In New York City during the first decades of the new millennium, over two hundred professional musicians play music that combines jazz with Brazilian genres. Blending American and Brazilian music, these musicians continue the legacies of bossa nova, samba jazz, and other styles, while expanding their skills, cultural understandings, and identities.
SamBop NYC explores Brazilian jazz in New York City--the music, musicians, cultural issues, and jazz industry. It draws on interviews with over fifty musicians active between the years 2000 and 2020, featuring experts like Eliane Elias, Dom Salvador, Eumir Deodato, Maúcha Adnet, Vinícius Cantuária, Luciana Souza, Duduka Da Fonseca, Romero Lubambo, Anat Cohen, and Cidinho Teixeira. The book provides a new framework to interpret the mutual developments of musicianship, intercultural competencies, and affinities with Brazil and the U.S.
To understand the imbalanced demographic diversity among musicians, the book analyses nationality, race, class, and gender among the musicians, as well as their instrumentation and professional dynamics. Navigating these social, cultural, and capitalist forces, the musicians in this book have applied their natural talents, determination, family support, and decades of hard work to pursue their artistic interests and career goals, to audience delight.