Gold

Performer: Astrud Gilberto
Producer: Harry Weinger (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Had Astrud Gilberto only ever recorded her endearing rendition of the Antonio Carlos Jobim song "The Girl from Ipanema," she still would have gone down in pop music history. Fortunately, Gilberto had a long association with Verve Records that resulted in a number of jazzy Brazilian pop albums that made excellent use of her breathy voice and unassuming delivery. The two-disc GOLD set skims the cream from Gilberto's output, bringing together her recordings of such bossa nova classics as "Corcovado" and "Berimbau" alongside material that falls more in line with '60s-era adult pop. But whatever the song, Gilberto's wistful, breezy vocals bring out its essential appeal. Well selected, and boasting remastered sound, GOLD is the definitive Astrud Gilberto sampler.

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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