“Carcará” By Nara Leão

The Bossa Nova craze of the early 60’s brought light hearted, samba inspired jazz to American audiences. Musicians Laurindo Almeida, Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Sérgio Mendes and Astrud Gilberto all became household names. Their music was rhythmic, often inspired romance, and for two countries shrouded in political turmoil, it was a needed distraction.
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An artist that was not as well known in the United States, but an important cog in this musical movement was Nara Leão. After moving to Rio with her family in the late 1950’s, it was her apartment where some of this music first took flight.  Her third album- O Canto Livre De Nara showcases some of her capable singing and even more than capable guitar playing. Backed by the Tamba Trio, “Carcará” is only a minute and fifty-four second peek into some of the recorded brilliance that both the Tamba Trio and Leão left us.