In the late 1950s, Felix Grant became acquainted with recordings of Luiz Bonfá and later one of Brazil’s most popular singers, Maysa, and began playing them regularly on The Album Sound. His show caught the attention of Brazilians living in the Washington, D.C. area. Dr. João Oliveira Santos, an economist and head of the International Coffee Agreement, introduced Grant to his brother Paulo Santos, a radio and television broadcaster in Rio de Janeiro who was visiting Washington after attending the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival.
Grant recalled, “The first I heard about it [bossa nova] was in 1960 when Paulo Santos, who was on the air in Rio for many years, came to this city [Washington, D.C.] and spent some time on the program with me and told me about this exciting new development that was happening in Rio, in music, called bossa nova.”
That was his introduction to João Gilberto, and when Paulo Santos left, he gave Grant a number of records. Grant said: “I was playing them quite regularly in this city and they were probably the first records of that type played here. I’m sure they were.”
After Paulo Santos returned to Rio, he and Grant continued to exchange recordings through the Pan American Union. Paulo Santos wrote about Grant’s work on radio and spoke about Grant on his own radio show, Encontro com o Jazz. Paulo Santos recalled, “Today, in view of my radio program and magazine stories, Felix Grant is a well-known name in Brazil.”
