Joao Voz E Violao [Import]

Joao Gilberto | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 13, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Verve Records
• ASIN: B00004KDC0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,314 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #96 in Music > World Music > Latin Music > Brazilian > Bossa Nova

Editorial Reviews

CD > BRAZILIAN MUSIC > BOSSA NOVA

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Godfather of Bossa Nova, June 15, 2000

By 

"jeffinho_branco" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joao Voz E Violao (Audio CD)

Antonio Carlos Jobim is probably the most recognizable bossa nova figure, but without Joćo Gilberto, there would be no bossa nova (as had been said by the late Jobim himself). Gilberto was the one who originated the guitar rhythm, and used the laid-back vocals. This new CD is just what the title says--voice and guitar. I have heard complaints about the CD: it barely totals 30 minutes, there are only 4 songs that he hasn't recorded before, and his voice and presentation are a little too laid-back, almost weak. But if you're a big bossa nova fan, I can't see any reason not to add this to your collection--Joćo is still the voice of bossa nova music. It's also great to hear him singing the Caetano Veloso songs on this CD.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Going Strong, July 26, 2000

By 

Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joao Voz E Violao (Audio CD)

I haven't heard anything new in a long time from Joao Gilberto and so am delighted that he has released this selection of Bossa Nova standards featuring just his voice and guitar. Thirty-five years have passed since the heyday of the genre and Gilberto's voice is just as it ever was. I had to laugh when I read one review that said it sounded cool in Portuguese but lyrically banal when translated into English. Well, this is Brazilian pop, and most pop music in any language tends not to be deep. But compare this pop with its contemporary American counterpart and I'll take the Brazilian every time. Joao is smooth, relaxed, and soothing here and thus is the perfect thing to listen to while sitting on your patio with your morning coffee watching the sun come up. My favorite cuts are Voce Vai Ver, Chega de Saudade, and the all-time classic Desafinado. If you are a Bossa Nova fan, this album deserves a place in your collection. The CD may be short, but it sure is sweet.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Joao as meant to be heard, October 29, 2000

By 

E. Barteldes "jazzcritic" (Staten Island,NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joao Voz E Violao (Audio CD)

Music, as all other arts, has creators, imitators and developers. Of the second category there is little to say; they basically jump the wagon and profit whatever they can from the creator, while the developer tries his best to make the original creation grow further. In Brazil, samba had been around for ages, but it took the genius of Bahia-born Joćo Gilberto to develop the local beat and blend it with elements of cool jazz, thus creating a whole new style, Bossa Nova, which swept the planet during the late fifties and early sixties, and still influences a great number of musicians, from Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz in their time to George Michael and Tuck & Patty nowadays.

Pray silence now, for the man who created the whole thing, with the support of Antonio Carlos Jobim (who ,against his own will took the credit for himself), Vinicius de Morais and others has just released a new studio album, eight years after 1992's "Joćo" and three after the live "Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar" (all titles, are, by the way, available in the U.S.). And this time, alas, he plays by himself. Just the man, his guitar and his voice, and no audience sounds.

The album, properly titled "Joao Voz e Violao (Joao, Voice and Guitar )opens with Caetano Veloso-penned "Desde Que O Samba É Samba" (Ever Since Samba Was Samba). Veloso,also a son of Bahia, wrote the song in 1993 as a tribute to samba and Bossa-Nova. In Joćo Gilberto's voice, the the lyric is taken to a whole new dimension:

A tristeza é senhora/ Desde que o samba é samba é assim/ A lágrima clara sobre a pele escura A chuva fria que cai lá fora Solidćo apavora Tudo demorando em ser tćo ruim Mas há uma coisa no tanto agora em mim Cantando mando a tristeza embora...

(Sadness is dominant/Ever since samba was samba it has been like that/the clear tear over the dark skin/The cold rain falling on the outside/Solitude is frightening/Bad things taking so long/ But there is something inside me/By singing I send sadness away...)

Caetano Veloso,who produced the album, is an innovator in his own right; he was the co-founder of of yet another wave in Brazilian popular music which blended Bossa Nova and other elements of Brazilian sounds with the influence of late sixties psychedelics and came up, in 1968, with a whole new sound, labeled "tropicalism." With time,he became more and more refined in his songwriting, and Joćo Gilberto's influence became more and more evident in his work, to the point of recording a rare Gilberto composition, "Vocź Esteve Com Meu Bem?" (Have You Been With My Sweetheart?", never recorded by its composer) in his 1996 "Fina Estampa En Vivo". Veloso and Gilberto are friends, and the latter was instrumental in Veloso's return from his politically enforced exile after three years in Europe.

The album also contains two classics which are present on virtually every Bossa Nova or Joćo Gilberto collection: Desafinado (Off-Key) and Chega de Saudade, which are both Tom Jobim co-compositions. The first was present in 1964's quadruple Grammy award winner Getz/Gilberto. The second one is considered by music historians the song that, in 1959, started the whole Bossa Nova wave. In this album, the songs are performed like Gilberto does onstage these days, with no accompaniment. I believe the singer and Veloso decided to re-make the two songs (specially "Chega de Saudade")in order to have a "proper" studio versions, since the earlier ones, recorded years ago, where too much in the musical format of the time, and Gilberto's guitar playing was not very well heard. There are, of course, the live version, but the applause somewhat damages the recording, specially when you're dealing with a very subtle vocalist and guitarist.

The other tracks are equally interesting. My personal favorite is "Nćo Vou Para Casa"(I'm not Going Home), a humorous samba in which the singer is urged to go back home, but refuses to return "before the sun rises". Very good are also Tom Jobim's "Vocź Vai Ver"(You'll See) and another Veloso composition, "Coraēćo Vagabundo"(Vagabond Heart). The only bad thing about the CD is that is is too short for the price; it has merely 35 minutes, which gives the listener a feeling of dissatisfaction as the album ends.

The cover of the album shows a girl with her finger on her lips,requesting silence. It is a direct message to the public of Credicard Hall in Sćo Paulo that booed Joao Gilberto during his 1999 performance, when, ever the perfectionist, complained of excessive feedback from the sound system. He reacted by showing his tongue to the public and left Caetano Veloso, who was also performing that night, alone on stage to finish the show. One can be almost sure that the idea for the cover came from Veloso.

One fact that gives this CD great importance is the fact that many of the original Bossa Nova players are no longer in this world. Stan Getz passed away in 1991, Jobim in 1994, Vinicius de Morais in 1980 and Charlie Byrd left us recently. Of course they left us countless recordings of their music, but fresh work from them is very rare, as Joćo Gilberto himself rarely does studio work. The album, yes, is short, but it is a very good addition to the collection of a listener of good music. A fine wine will go well with the album.

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.