Bossa Nova & Samba

Since we have been in Brazil we have been asking locals about Bossa Nova and how it is received today, we have gotten some mixed responses. It seems that the Bossa Nova from the 50's & 60's is dead. However, most musicians believe that the movement is something that lives on in the soul and without it the culture of Brazil would not be what it is today. Obviously it was important and is still alive in some ways. We met a very important samba player named Bolao who talked about Bossa Nova from a "sambistas" perspective. In his mind Bossa Nova drumming did not impact the evolution of samba on the drum set. He did mention that Bossa Nova changed the way the guitar is played by giving it that samba "batida" or beat but that this rhythm was already being played by samba players on a cavaquinho, which is a four stringed instrument kind of like a ukulele. Since a guitar has six strings the chords that were involved in Bossa Nova were important to the style. It became a mix between American jazz chords/harmonics and a Brazilian samba beat. Bolao believes the best way to hear Bossa Nova is instrumentally or with just a guitarist/singer. Bolao has been instrumental himself in the evolution of the drum set. He has been developing new ways of adapting the samba school rhythms onto the drum set. His use of the the double bass pedal is singular. He has written a book whose english translation read the privlage of playing the the samba or batucada. If you have time please check him out online Oscar Bolao. If you have any comments or input on the subject feel free to throw in some comments. THANK YOU

Roberto