The Muse of Bossa Nova, Nara Leão

Nara Loffego Leão (1942-1989) was not only early bossa nova's defining female voice (her sweet, unaffected lilt later became the template for the schoolgirl vocal stylings of Astrud Gilberto). She was an essential part of the movement in its infancy, when as a teenager she opened up her parents' Copacabana apartment as a salon for the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto to practice, earning her the nickname "The Muse of Bossa Nova". Her versions of "Berimbau" and "Consolação" (both by Baden Powell and Viniçius de Moraes) are considered the definitive vocal interpretations of those standards.



With the release of her first solo album "Nara" (1963, on Elenco), Leão began to forge her own identity, opting to record darker sambas by the indigenous composers Zé Keti and Cartola, which explored themes of poverty and violence in the favelas. Following the military takeover in 1964, Leão's music became increasingly political, and the following year she launched the stage show Opinião in Rio with Keti and Bahian composer João do Vale. It was during this show that Leão famously declared (mainly white, middle-class) bossa nova an "alienating" movement. The show's hit songs "Opinião" (Keti) and "Carcara" (do Vale), both featuring hard backbeats and highly-charged political lyrics, helped define a new genre of samba, "canção do protesto" or protest song.



In the mid-to-late 60s Leão would continue her trend of spotting new composers, and was instrumental in launching the careers of Chico Buarque ("Com Açucar, Com Afeto" and "Ole Ola"), Edu Lobo, Gilberto Gil and singer Maria Bethania (who would take her place as the star of the Opinião after Leão became ill).



In 1968, she joined Gil and Caetano Veloso's Tropicalia movement and sang on the legendary album of the same name. Although her participation was minimal (she recorded two Veloso compositions, including the gorgeous "Deus Vos Salve Esta Casa Santa"), Nara was at that time the most established act on their repetoire.



Leão would release albums only sporadically during the 70s, while she concentrated on her family and a career in Psychology. She died of an inoperable brain tumor in 1989.

Thanks to YouTube user rmboemer for posting this rare footage of Nara on Brazilian TV performing the Jobim standard "Insensatez".