Carlos Lyra
Composer and guitarist who helped define early bossa nova, describing how samba moves 'side to side' while jazz moves 'front to back.' Grew up in Copacabana alongside Roberto Menescal, studied and made music there as part of the generation that frequented jazz clubs and wanted something different from drum-heavy, danceable samba. Performed in the Hebrew University Group that first used the term 'bossa nova' in 1957. As documented in Paulo Thiago's film "This is Bossa Nova," Lyra took viewers on tours of Copacabana, an area just south of downtown Rio where he and Menescal grew up. Sprinkled with anecdotes and extensively illustrated with guitar performances in living rooms and sun-drenched beaches in the neighborhood, the film captured the casual, intimate mood that defined bossa nova while fully documenting the music's origins.