The Brazilian Sound

About me:

The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil (Temple University Press), by Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha, is the leading guide to Brazilian music in English, and has been translated into German, French and Japanese. An updated, expanded 3rd edition of the book is now available worldwide through Amazon and barnesandnoble.

Where to find The Brazilian Sound:

KINDLE: "The Brazilian Sound" is available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon U.S., U.K., Germany and France. There are free Kindle reader apps for the Mac, PC, iPad and other devices. Click here for the links:
The Brazilian Sound (Kindle edition)

NOOK:
The Brazilian Sound (Nook ebook at barnesandnoble.com)
Free Nook app for the PC, Mac, iPad, Android, and iPhone

PRINT EDITIONS:
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon USA)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon U.K.)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon Canada)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon Germany)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon France)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon Spain)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon Italy)
The Brazilian Sound (at Amazon Japan)

And now at Amazon China: Search there for "The Brazilian Sound"

Also see:
The Brazilian Sound at Facebook
The Brazilian Sound at Twitter

At Blogspot
thebraziliansound . blogspot . com

Brazilian Sound Music Shop: a guide to Brazilian music and culture currently available at Amazon: Brazilian Music at Amazon.com (U.S.)

About the new edition of The Brazilian Sound:
"The good just got better."--Fernando Gonzalez, Jazziz

Here is an illustrated guide to the rich music of Brazil—its history, styles, performers, instruments, and impact on musicians around the globe. From the boisterous rhythms of samba to the cool elegance of bossa nova to the hot percussion of Bahian axé music, The Brazilian Sound celebrates a world music phenomenon. The acclaimed musical guide also explores choro, maracatu, frevo, forró and other genres less familiar to those outside Brazil, as well as Brazilian rock and jazz, and the music that accompanies capoeira.

The new and revised edition of The Brazilian Sound includes discussions of developments in samba and other key genres; the rise of female singer-songwriters in recent years; new works by established artists like Milton Nascimento and Marisa Monte; the mixing of bossa with electronica; Brazilian funk, rap/hip-hop, and electronic dance music; música sertaneja and música caipira; the relationship of pagode with partido alto; the samba and choro revival in Lapa; important new samba and MPB artists; the resurgence of maracatu; and new music in Belém, including guitarrada and technobrega.

Critical Praise for The Brazilian Sound:
It continues to be the most informative -- and eminently readable -- book about Brazilian popular music."—Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times

“The coverage is complete.... Above all, this welcome survey is responsible and reliable.”—Charles Perrone, Luso-Brazilian Review

“Well researched...its breadth of coverage is impressive.”—Randal Johnson, Hispanic American Historical Review

"Highly recommended."--Kazadi wa Mukuna, Kent State University, writing in CHOICE

"Now that the Internet has made it easier to find and explore once-exotic musical genres, people looking for information about all the kinds of music in Brazil will love this book."--Bill Walker, Library Journal

"A great panoramic description of the whole Brazilian music scene."—Antonio Adolfo, Brazilian composer & music professor

"The definitive reference source on Brazilian music."—Bruce Gilman, Brazzil magazine

"For anyone interested in Brazilian music, this is an essential book -- or, rather, the essential book."—Dave McElfresh, Jazz Now

"A must-have for anyone trying to get a grasp of the extraordinarily diverse music of Brazil...an indispensible book."—Dennis Miller, The Brazilian Monthly

"Enlightening descriptions of musical styles."—Martha Carvalho, Popular Music

"One of the top ten books ever written about Latin music."—Carlos Suarez, Miami magazine

Also see: More Brazilian Sound Reviews & Ordering Information

About the Authors:
Chris (J.C.) McGowan has written about Brazilian music for Billboard, Musician, Pulse!, The Beat and other publications, and was a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (Scribner’s). He authored the digital-media study Entertainment in the Cyber Zone: Exploring the Interactive Universe of Multimedia (Random House), and (as J.C. McGowan) recently published a satirical science-fiction novel, The Big God Network, which abounds with references to Brazilian culture. McGowan also blogs about culture and politics for The Huffington Post.

Ricardo Pessanha has been a Brazilian music consultant to foreign journalists, music producers, and filmmakers, and a music lecturer for academic programs. He was a musical consultant for Billboard’s Viva Brazil special issue in 1987, which was edited by McGowan and was the first major survey of Brazilian music in an American publication. Pessanha has also worked in the areas of publicity and translation for major Brazilian music and video companies. He is the co-author, along with Carla Cintia Conteiro of Caetano Veloso: L'âme brésilienne, a biography of Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso in French, published by Editions Demi-Lune.

Sources for Brazilian music, DVDs and books:
Brazilian Music at Amazon.com (U.S.)
Brazilian Music at Amazon (U.K.)
Brazilian Music at Amazon (Canada)