Death takes Joao Gilberto, father of the bossa nova

Sao Paulo — Brazilian composer Joao Gilberto, considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova, died at his home in Rio de Janeiro this Saturday, one of his sons confirmed on social networks.

Joao Gilberto, creator of the revolutionary chords that turned the bossa nova into a unique rhythm admired around the world, died at age 88 from causes that have not as yet been revealed.

“My father died. His struggle was noble, he tried to maintain his dignity while losing his sovereignty,” his son Marcelo, who lives in the United States, said on Facebook.

The last years of Joao Gilberto’s life were marked by a fierce family argument after his daughter Bebel Gilberto, also a singer, tried to get him declared legally disabled by alleging that he was at an advanced age, which eliminated his ability to handle his own finances.

He accumulated debts and in 2018 was forced to abandon his apartment in the Leblon neighborhood, a well-to-do area on the south side of Rio de Janeiro.

A native of Juzaeiro in the northeastern state of Bahia, the singer and guitarist made the bossa nova popular around the world with his 1959 album, “Chega de Saudade,” which he followed up with “O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor” in 1960 and “Joao Gilberto” in 1961, among others.

With Brazil as his starting point, he carried on which his creations as long as he lived, and in the 1970s recorded in the United States his “Amoroso” album with the Warner Music record company.

His first productions were the object of a legal dispute with the Universal Music record company, but the composer won the battle.

A court in Rio de Janeiro handed down a sentence favoring the singer and found that Universal would have to pay the guitarist the royalties for the sale of his discs that the company had owed him since 1964, in addition to making a payment of damages for pain and suffering. EFE-EPA