Such imperious Jobim compositions as ‘Corcovado’ and ‘One Note Samba’ (which Caterina had championed), ‘Chega de saudade’, ‘How Insensitive’, ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and ‘Wave’, were now the eternal masterpieces of the genre. When in the 1970s she visited Brazil with a German documentary film crew, bossa nova, having reinvigorated both jazz and international pop music, had become a worldwide phenomenon. A suitably light touch in performance and a personal interest in Brazilian and Portuguese culture doubtless assisted her in meeting the demands of this gorgeously understated, elegant music. Unlike some other European musicians who may have struggled to disseminate bossa’s rhythms or comprehend its nuances, Caterina (possibly the most cosmopolitan musician on the planet) seemed at once to be on the right emotional wavelength.She fashioned a delightful album with Brazilian master-guitarist Luiz Bonfá, and proceeded, over the years and in a profusion of languages, to record superior interpretations of the bossa classics. Caterina then gave a tremendously successful show at the Teatro Record in São Paulo and appeared at the Copacabana Palace in Rio before returning home to spread the word. A student of Latin American music, she gained the respect of bossa’s protagonists when, on her arrival in April 1961, she proclaimed (in Portuguese) her admiration for the work of Agostinho dos Santos and Maysa and that she believed Brazilian music to be the best in the world. With the advent of bossa nova, Caterina Valente was perhaps the first European popular artist with the curiosity to actually venture to Brazil.FOUR GIFTED WOMEN: PIONEERS OF BOSSA NOVA…
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