41. Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto (1964)

1. The Girl from Ipanema* 

2. Doralice

3. Para Machucar Meu Coracao

4. Desafinado

5. Corcovado (Quite Nights of Quiet Stars)*

6. So Danco Samba

7. O Grande Amor*

8. Vivo Sonhando

A

I don't know why but for some reason this album always assumes a perhaps undue importance in my mind. I guess because it's my touchpoint for Brazilian music, because it's very pretty, because it sold a million copies... All sorts of reasons. And this is a landmark album, not only consolidating bossa nova's hold on the world's imagination but revitalising the careers of the Brazilian musicians involved and introducing the world to Astrud Gilberto - whose vocal contributions on this album would have to be some of the most iconic and influential in popular music.

And really, maybe it's just because I don't speak Portuguese, but the Astrud Gilberto tracks where she sings in English are the ones that stick with me. Then again I have a habit of preferring the female vocalists on male dominated albums - a good example would be my frustration with the Pixies, which resulted in my becoming a devoted Kim Deal fan after I realised she only sang on like two songs for them but had a wealth of great albums of her own. But I'm rambling.

So this is a beautiful album. It's very pretty. The arrangements are minimal - just guitar, a tiny bit of drum, and the odd piano flourish, all there to support the vocals. Luckily, Brazilian Portuguese is a very beautiful language to listen to. For all I know Joao Gilberto could be reciting a list of war crimes or expostulating on his love of scat porn, but it comes across as very pretty and relaxing. "The Girl from Ipanema" is the standout track, and it actually serves as a good example of the economy of song writing displayed on this album - it's basically just the same melody repeated a few times, with Joao, Astrud and saxophonist Getz taking turns playing it through. The same thing happens on a few of the other songs, and it's kind of neat but kind of unusual too. 

The only real misstep on this album is "Doralice". The overall mood of the album is chill and laid-back and super-relaxed, but "Doralice" is an annoying up-tempo number with Joao singing in a slightly smug tone of voice, and really feels out of place. My favourite song that isn't "The Girl from Ipanema", however, is "O Grande Amor". It's a beautiful, melancholy number that features some of Stan Getz' very best playing, and in a sane world it would have been the closer for the album instead of the not-terribly-remarkable "Vivo Sonhando".

Honestly, though, I can't fully judge this album because it's vocal jazz and I speak two words of Brazilian Portuguese and both of them are dirty. It's a beautiful listen. Obviously there's some exoticism involved, but I get the sense that the original composers intended these songs to evoke a mood of another place and time to begin with - of quiet nights drinking alone, days on the beach, unrequited loves and so forth. I mean, I know "Desafinado" is meant to be a joke about the song not following traditional harmony, and "So Danco Samba" is about someone who refuses to dance anything but samba, but my point stands, I feel.

Anyway this is a great album and if you only know "The Girl from Ipanema" you should listen to the whole thing. Astrud Gilberto will be back in a few years worth of albums, so that's something to look forward to. I mean, without her we probably never would have gotten Stereolab.