Bossa Nova

Named after the Portuguese phrase for “new trend” — or “new wave,” if you like — the bossa nova took the samba, dialed down the percussion, and went to town with the harmonies . . . in the smoothest, most mellow, most exotic ways imaginable. We begin our bossa nova journey with “Chega de Saudade,” the song that officially gave birth to the genre, followed by “Garota de Impanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema”) in its 1964 — and still unrivaled — version. Written by Vinicius de Moraes and guitarist Toquinho, the soulful “Tarde Em Itapoa” proves that maestro Antonio Carlos Jobim was not the only songwriter able to conjure up pure bossa bliss.

Vocal? Instrumental? Actually, we’re somewhere

Here, we explore the instrumental side of Jobim, via the title track from 1967’s Stone Flower, which features stunning, soul-piercing violin work from Harry Lookofsky, not to mention expertly restrained percussion and a piano melody that drifts like smoke. Then there’s the old-fashioned charm of crooners Dick Farney and Lucio Alves, the former setting our selection a-swoon with “Inutil Paisagem,” the latter hooking up with Sylvia Telles on “Baiaozinho.” The bossa spell is so potent that even artists from subsequent generations such as Gal Costa (“Anos Dourados”) and Caetano Veloso (“Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar”) have paid tribute to its entrancing mood.

The bossa nova gets a Cuban spin, in Deep Cuts.

The moment anyone mentions the phrase boss nova, our minds make the leap to a warm night in Rio de Janeiro, where there’s little else to do except sip agua de coco from a freshly lopped nut, and make love. But there’s more to the genre than those balmy pleasures. How about the bossa meets the doo-wop of vintage Cuban group Los Zafiros? Check out “Bossa Cubana” and you’ll end up with the best of Rio and Havana, which is like having your cake and eating it. Jazz fusion genius Chick Corea borrows the genre and sends it in quite incredible directions on “Bossa,” from 1968’s hugely influential work Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. Cibelle, meanwhile, keeps it sultry with “Esplendor.”

How can a musical genre be so unassuming and yet sophisticated at the same time? Blame it on Antonio Carlos Jobim, a pianist and composer who was equally at home with the lilting samba beats of his native Brazil and the complex harmonies of French composers like Debussy and Ravel. Aided by the jazzy guitar of Joao Gilberto, the tender lyrics of Vinicius de Moraes and the wispy vocals of Astrud Gilberto, Jobim changed the world with his velvety “new wave” — the bossa nova. So whether your idea of bliss is playing beach soccer to the strains of “Mais Que Nada,” or sipping a cool caipirinha as “Corcovado” sends you into an exotic, alternative reality of perpetual romance, our collection of bossa nova Essentials is guaranteed to give you mas.