Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Bonfá began teaching himself to play guitar as a child, later flourishing into one of the greatest Brazilian guitarists and composers of his time. Some of his compositions were recorded and performed by Dick Farney in the 1950s. It was through Farney that Bonfá was introduced to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, the leading songwriting team behind the worldwide explosion of Brazilian jazz/pop music in the late 1950s and 1960s. Luiz Bonfá also worked with American musicians such as Quincy Jones and Frank Sinatra, recording several albums while in United States. He was best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus. Bonfá’s was a frequent and adept soloist that had a more brassier guitar style whereas the other very famous Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto played his own suave, intricate brand of rhythm guitar almost exclusively.
*note* Host Perry Como clearly cracks jokes when he begins, “I don’t speak Brazilian, but…” I hope we all know by now what language Brazilians speak!!
brazilian vibes 