Momento [Digipak]

Performer: Bebel Gilberto
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Only Bebel Gilberto's third album in seven years, MOMENTO is an ideal fusion of the bossa nova sound popularized by her father, Joao Gilberto, with cool dancefloor electronica and sweet pop melodies. In contrast to the trance-like, downtempo sound of her debut album, TANTO TEMPO, and the more overtly Brazilian vibe of 2004's BEBEL GILBERTO, MOMENTO balances those two sides of Gilberto's musical personality and adds a previously hidden knack for catchy pop tunes. The overall effect of the chilly electronic beats, mellow acoustic guitars, and Gilberto's warm, inviting vocals (with lyrics in both Portuguese and English) is strongly reminiscent of the British duo Everything But the Girl, especially on Gilberto's overtly bossa nova-inspired take on Cole Porter's "Night and Day," which takes some cues from the duo's extremely similar arrangement of the tune. Another highlight is the pulsing dance-pop of "Bring Back the Love," which has the epic sweep of an early disco hit, thanks to guest stars the Brazilian Girls. Musically wide-ranging and uniformly memorable, MOMENTO is Bebel Gilberto's finest album yet.

CMJ (p.5) - "The album fuses bossa nova and samba with languid guitar lines to create a warm and hypnotic atmosphere." Down Beat (p.70) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "MOMENTO offers magic and mystery, expressed in the album's blurring of acoustic/electronic textures, and in the twilight urban mood that permeates every track." JazzTimes (p.113) - "Bebel's breathy dreaminess recalls the misty Astrud, but the Gilberto progeny explores wider musical horizons. Hers is a distinctly more pop-jazz sound..." Dirty Linen (p.74) - "[A] drifting cruise across sea and foam to an enchanted island of tranquility and undulating soft rhythms..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he fieriest, most obviously Brazilian efforts -- 'Tranquilo' and 'Cacada', with its forro drums and flutes -- are the stand-outs."

As the daughter of Joao Gilberto, one of the chief architects of the bossa nova sound, and the step-daughter of singer Astrud Gilberto, perhaps the genre's most recognizable voice, Bebel Gilberto is at the fore of the second generation of bossa nova talent. While Gilberto's music is firmly rooted in Brazil's proud musical tradition, it is also marked by tasteful electronica and club music flourishes. Her breezy, sophisticated, and critically lauded 2000 debut, TANTO TEMPO, was given the remix treatment by a host of dancefloor heavyweights in 2003.

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