The master’s trick: modernization’s crisis in “Chega de saudade”

ABSTRACT

Much has been written about “Chega de saudade” (Jobim/Moraes) and its relation to both bossa nova and the question of modernization of popular music. But, symptomatically, little has been said about the music itself. Therefore, I revisit ideas discussed in the literature in order to elaborate theoretical formulations that allow me to build an interpretation that articulates musical and socio-economic modernization. Although not restricted to the song’s raising and consecrating empirical process, my interpretation lies on concrete facts linked to the polarization that arose between Tom Jobim and Jacob do Bandolim around the composition: in this facts lies the clues to uncover the master’s trick.

KEYWORDS:
Popular music; sociology of music; “Chega de saudade”, Tom Jobim