TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS RELEASES
REVISED EDITION OF ACCLAIMED BRAZILIAN MUSIC GUIDE,
"THE BRAZILIAN SOUND"

Temple University Press has just published a revised edition of "The Brazilian
Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil" by Chris McGowan and
Ricardo Pessanha, the definitive guide to Brazilian music in the English
language.

"This book, the first of its kind, is much more than a pioneering work...The
Brazilian Sound is both an enthusiastic introduction for the newcomer and a
thoughtful analysis for the confirmed fan."
Alan Ryan, The Beat

"An informed, useful introduction to Brazilian music."
--Fernando Gonzalez, The Boston Globe

"A great panoramic description of the whole Brazilian music scene."
--Antonino Adolfo, Brazilian composer, keyboardist & music professor

An "excellent book."
--Don Heckman, The Los Angeles Times

"Richly illustrated...well researched...its breadth of coverage is
impressive."
--Randal Johnson, Hispanic American Historical Review

"A critically hailed reference guide to Brazilian music."
--John Lannert, Billboard

"The coverage is comlete and up-to-date. The coherent explanation of lambada
will be especially gratifying to anyone who has suffered through the stream of
ridiculous press accounts it received...Above all, this welcome survey is
responsible and reliable."
--Charles Perrone, Luso-Brazilian Review

"Essential reading for anyone interested in Brazilian msic. It covers all
facets of the country's music. Comprehensively and clearly written."
--Dave Hucker, Straight No Chaser (U.K.)

"A Brazilian pop bible. Finally!"
--Prinz (Gemany)

"One of the top ten books ever written about Latin music."
--Carlos Suarez, Miami magazine
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The new 256-page version of The Brazilian Sound includes 167 illustrations, a
greatly expanded Bahia chapter, a doubling in size of both the glossary and
discography, and updated information on Brazilian music in the 1990s.
cloth ISBN 1-56639-544-5; paper ISBN 1-56639-545-3.
European distribution: Eurospan University Press Group (11-44-171-240-0856;
fax: 11-44-171-379-0609)
Temple University Press: 1-800-447-1656. http://www.temple.edu/tempress.
For press information, please contact Irene Imperio at
iimperio@astro.ocis.temple.edu.
___________________________________________________________________

"The Brazilian Sound" was originally published by Billboard Books in 1991. The
U.K. edition was titled "The Billboard Book of Brazilian Music" (Guinness,
1991) and a German-language edition was published by Hannibal in 1993.

Chris McGowan was a contributing writer and columnist for Billboard for 1984
to 1996 and pioneered that publication's coverage of Brazilian and world music
in the mid-1980s. He edited that magazine's first supplement ever devoted to
Brazilian music, "Viva Brazil," a 32-page section published in the November 7,
1987 issue of Billboard. He has also written about the arts and other subjects
for Musician, The Beat, Pulse!, The Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly and the Los
Angeles Reader. He was a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Latin American
History and Culture (Scribners, 1996).

Ricard Pessanha has worked as a teacher, writer, editor and management
executive for CCAA, one of Brazil's leading institutes of English-language
education. He has served as a consultant to foreign journalists and scholars
on numerous cultural projects relating to Brazil (including Billboard's 1987
"Viva Brazil" supplement). He has contributed articles about Brazilian music
to The Beat and other publications, and given lectures on Brazilian music to
many groups.
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MORE QUOTES ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN SOUND:

"An essential primer for the afficionado of popular Brazilian music in its
many forms."
--David Steinberg, The Albuquerque Journal

"Among the high points are the interviews."
--O Globo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

"The first time that post-Tropicalismo MPB has arrived on the bookshelves of
foreign bookstores."
--Jornal do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

"Enlightening descriptions of musical styles."
--Martha Carvalho, Popular Music

"A must-have for anyone trying to get a grasp of the extraordinarily diverse
music of Brazil...an indispensible book."
--Dennis Miller, The Brazilian Monthly

"The first book to give a comprehensive perspective on twentieth century
Brazilian folk and popular music."
--Jazz Forum (Poland)

"A wonderfully illustrated guide to the music of Brazil...an excellent travel
guide through Brazil's musical melting pot."
--Luis Tamargo, Latin Beat

"The only comprehensive guide to Brazilian popular music in the English
language."
--News From Brazil

"A splendid introduction."
--Anna Zikaras, The Brazilians

"Full of novelistic descriptions of musical styles which have gone on to sweep
the globe."
--Sue Steward, Jazz FM (U.K.)

"A formidable job in documenting every major pop style and musician...A
handsome, thoroughly researched, well-written volume."
--Mark Michaels, The Music Paper

"Precise and informative."
--Peter Figlestahler, Donnerstag (Germany)

"The first book published in the United States focusing on Brazil's most
important contemporary musical genres and their principal figures."
--Ney Reis, Ele & Ela (Brazil)

"A good balance between being factually informative and actually
readable...places the sounds of Brazil in their all-important historic and
cultural perspectives."
--Isabel Appio, VOX (U.K.)

"An excellent reference book."
--Keyboard Review (U.K.)

"A veritable encyclopedia of Brazilan popular music."
--O Povo (Fortaleza, Brazil)

"The book deals with every aspect of Brazilian music...an in-depth study of
the world's most vivid and exciting music form."
--Gordon Young, Jersey Evening Post (U.K.)