The Astrud Gilberto Album [Digipak]

Performer: Astrud Gilberto
Engineer: Dave Hassinger
Producer: Creed Taylor
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Astrud Gilberto (vocals); Antonio Carlos Jobim (vocals, guitar); Bud Shank (alto saxophone, flugelhorn); Joao Donato (piano); Guildhall String Ensemble. The Brazilian-born pop singer Astrud Gilberto got her start purely by accident, filling in for husband Joao by singing a few translated lines on "The Girl From Ipanema" during the original GETZ/GILBERTO sessions. Yet it was Astrud's wistful vocal that made the now-classic bossa nova tune such a hit. Her 1965 solo effort, THE ASTRUD GILBERTO ALBUM, skilfully arranged by Marty Paich, proves that her initial success was no fluke. Unlike other Brazilian singers--most of whom are far greater vocal artists--Astrud Gilberto possessed a gift for singing in English. Hers are just about the only translated performances of the great Jobim tunes ("How Insensitive," "Dindi," "Meditation") that don't seem awkward. Naturally, she could perform just as effectively in Portuguese when called upon, as her great duet with Tom Jobim himself on "Agua De Beber" and the gently soaring versions of "Photograph" and "O Morro (Nao Tem Vez)" attest.

Brazilian vocalist Astrud Gilberto was a key figure in the bossa nova movement that moved beyond Brazil to sweep the world in the early-to-mid 1960s. As a featured vocalist on the landmark 1963 GETZ/GILBERTO release by American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and Astrud's then-husband, guitarist/singer Joao Gilberto, the young lady from Bahia took the music world by storm, especially on the huge hit "Girl From Ipanema," destined to become a standard. Influenced as much by American "cool jazz" as by the Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim whose work she interpreted, Gilberto had a sultry, low-key style that stood out amid the overblown pop productions of the era, and her blend of pop, jazz, and Brazilian sounds helped sow the first seeds of what we now know as "world music."

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