Leila Pinheiro - Isso e Bossa Nova

Leila Pinheiro | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: MSI MUSIC/SUPER D
• Copy Protected
• ASIN: B00000G9AT
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,473 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Tracks: (Disc 1) 1 - Overture ; 2 - A primeira vez ; 2 - Primeira vez ; 3 - Discussao ; 4 - Amor certinho ; 5 - Sem mais adeus ; 6 - Caminhos cruzados ; 7 - Este seu olhar ; 8 - Folha de papel ; 8 - Folja de papel ; 9 - Samba da pergunta ; 9 - Samba de pergunta ; 10 - Por quem morreu de amor ; 11 - Chega de saudade ; 12 - Rapaz de bem ; 13 - Sabe voce ; 14 - Samba do aviao ;

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece by Brazil's reigning princess of Bossa Nova, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Leila Pinheiro - Isso e Bossa Nova (Audio CD)

Isso e Bossa Nova is, quite simply, one of the greatest interpretations of Bossa Nova classics ever recorded. For those of you not familiar, Bossa Nova is a style of Brazilian music that first developed and became very popular in the early 1960s. It was a dramatic turn in Brazilian music, which had been dominated by samba -- a relatively fast, multi-rythmic dance and party music. The earliest pioneers of Bossa Nova, influenced by American "cool jazz" tried to dramatically quiet down Samba while retaining its essential rythmic complexity. Bossa Nova crossed over to the U.S. in the 1960s, particularly through collaborations between American jazz musicians and the greatest Bossa Nova composers and musicians, such as Tom Jobim and Joao Gilberto. The center of gravity of Brazilian musical culture has moved on, but some musicians, like Leila, lovingly preserve and re-interpret Bossa Nova, just as many great singers in the U.S. continue to sing the great jazz "standards." Ironically, Leila has produced many other albums, but to my ears, many are "over-produced," sounding like 1970s jazz fusion. In this album, her producers pared down the accomanying musicians, letting Leila's voice and vision emerge with crystal clarity. What is so remarkable about this album is the combination of reverence for the great composers and the impact of Leila's profoundly personal, new interpretations. Her voice is crystal clear and pure; her pronunciation of Brazilian Portuguese lyrics is playful (even if you don't understand a word of her language). Plus it simply swings -- it's one of the most rythmically moving collections I've ever heard -- while being very quiet and intimate. Two of my favorite singles are Sabe Voce and Samba de Pergunta. Sabe Voce is a beautiful monologue presumably by a poor person to a rich person about the nature of love. Samba de Pergunta is a beautiful, haunting, contemplative and mysterious bossa nova-samba about a woman who is disappearing into her own private thoughts. I can't tell you how beautiful this music is. I bought this CD about two years ago, and my musical education has ended here: I can play it over and over, only growing more fond of it, finding more subtleties in the poetry of the lyrics, the complexity of the poly-rythms and the sophistication of Leila's interpretation. This is one CD to purchase without hesitation and treasure for the rest of your life!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most truly artful singers in the world., December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Leila Pinheiro - Isso e Bossa Nova (Audio CD)

Little known in North America, Leila Pinheiro is one of the most artful and emotive singers I've ever encountered. I have listened to this CD hundreds of times and keep coming back to it. Strictly speaking, this isn't jazz, but as someone whose taste runs to the great jazz singers - Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald Betty Carter - I love this record. It doesn't sound like any of the people above, of course. But like all of the people above, Leila tells you who she is as she sings. A truly beautiful record! I've played it for many people, with differing musical sensibilities, and everyone loves it. It's the rare case of a work that has very broad appeal without compromises of any kind.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars familiar songs, done in a fetchingly personal style, November 21, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leila Pinheiro - Isso e Bossa Nova (Audio CD)

this is a quite wonderful album, mixing some beloved bossa classics with some that deserve to be. among them, my personal nominations as standouts are three in number.

1. how many times has "Samba Do Aviao" been recorded? a hundred? a thousand? enough, certainly, to suggest to anyone remotely acquainted with mpb (subcategory bossa)that its interpretive potential has got to have been exhausted. but whoa! here comes leila pinheiro with an interpretation fresh and compelling enough to make the jobim classic sound new all over again.

2. at the end of her wonderful treatment of menescal-boscoli's "Por Quem Morreu De Amor" listen for a charmingly scatted little quote from their better known "O Barquinho."

3. her rendition of johnny alf's "Rapaz De Bem" once again causes me to wonder why the music of this wonderful pianist and composer is not more widely known outside his native country.

i take note of the earlier critic's comments about over production, and to some extent admit that could be outputting for some. but if you were enchanted (as i have been) by the master tom's collaborations with claus ogermann, i don't think you'll find leila's orchestral arrangments anything less than tasteful.