Getz/Gilberto [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 20, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1963
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000047CX
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (154 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,780 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Music > World Music > Latin Music > Brazil > Bossa Nova
  #4 in	Music > Jazz > Brazilian Jazz
  #7 in	Music > Jazz > Cool Jazz

• This is item 6 in The Verve Music Group Desert Island Discs Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Originally released in March 1964, this collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto came at seemingly the end of the bossa nova craze Getz himself had sparked in 1962 with Jazz Samba, his release with American guitarist Charlie Byrd. Jazz Samba remains the only jazz album to reach number one in the pop charts. In fact, the story goes that Getz had to push for the release of Getz/Gilberto since the company did not want to compete with its own hit; it was a good thing he did. Getz/Gilberto, which featured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, not only yielded the hit "Girl from Ipanema" (sung by Astrud Gilberto, the guitarist's wife, who had no professional experience) but also "Corcovado" ("Quiet Night")--an instant standard, and the definitive version of "Desafinado." Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. It remains one of those rare cases in popular music where commercial success matches artistic merit. Bossa nova's "cool" aesthetic--with its understated rhythms, rich harmonies, and slightly detached delivery--had been influenced, in part, by cool jazz. Gilberto in particular was a Stan Getz fan. Getz, with his lyricism, the bittersweet longing in his sound, and his restrained but strong swing, was the perfect fit. His lines, at once decisive and evanescent, focus the rest of the group's performance without overpowering. A classic. --Fernando Gonzalez

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essence of bossa nova, November 25, 1999

By	Don O. (Canada) - See all my reviews

This album is bossa nova's finest moment. It contains the definitive version of one of the greatest hits in jazz music --- The Girl From Ipanema --- the first part sung in Portuguese by guitarist/singer João Gilberto, the second in English by his ex-wife Astrud who had never sung professionally before this recording. All the songs were written by Antonio Carlos Jobim except Para Machucar Meu Coraçao and Doralice. Stan Getz's lyrical yet swinging solos complement João's equally lyrical singing and rhythmic guitar playing. The unassuming Jobim plays a brief but beautiful piano solo on Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars). Tommy Williams (bass) and Milton Banana (drums) provide the steady rhythm without overpowering the music. To this day, Getz/Gilberto remains the definitive bossa nova album.

The sound quality on this 20-bit remastered edition is even more brilliant than the original CD reissue. Moreover, the fading notes on some of the selections have been extended, thus prolonging the listening pleasure just a bit more.

This album proves that music is indeed a universal language. You don't need to know Portuguese to understand, let alone, appreciate this album. All you need is the ability to appreciate fine music and an innate sense to admire beauty, and this CD has plenty to offer.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ageless pleasure, July 31, 1998

By A Customer

A college friend recommended this album to me once while shopping for some new music. He told me he didn't think I would go wrong with it, that it was pretty good. I had no idea what it was or who Jobim, Getz, or Gilberto were at the time but I figured his recommendation was as good as the reviews I read on the backs of the album covers for music I had never heard, so I bought it. That was over 30 years ago and I still listen regularly to this "Getz/Gilberto" album......I don't understand a word of the Portuguese but the music is as fresh today as it was back then. It continues to touch my soul and smooth me (especially after a day with lots of rough edges), it lifts me, it soothes me and bathes me in warmth and hope...it is light, whimsical, deep, and so...very...rhythmically balanced. Thank God for CD's, the old vinyl disc was worn so badly..... I listen and I want the music to go on forever...and for me, so far, it has....."Quiet nights of quiet stars! , quiet chords from my guitars, floating on the silence that surrounds us, quiet thoughts and quiet dreams, quiet walks by quiet streams,and the window that looks out on Corcovado.." This music brings me ageless pleasure, and...as we (the music and I) recede farther and farther from 1963, its velvety chords just getter better and better........"Oh, how lovely".......

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, December 19, 1999

By	Steven Strahan (The Caribbean) - See all my reviews

How did I find this gem? I was looking at Sade, whom I think are pretty good themselves. But there was something about their sound (and this may betray my ignorance of music...) that I couldn't put a finger on. Here on Amazon, they indicate what other music is bought by those who buy certain discs. Sade buyers buy Getz/Gilberto. I checked into it and bought it.

The first time I listened to Getz/Gilberto I almost burst into tears (I'm as sensitive as the next, but this was something else...), struck by it's beauty and power. I was captivated, enthralled... I listened to it three times back to back to back. Though I don't understand Portugese, it's not necessary in order to understand what is being conveyed. This is what musicians strive to accomplish, too often without success.

This album was recorded over 35 years ago. Compare it to the bland, slick, superficial, and generally passionless music so often presented today. Getz/Gilberto reminds us that honest emotion, delivered with technical competence is truly a work of art.

I wish (and hope...) that there are young musicians somewhere out there who are listening to, and learning from, this and other recordings like it. Perhaps they'll return quality and yes, artistry to popular music.