R.I.P. Astrud Gilberto

For my money, the most charming accidental star in history. No one planned on her singing "The Girl from Ipanema," but she was hanging out in the studio with her husband Joao and Stan Getz when they recorded it and someone on the spur of the moment suggested she sing it, even though she didn't really have any background as a singer. When they listened to the playback, everyone loved it, and Astrud found herself with a decades long singing career.

I heard it was because she spoke both English and Portuguese, and they wanted a translation? In any case, it was a most welcome accident. I wish her understated way of singing was a lot more influential in this era of overwrought "diva" vox.

She made some wonderful records and was my (and many others, I bet) gateway to bossa nova.

Her vocals on "Corcovado" are also stunning. Can't say I've heard her sing anything else beyond that Getz-Gilberto-Jobim album.

I HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANYTHING BETTER TO DO is a beautiful soft pop album, with influences going beyond Brazil.

Listening to the New Wave Of British Jazz Pop in the mid-80s primed me to go back to the originators like Astrud Gilberto. In 1987 the nascent CD era brought forth a fantastic compilation on Verve that's a bulletproof advocacy for the manifold charms of Ms. Gilberto. I dug in deep for a few years to her oeuvre. There was one 1977 "disco" album that Chet Baker guested on to keep it from the discard pile. I always think of her as the shrinking violet of Samba. So demure.

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Ha, I bought that album. It was somewhat misleading titled “The Girl From Ipanema” so I assumed it was the original version. (I was not yet hep to Getz/Gilberto.) But the goofy disco version was good kitschy fun.

Her vocal range was a bit limited and mostly mono-tonal, but it struck me as incredibly sensuous in a way I had never experienced. And it was Astrud who introduced me to bossa nova many years ago and a it's a genre I dj often...tonight I honored her by playing one of her songs ("So Nice") at my set.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2023 01:07AM by Fleeingbandit.