Celebrate the Genius of João Gilberto.....

CELEBRATE THE GENIUS OF JOÃO GILBERTO AT CAREFUSION JAZZ FESTIVAL NEW YORK, ON JUNE 22, 8:00 PM, AT CARNEGIE HALL

NEW YORK, NY, April 20, 2010 - Experience The Genius of João Gilberto at the CareFusion Jazz Festival New York on Tuesday, June 22, at 8:00 pm at Carnegie Hall when the renowned singer/guitarist/composer returns to New York for the first time since he celebrated the 50th anniversary of Bossa Nova in 2008. Sponsored by CareFusion, a leading global medical device company,and produced by George Wein's New Festival Productions, LLC, the festival takes over New York June 17 - 26 with 47 concerts at 22 venues.
 
Making only two additional United States appearances, João Gilberto will perform in Boston at Symphony Hall on Friday, June 25, at 8:00 pm, presented by New Festival Productions in association with HT Productions. He wraps up at Symphony Center in Chicago on Tuesday, June 29, at 8:00 pm in a concert presented by New Festival Productions in partnership with Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
 
When João Gilberto walks on stage with just his guitar and his mysterious voice, all hearts and minds are totally captivated. Known as the Father of Bossa Nova, Gilberto exudes magic with every word and chord and when you hear his voice just once, you will likely remember it forever. "He could read a newspaper and sound good," trumpeter Miles Davis once said about João.

João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira was born June 10, 1931 in Juazeiro in Brazil's state of Bahia. His father, a prosperous merchant, insisted that each of his seven children obtain a good education; but from an early age, João was interested in only one thing - music. When he was 14, a family friend gave him a guitar and a year later, João was arranging music for and leading a boys' musical group that performed regularly at social functions.

The music João heard during his childhood in the '40s included hits by Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Jeanette MacDonald as well as tunes by Geraldo Pereira, Herivelto Martins, Dalva de Oliveira, Orlando Silva and Dorival Caymmi. At 18, João left his hometown and headed to Salvador to try his hand as a radio singer. Radio didn't work out, but his singing earned him the lead spot with the vocal group Garotos da Lua, who sang daily on Radio Tupi in Rio de Janeiro. The job lasted only a year, and while going through a long lean period, he remained friends and lived with his former bandmates.

While living with his sister in Diamantina, João discovered that by singing quietly and without vibrato, he was able to control his vocals in relation to the guitar, thereby creating his own tempo. He later returned to his hometown and it is said that he began practicing along the banks of the São Francisco River, where the swaying steps of the laundresses inspired him to compose "Bim-Bom," the first Bossa Nova song.

In late 1956, João returned to Rio where he spent the next year making contacts and demonstrating his new beat with "Bim-Bom" and another song he composed, "Hô-Ba-La-Lá." He also renewed friendships with old colleagues including composer Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim. When João played the two songs, Jobim immediately recognized the possibilities inherent in the beat and pulled out a song he previously had written with Vinícius de Morae. The song was "Chega de Saudade," which is acknowledged as the song that launched both the Bossa Nova movement and João Gilberto's career. In 1958, Odeon recorded Gilberto's music; after a rocky beginning, the tunes gained acceptance and a star was born.

Many hit-filled albums, the collaboration of a lifetime with Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, almost two decades of living and working in the United States and the return to Brazil led to some of the world's most beautiful music. In addition to building a huge fan base of Bossa Nova lovers, João Gilberto became the inspiration for superstars including Gal Costa, Djavan, Moraes Moreira and João Bosco as well as several generations of composers and performers around the globe.

CareFusion Jazz Festival New York presents four other concerts at Carnegie Hall: Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette on Thursday, June 17; An Evening with Chris Botti on Saturday, June 19; Herbie Hancock, Seven Decades: The Birthday Celebration featuring Herbie Hancock with special guests Terence Blanchard, Ron Carter, Bill Cosby, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Joe Lovano, Wallace Roney and Wayne Shorter on Thursday, June 24; and Cesaria Evora with special guest Lura on Friday, June 25. All concerts are at 8:00 pm.

Tickets for The Genius of João Gilberto ($35 - $95) and other CareFusion Jazz Festival New York concerts scheduled at Carnegie Hall are available at http://www.carnegiehall.org/ or at CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800. For tickets ($40 - $75) and information about Gilberto's Boston concert, visit http://www.bostonsymphonyhall.org/
Carolyn McClair Public Relations