Mar 8 (Pen Men At Work): The life of Johnny Alf, the progenitor of Bossa Nova music, has passed away in Brazil at the age of 80. He had fought gallantly against the horrifying problem of prostate cancer, which was primarily responsible for the progressive deterioration of his health.

Pianist Johnny Alf was referred to as the “true father of Bossa Nova” by Ruy Castro, who put pen to paper about an authoritative history of the music. Alf widely influenced later luminaries in his field. A declaration from a hospital near Sao Paulo proclaims that Alf passed away on Thursday evening on account of the failure of numerous organs.

Alf’s existence in this world commenced on May 19, 1929. He was born in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, one of the foremost cities of Brazil. He was a fanatical devotee of initial American jazz, which significantly predisposed his work and that of Bossa Nova en bloc.

He came into sight in 46 albums, but only recorded nine solo records. His 1955 songs “Rapaz de bem” and “O Tempo e o vento” are labeled by many in the Brazilian musical fraternity as the commencers of Bossa Nova. Bossa nova is generally executed on the nylon-string established guitar, played with the fingers rather than with a pick. Johnny Alf can safely be described as a true genius. Regrettably, he has been underestimated and ignored a lot by the musical press. He introduced a new way of singing, playing, and composing to Brazil. His magnitude in Brazilian well-liked music as a primary precursor is still to be appropriately regarded, while he has been habitually recorded by worldwide musicians such as Lalo Schifrin.