Joao Gilberto

The consensus seems to be that if Antonio Carlos Jobim created Bossa Nova, Joao Gilberto created Bossa Nova as we know it. Known for his flat and nasal - but always in tune - singing, Gilberto's cool, intimate style reverberates to this day: listen to contemporary Bossa Nova singers like Celso Fonseca and Cibelle, and you'll hear echoes of Gilberto. His story is no less entrancing than his music: obsessed with music from an early age, he sought his fortune as a singer and then fell into a ten-year depression that led to an itinerant, pot-smoking lifestyle. If he hadn't pulled out of the rut, Bossa Nova would be very different. But he did pull out, and decided to move away from that den of vice, Rio. Newly sober, Gilberto proceeded to develop his trademark style - reportedly in his sister's bathroom - and drew growing crowds to clubs in Porto Alegre. It was just a matter of time before Tom Jobim took notice, and Gilberto was traveling to the United States for the most fruitful collaborations of his career - with American saxophonist Stan Getz. Their signature collaboration "Getz/Gilberto" is a perennial bestseller, and Joao's wife Astrid sang the definitive version of uber-classic "The Girl From Ipanema."