Manha helped establish the modern bossa nova style and is a true jazz classic. It's fun to play, sounds great and is good example of many of the key chord concepts Bill Susman teaches in all of his Play Like Me videos as well as chord changes you'll find in other great jazz songs. And lastly, with a beautiful straight forward melody, you'll be able to quickly learn the basics of this song.
Written and recorded by Brazilian guitarist and composer, Luiz Bonfa, Manha de Carnaval is probably the best-known song from the award winning 1958 movie, ”ORFEU NEGRO” or “Black Orpheus,” which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1959 and helped give birth to Brazil's “cinema novo” movement.
“Manha de Carnaval” continues to be a very popular jazz standard recorded by artists from Latin jazz star, Tito Puente, to fusion guitarist, John McLaughlin. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, “Manha de Carnaval” is one of the top ten songs played around the world. Because of its close association with the movie, thesong is also known as “Black Orpheus,” “Song de Orpheo” or “Morning of the Carnaval.”
The song is also known as "A Day in the Life of a Fool" It was recorded by Jack Jones with new words by Carl Sigman on the album “JACK JONES SINGS” (Kapp KS-3500). Frank Sinatra and Joan Baez also recorded “Manha de Carnaval” in the '60s. More recently the song has been recorded by Police guitarist, Andy Summers as well as classical singers Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.
“Manha de Carnaval” is a great example of the Brazilian jazz style of bossa nova or new rhythm. Shortly before the movie, Antonio Carlos Jobim (and Newton Mendonca) released the album “Desafinado”, featuring this new bossa nova style. They blended traditional Brazilian music with jazz chords with lyrics sung by Joao Gilberto. This new sound featured a 4 on 3 stammering rhythm. With the success of the movie, this new style of jazz gained even greater recognition and popularity. This popularity was fueled by a string of international hits by Jobim, Bonfa as well as more traditional jazz artists such as Stan Getz.
Unlike Samba which is highly percussive and very hot in emotion, bossa nova is cool and contains a lyrical or simple story. The bossa nova movement was influenced by the sounds of west coast jazz in the 1950s. Joao Gilberto, the great Brazilian guitarist and Jobim collaborator once said the bossa nova was “a clean, washed samba, without loss of the momentum.” In contemporary jazz, bossa nova is a very popular groove just like swing, waltz, or ballad.
Musicians love bossa nova songs not only for their dance-ability but because the groove provides a great vehicle for improvisation.
