Conversation With John Stowell and Genil Castro, Part 1: Discussion of Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Rhythms, Harmony and Chord Progressions

John Stowell sits down with Brazilian guitarist Genil Castro for a guitar conversation about samba and bossa nova, built around Tom Jobim's tune "Triste." The two trade choruses, then dig into the rhythms, harmony and guitar techniques behind what they played.

What's covered

• Bossa nova as a kind of samba — what actually distinguishes the two rhythms, including the partido alto figure
• Why Jobim wrote Triste in A (not the fake-book Bb), and the value of transposing tunes to see relationships on the neck
• Voice leading, chord inversions, movable chord shapes, artificial harmonics, double stops and open-string voicings
• Using chord shapes as templates on the neck to generate single-line soloing ideas
• Modes of the melodic minor for tensions and embellishments over dominant, minor and half-diminished chords
• Learning the feel by listening: Jobim's own guitar playing, João Gilberto, Brazilian singers' phrasing, and even the lyrics

An informal, two-expert exchange for intermediate players who want an authentic feel for Brazilian rhythm and harmony that also carries over to the jazz setting.