Getz/Gilberto

For someone who loves jazz, this album is sublime. I must have warn out the original album, and now I have it as a CD.

Perfect for mid-week decompression, that rainy night with a cup of tea or Sunday morning with the Chronicle.

While the world slept, jazz legends like bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Charlie Byrd were taking trips to Brazil and hearing these curious musicians playing something called bossa nova. On one such trip, Byrd returned to the states with some recordings by Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The music on those early tapes kept nagging at Byrd's brain, until he gave in and shared his burning secret with saxophone legend and friend Stan Getz.

Getz really liked what he had heard. He contacted producer Creed Taylor at Verve Records, expressing his desire to play with these guys down in Brazil. Before that recording would be made, in the interim, Byrd and Getz got together and recorded the album "Jazz Samba" in 1962. Suddenly the world woke up and took notice of this new sound with the Billboard hit "Desafinado". Within months the album itself went to number one. Later that same year, Getz recorded the album "Big Band Bossa Nova" and then collaborated with Luiz Bonfa to record the album "Jazz Samba Encore" with Creed Taylor as producer for Verve. The craze had officially begun.

Yet the defining bossa nova album was yet to be recorded, despite the impressive success of Getz's early collaborations. On March 18, 1963 the record, this classic record you see for sale here today, was recorded with Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Joao Gilberto on guitar/vocals, and Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano. Astrud Gilberto was not a musician by any standard prior to this recording. She was simply Joao Gilberto's wife, but one night Getz asked her to sing the English portion of the classic song "The Girl From Ipanema". The rest is history.

To many jazz connoisseurs, this album is the defining recording of bossa nova that set the bar. It won two Grammys in 1964 for best album and best jazz album. But the pop, mainstream acceptance of this album is not what makes this album a must have. This recording is timeless for the musical talent and longevity of those who participated in its creation. Stan Getz was one of the masters of jazz tenor saxophone. His playing combined with the compositional and playing power of Jobim and Gilberto are what make this album withstand the harsh test of time. This is one of the greatest recordings ever made and belongs on the shelf of all music lovers. If you have the old 78, consider this 20-bit digital transfer remaster an overdue upgrade. The music has never been more alive than on this, and you receive two bonus alternate takes as well. Attractively packaged in a cardboard digipak, to hesitate buying this version any longer would be a crime. I give it three billion stars.

This CD is famous for helping making the bossa nova popular. Astrud Gilberto, the novice singer, does a fine job on "The Girl From Ipanema" and "Corcovado". This CD is very poppy, but Stan Getz's sax pulls it towards jazz. He plays with taste and simplicity. Though the rhythm section of Jobim, Williams, and Banana get credit for making it swing, to me, the songs' rhythms are all pretty similar.

This is another artist/arranger who shaped my childhood. My father was totally into the Afro-Cuban movement in jazz (thanks to Dizzy & company). He also loved Stan Getz. So a Getz/Joao Gilberto collaboration (arranged by Gil Evans) was a must-have in our home.

Everyone is familiar with the "Girl From Ipanema," and Joao's ethereal vocals in Portugese and Astrud's bright, clean vocals in English just make this a beauty. Add Getz' sensual saxophone riffs and Gil Evans' arrangements and you're in heaven. Enough said!