Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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152 of 155 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The essence of bossa nova, November 25, 1999
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.
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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".......
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating, December 19, 1999
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.
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