It was very much in the musical air in the 60s. A lot of what was revolutionary about the Bacharach/David songs were experiments in harmonies and rhythms very similar to what bossa nova brought. One of the most bizarre phenomena is how all of that stuff came to be classified as "easy listening" when in reality it was anything but easy musically...
Fascinating article! I just wrote a book for Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama called LATINIDAD IN MUSICAL THEATRE and while I definitely talk about the prevalence of the “Latin number” in American musicals going back to the early 1900s w Berlin, Porter and Gershwin I didn’t include Sondheim for a more modern example! Bravo!
I've wondered about this for a long time but never knew that SS specifically acknowledged this debt.
I remember back in the 70s being surprised that I heard South American rhythms here and there at the original production of PACIFIC OVERTURES, but as I know nothing about traditional Japanese rhythms I assumed they had to be just similarities. (Any info on that, Editor?) But really - Welcome to Kanagawa? Am I the only one that felt it there? And the ending section of Someone in a Tree from "But we want...no you can't...and we won't..."? Does no one else imagine the missing shaker or maracas?
Great article!
It was very much in the musical air in the 60s. A lot of what was revolutionary about the Bacharach/David songs were experiments in harmonies and rhythms very similar to what bossa nova brought. One of the most bizarre phenomena is how all of that stuff came to be classified as "easy listening" when in reality it was anything but easy musically...
Totally agree on that last point — and thank you!
Fascinating article! I just wrote a book for Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama called LATINIDAD IN MUSICAL THEATRE and while I definitely talk about the prevalence of the “Latin number” in American musicals going back to the early 1900s w Berlin, Porter and Gershwin I didn’t include Sondheim for a more modern example! Bravo!
Thank you so much, Stefan! This means a lot! And your book sounds fascinating – I’ll add to my list…!
I've wondered about this for a long time but never knew that SS specifically acknowledged this debt.
I remember back in the 70s being surprised that I heard South American rhythms here and there at the original production of PACIFIC OVERTURES, but as I know nothing about traditional Japanese rhythms I assumed they had to be just similarities. (Any info on that, Editor?) But really - Welcome to Kanagawa? Am I the only one that felt it there? And the ending section of Someone in a Tree from "But we want...no you can't...and we won't..."? Does no one else imagine the missing shaker or maracas?