GILBERTO, Astrud Archives - Guerssen Records

Now

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Now is Astrud Gilberto’s first attempt to be taken seriously as a songwriter, at a time when simply singing standards was seen as lacking. Her four songs on this ten-song album show she has a way with a melody, though obviously influenced by countrymen Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben, and her producer Eumir Deodato. “Gingele” and “Zigy Zigy Za” are exactly the kind of rip-based tropicalismo that Ben and company were making popular around this time. “Take It Easy My Brother Charlie” is probably her best song here. Very few concessions are made to America; only “Daybreak (Walking Out of Yesterday)” comes from the pop world, with instrumentation and sound coming from south of the equator.

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Windy

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Windy is a 1968 studio album by Astrud Gilberto, arranged by Eumir Deodato, Don Sebesky, and Patrick Williams. Windy proves one of Astrud Gilberto’s most consistent and sublime eports, artfully straddling the division between Brazilian bossa nova and American sunshine pop.

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The Astrud Gilberto Album (Limited Edition)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Astrud Gilberto became an accidental success when her fragile command of English made her the de facto choice to sing “The Girl from Ipanema” at a session led by Stan Getz and her husband, João Gilberto. Of course, despite its overwhelming success, it wasn’t clear that she could sustain a career when she recorded her first solo LP, The Astrud Gilberto Album. She had sounded more like an amateurish novelty act than a recording professional, her voice was sweet but fragile, and the Getz/Gilberto album had featured two strong voices, with Gilberto herself an afterthought (albeit a commercially effective afterthought). But The Astrud Gilberto Album was at least as good as Getz/Gilberto (despite what jazz fans say), for several reasons. The Brazilian repertoire plays particularly well to traditionally weak vocalists, her voice was yet more sweet than had been heard previously, and as before, the record featured two strong leaders — arranger Marty Paich and the incomparable Antonio Carlos Jobim. Paich’s strings positively coated the album with radiance, and his choices for lead instrumental voices — Bud Shank’s flute, João Donato’s piano, Jobim’s guitar — complemented her vocals perfectly. Gilberto sounded beautiful on a range of material, from the sentimental “Dindi” to the playful “Agua de Beber,” and as long as intelligent musicians were playing to her strengths (as they do here), the results were splendid. John Bush

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