Brazilian · bossa · 4/4 tresillo

Bossa nova piano comp

130 bpm Loop: all
16ths
Clave
Piano
Bass

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Bossa nova comping, the basic model — Valerio's "Comping Model #1", a ii–V–I moved from Eb to F. The left hand (and the bass) plays half notes, root then fifth, like the surdo drum; the right hand plays rootless voicings in the bossa clave rhythm: bar 1 on 1, the and-of-2 and 4; bar 2 on 2 and the and-of-3. Levine (fig. 21-7) calls this the Brazilian two-bar clave and notes that, unlike salsa, Brazilian players treat it freely — his fig. 21-8 to 21-11 are variations of the same idea.

Listen for the long first chord of each odd bar and the way the even bar answers off the beat; keep the right hand light and the left hand dead steady.

Practice: play just the left-hand half notes with the clave layer, then add one right-hand chord at a time: 1, then the and-of-2, then 4, then the second bar. Swap in the bossa guitar pattern to hear the same rhythm fingerpicked.

Sources

  • Valerio, Latin Jazz Piano, Track 48 (Bossa Nova Comping Model #1) — transposed Eb→F
  • Levine, The Jazz Piano Book, fig. 21-7 (Brazilian clave) and fig. 21-8 to 21-11

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