Carlos Lyra, composer who brought finesse to bossa nova

Carlos Lyra, a Brazilian composer, singer and guitarist whose cool, meticulous melodies helped give structure and power to bossa nova, the samba-inflected jazz style that became a worldwide phenomenon in the early 1960s, died Dec. 16 in Rio de Janeiro. He was 90.

His daughter, singer Kay Lyra, said the cause of his death, in a hospital, was sepsis.

Alongside Antônio Carlos Jobim, Carlos Lyra was widely considered among the greatest composers of bossa nova. Jobim once called him “a great melodist, harmonist, king of rhythm, of syncopation, of swing” and “singular, without equal.”

Lyra was part of a loose circle of musicians who in the 1950s began looking for ways to blend the traditional samba sounds of Brazil with American jazz and European classical influences. They often gathered at the Plaza Hotel in Rio, not far from the Copacabana beach, to discuss music and hash out ideas.

One of those performers, singer and guitarist João Gilberto, included three of Lyra’s compositions — “Maria Ninguém” , “Lobo Bobo” and “Saudade Fêz um Samba” — on his “Chega de Saudade” (1959), which has often been called the first bossa nova album.

Inspired by the West Coast jazz of Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, and others, Lyra brought a relaxed sophistication to his work, as well as an exacting standard for musical precision.

Carlos Eduardo Lyra Barbosa was born May 11, 1933, in Rio de Janeiro. His father, José Domingos Barbosa, was an officer in the Brazilian navy. His mother, Helena (Lyra) Barbosa, was a homemaker.

Lyra left Brazil after the coup in 1964. He settled in Mexico City. There, he met and married Katherine Riddell. They later divorced.

Along with his daughter, Lyra is survived by his second wife, Magda Pereira Botafogo; his sister, Maria Helena Lyra Fialho; and his brother, Sérgio.