Thursday, July 16, 2009

Musical Love at First Listen

My first introduction to Brazilian bossa nova music happened was when I was about 13 years old and my father, who worked as a radio personality at KGO in San Francisco, brought home a vinyl LP.  It was a new album called, "Wave," by a Brazilian composer named Antonio Carlos Jobim.  I listened to it and was instantly mesmerized.  Barely a teenager, I couldn't get enough.  "Tom" Jobim would later go on to become famous as the most prolific composer of the bossa nova movement.  His nearly 500 original songs not only made a huge contribution to popular Brazilian music (MPB), but also left an indelible impression on jazz music itself.  Before I was 20, I knew I was destined to play this music on guitar and one day live in Brazil.
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4 comments:

  1. Robin S. Fox, Social Media CoachJuly 17, 2009 at 12:08 AM

    Hi, Greg. Thanks for sharing this story of how your father first introduced you to Brazilian bossa nova music. I wonder -- did he ever explain what had made him pick it out: Had it been sent to the radio station or did he buy it?

    BTW -- what was your father's radio name?

    -- Robin

    ReplyDelete
  2. GregSnyderJuly 17, 2009 at 10:50 AM

    Hi Robin (93 words) -
    The album was an extra freebie received at KGO and my father liked it and thought I might, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robin S. Fox, Social Media CoachJuly 18, 2009 at 9:54 PM

    Hi, Greg. Nice that it started something for you... is he still alive; does he know what he started?

    -- Robin

    ReplyDelete
  4. GregSnyderJuly 20, 2009 at 12:02 PM

    Oh, Robin, I forgot to answer your other question. My father's radio name at KGO was Jay Snyder.

    ReplyDelete

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