Omara Portuondo which was followed by a Live DVD
Maria Bethania in 2011 received permission from the Ministry of Culture of Brazil to make a poetry blog budgeted for $ 1.3 million Reais.



Maria Bethânia Vianna Teles Veloso (Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brasil, 18 de junio de 1946) es una cantante brasileña, hermana del compositor y cantante Caetano Veloso, conocida por el singular color de su potente voz de contralto y la intensidad de sus interpretaciones.

Una leyenda viva, Bethânia es una de las más consagradas intérpretes de la música popular brasileña. Sin embargo su obra, ubicada en la frontera entre la música, la literatura y el arte dramático, tiene relativamente poca repercusión fuera del mundo lusófono, estando compuesta principalmente de elementos y referencias muy propios de Brasil y más específicamente de su región natal, Bahia.
Entre sus temas más emblemáticos se encuentran "Explode Coração", "Olhos nos Olhos", "Anos Dourados", "Negue" y "Carcará", además de éxitos recientes como "Beira Mar". En sus conciertos, Bethânia suele recitar poemas en portugués entre canciones, tanto de grandes autores brasileños como portugueses. El sincretismo religioso afro-brasileño, el drama y la pasión y las aguas de Brasil son temáticas muy frecuentes en sus álbumes. Entre los compositores cuyos versos fueron consagrados en la voz de Bethânia con mayor éxito se encuentran Chico Buarque, Tom Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Vinícius de Moraes, Roberto Carlos y Adriana Calcanhotto.

Es la sexta descendiente de João Telles Veloso, funcionario público del Departamento de Correos y Telégrafos de Brasil, y de Claudionora Vianna, más conocida como Dona Canô. Quien le dio el nombre fue su hermano, el gran cantante Caetano Veloso, a partir de una exitosa canción de la época, un vals del compositor pernambucano Capiba, éxito en la voz de Nelson Gonçalves, y que tiene como primer verso "Maria Bethânia, tú eres para mí la señora del ingenio". El público y la prensa comúnmente se refieren a Bethânia como "a Abelha Rainha" (la Abeja Reina), apodo extraído del primer verso de su canción "Mel" (Miel), de 1979. Bethânia es reconocida por su fuerte presencia y su contagiosa espiritualidad, y comparada por muchos a un orisha.

De marcada personalidad y temperamiento fuerte, Bethânia dice lo que piensa y son famosas sus innumerables peleas con directivos de compañías fonográficas por cuestiones éticas y creativas.
Maria Bethânia es la cantante femenina que acumula el mayor número de discos vendidos en su país, después de la presentadora infantil Xuxa. Su álbum Álibi fue el primero de la historia discográfica brasileña en sobrepasar un millón de copias vendidas, en 1978.

João Gilberto

João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, known as João Gilberto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒwɐ̃w ʒiwˈbɛʁtu]; June 10, 1931 in Juazeiro, Bahia), is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. His seminal recordings, including many songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, established the new musical genre of Bossa nova in the late 1950s.

From an early age, music was a part of João Gilberto's life. His grandfather bought him his first guitar at the age of 14. During high school, Gilberto teamed up with some of his classmates to form a small band. Gilberto, who led the band, was influenced by Brazilian popular songs, American jazz, and even some opera, among other genres. After trying his luck as a radio singer in Salvador, Bahia, the young Gilberto was recruited in 1950 as lead singer of the vocal quintet Garotos da Lua (Moon Boys) and moved to Rio de Janeiro. A year and a half later, he was dismissed from the group for his lack of discipline (he would often show up late to rehearsals or not at all).
João Gilberto's first recordings were released in Brazil as two-song 78-rpm singles between 1951 and 1959. In the 1960s, Brazilian singles evolved to the "double compact" format, and João would release some EPs in this new format, which carried 4 songs on a 45-rpm record.

For seven years, Gilberto's career was at a low ebb. He rarely had any work, was dependent on his friends for living quarters, and fell into chronic depression. Eventually, in 1955 he was rescued from this rut by Luiz Telles, leader of the vocal group Quitandinha Serenaders, who took him to Porto Alegre in southern Brazil. In this provincial town João Gilberto blossomed musically. Next he spent eight months with his sister in Minas Gerais, where he sequestered himself and played day and night, forging a personal style for voice and guitar that would come to be known as bossa nova. The first bossa nova song, titled "Bim-Bom", was written as Gilberto watched passing laundresses on the banks of the São Francisco River balance loads of clothes on their heads.

Just after this time Gilberto's father, upset by João's bizarre singing style and refusal to take "normal" work, committed him to a mental hospital. In a psychological interview there, Gilberto stared out the window and remarked, “Look at the wind depilating the trees.” The psychologist replied, “But trees have no hair, João,” to which Gilberto responded, “And there are people who have no poetry.” He was released after a week. The next year (1956) he returned to Rio and struck up old acquaintances, most significantly Antonio Carlos Jobim, who was by then working as a composer, producer and arranger with Odeon Records. Jobim was impressed with Gilberto's new style of guitar playing, and set about finding a suitable song to pitch the style to Odeon management.

Bossa nova ("new style") is a refined version of samba, de-emphasizing the percussive aspect of its rhythm and enriching the melodic and harmonic content. Rather than relying on the traditional Afro-Brazilian percussive instruments, João Gilberto often eschews all accompaniment except his guitar, which he uses as a percussive as well as a harmonic instrument, incorporating what would be the role of the tamborim in a full batucada band. The singing style he developed is almost whispering, economical, and without vibrato. He creates his tempo tensions by singing ahead or behind the beat.

This style, which Gilberto introduced in 1957, created a sensation in the musical circles of Rio's Zona Sul, and many young guitarists sought to imitate it. It was first heard on record in 1958 in a recording of "Chega de Saudade", a song by Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Gilberto had first accompanied singer Elizeth Cardoso as her guitarist in a recording of this song, explaining his vision for the new style, but Cardoso would have none of his singing advice and sung it in the standard way. But shortly after this recording, João Gilberto made his own debut single of the same song, in the new style, followed by the 1959 LP, Chega de Saudade. The song () turned into a hit, launching Gilberto's career and the bossa nova craze. Besides a number of Jobim compositions, the album featured older sambas and popular songs from the 1940s and '50s, all performed in Gilberto's distinctive style. This album was followed by two more in 1960 and 1961, by which time the singer featured new songs by a younger generation of performer/composers such as Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.
By 1962, bossa nova had been embraced by North American jazz musicians such as Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, and Stan Getz, who invited Gilberto and Jobim to collaborate on what became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, Getz/Gilberto. Through this album, Gilberto's then wife Astrud -- who had never sung professionally prior to this recording session -- became an international star, and the Jobim/de Moraes composition "The Girl from Ipanema" became a worldwide pop music standard.

João Gilberto lived in the United States from 1962 until 1969, when he moved to Mexico for two years. There he recorded João Gilberto en México (1970). João Gilberto, aka the "White Album" (1973), featured hypnotic minimalist execution, limited to the singer, his guitar, and Sonny Carr on drums. 1976 saw the release of The Best of Two Worlds, a reunion with Stan Getz, featuring singer Miúcha, (sister of Chico Buarque), who had become Gilberto's second wife in April 1965. Amoroso (1977) backed Gilberto with the lush string orchestration of Claus Ogerman, who had provided a similar sound to Jobim's instrumental recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As had been the case for all of Gilberto's albums, the album consisted mostly of Jobim compositions, mixed with older sambas and an occasional North American standard from the 1940s.

João Gilberto returned to Brazil in 1980. The following year saw the release of Brasil, with guests Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, who in the late 1960s had founded the Tropicalia movement, a fusion of Brazilian popular music with foreign pop. The 1991 release João, with orchestrations by Clare Fischer, was unusual in its lack of even a single Jobim composition, instead featuring songs in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, plus old sambas and the solitary contemporary song "Sampa" (Caetano Veloso). Also released in 1991 was the album Canto do Pajé by Veloso's sister Maria Bethânia, on which Bethânia and Gilberto sing an intimate medley of "Maria" (Ary Barroso/Luiz Peixoto) and "Linda Flor"' (Henrique Vogeler/Luiz Peixoto/Marques Pôrto), accompanied solely by his guitar. João Voz e Violão (2000) was an homage to the music of Gilberto's youth as well as a nod to producer Caetano Veloso.

Evenly interspersed with these studio recordings have been the live recordings Live in Montreux; João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira; Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar; Live at Umbria Jazz; and Live in Tokyo.
While all of Gilberto's albums since Getz/Gilberto have been released on CD, the first three domestic albums were released in 1988 by EMI on a single CD entitled The Legendary João Gilberto: The Original Bossa Nova Recordings (1958–1961). The disc also included three tracks from the singer's 1959 Orfeu Negro EP: "Manhã de Carnaval," O Nosso Amor, and A Felicidade, the latter two merged into a single medley track to fit within the recording time of a CD. After its release, Gilberto successfully sued to have the title removed from sale as an unauthorized release of his artistic works.

João Gilberto has long had a reputation as an artist who values his privacy. He lives in an apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, refusing interviews and avoiding crowds. He also has high standards for acoustics and noise control. He has been known to walk out on performances in response to audiences that interfere with the music by creating inappropriate noise, or out of theaters possessing poor acoustics; on several occasions he requested that the air conditioning be turned off at concert venues. During a recording session of the song "Rosa Morena" Gilberto insisted on 28 takes to get the pronunciation of the 'O' in "Rosa" just right.
He continues to perform, very occasionally, to sell-out crowds in Brazil as well as in Europe, North America, and Japan. His planned public performances in Madrid (2009) and New York (2010) were cancelled at short notice. He is the father of singer Bebel Gilberto (Isabel), via his marriage to Miúcha.
In 1997, João sued record label EMI over a reissuing of several of his early works which he contended were poorly remastered. According to The New York Times, "A statement by his lawyer at the time declared that the reissues contained sound effects that 'did not pertain to the original recordings, banalizing the work of a great artist.'" Following the incident, EMI ceased to manufacture the albums in question, and, as of 2008, the lawsuit is yet to reach a decision.

In January 2011, Gilberto was notified by the State Court to leave his apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, where he has lived for fifteen years. According to the lawyer Paulo Roberto Moreira Mendes, the property belongs to Georgina Brandolini d'Adda, who criticizes the eccentric behavior of the musician.



João Gilberto (Juazeiro, 10 de junio de 1931) es un músico considerado, junto con Antônio Carlos Jobim (más conocido como Tom Jobim), uno de los creadores del género musical bossa-nova. Su nombre completo es João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira. También cantante de jazz, uno de sus éxitos fue Garota de Ipanema (La chica de Ipanema). Es uno de los mejores músicos de jazz latino.

Cantante, que aprendió a tocar la guitarra sin profesor, João Gilberto se fue para la ciudad de Río de Janeiro el año 1950. Tuvo algún éxito cantando en la banda Garotos da Lua. Después de ser expulsado de la banda por rebeldía, pasó algunos años sin trabajo, pero con la idea pertinaz de crear una nueva forma de expresión musical con la guitarra.
Su esfuerzo finalmente dio resultado y, tras conocer a Tom Jobim —pianista y compositor con educación clásica pero a quien también le gustaba la música jazz estadounidense—, lanzaron el movimiento que se conoció como Bossa nova.
La cucarachiña (nueva ola) era una destilación del ritmo de percusión y sincopado de la samba, en una forma simplificada que podía ser tocada en una guitarra sin acompañamiento. Se atribuye a João Gilberto la creación de esta técnica. También introdujo una nueva forma de cantar, a bajo volumen, con la pronunciación de las sílabas hecha algunas veces antes y algunas veces después de la base rítmica y con la voz entrenada para eliminar casi cualquier ruido de la respiración y otras imperfecciones.

En 1958 llegó la primera presentación comercial de este nuevo estilo, con el disco Canção do Amor Demais de la cantante Elizeth Cardoso, que incluía composiciones de Jobim acompañadas de letras de Vinícius de Moraes. Poco tiempo después João Gilberto grabó su primer disco, llamado Chega de Saudade. La canción que le da título al disco de Gilberto también estaba en el álbum de Cardoso y fue un éxito en Brasil. Esta obra lanzó la carrera musical de João Gilberto, y también el movimiento musical Bossa Nova. Además de varias composiciones de Tom Jobim, el disco contenía varios sambas y canciones populares de los años 30 pero arregladas con el distintivo estilo de la bossa nova. En 1960 y 1961, Gilberto lanzó otros dos discos que contenían canciones compuestas por una nueva generación de cantantes y compositores como Carlos Lyra y Roberto Menescal.

Alrededor de 1962 la bossa-nova ya había sido adoptada por músicos de jazz estadounidenses como Stan Getz. Este último invitó a João Gilberto y Tom Jobim para que colaboraran en lo que acabó convirtiéndose en uno de los discos de jazz más vendidos de la historia, Getz/Gilberto. De este trabajo destaca la composición de Jobim/de Moraes "Garota de Ipanema" (La Chica de Ipanema; en su versión inglesa, The Girl from Ipanema), que se convirtió en una canción clásica del pop internacional y llevó a la fama a Astrud Gilberto, mujer en aquel entonces de João Gilberto y cantante en esta pieza.
El disco siguiente, Ela é Carioca, fue lanzado el año 1968, cuando João Gilberto estaba residiendo en México. El disco João Gilberto, lanzado en 1973, representa un cambio desde la creación de la bossa nova. En 1976 fue lanzado The Best of Two Worlds, con la participación de Stan Getz y de la cantante brasileña Miúcha (Heloísa Maria Buarque de Hollanda), hermana de Chico Buarque que se había convertido en esposa de João Gilberto en abril de 1965. El disco Amoroso (1977) tuvo arreglos del músico Claus Ogerman.

En el disco de 1981 Brasil, João Gilberto trabaja con Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso y María Bethania, quienes a finales de los 60 habían creado el movimiento Tropicalismo basándose en la bossa nova y fusionándola con elementos de rock. En 1991 lanzó João, un disco particular por no contar con ninguna composición de Tom Jobim y, en su lugar, utilizar canciones de Caetano, Cole Porter y composiciones en español. El trabajo João Voz E Violão, lanzado en 2000, marcó una vuelta a los clásicos de la bossa-nova y tuvo la producción musical de Caetano Veloso.

João Gilberto lanzó también grabaciones en vivo. Como ejemplos, Live in Montreux, Prado Pereira de Oliveira y Live at Umbria Jazz. Su personalidad tiene fama de excéntrica y perfeccionista.