Astrud Gilberto

I was rummaging thru my cassette tape collections and came across a tape that I do not remember buying or have divested from some unfortunate soul, The Astrud Gilberto Album.

I was tempted to toss it back to my cassette box but curiosity got the better of me and I brought it out, together with my Foo Fighter, Pantera, and Cold Play tapes.

Its been a few days that the tapes have been sitting on the cassette holder in the car but I still did not have the urge to listen to Astrud Gilberto. I seem to remember that Astrud Gilberto's music is instrumental-orchestral similar to the music of Montavani Orchestra.

But time came that I did not have a choice but to listen to Astrud and first time I heard her (yes, she's  a gurl  ) I thought I was hearing the English and Spanish version of the Philippines very famous Cinderella, you remember her?

Astrud's successful exploit into the music world is a sort of a very fortunate accident. Credit was given to her husband, Joao Gilberto and composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, for her discovery.

Here's he story:

During a recording, a producer felt that one song, Jobim's "The Girl From Ipanema," (you heard this song? I've heard this song as covered by Frank Sinatra, not really one of my favorite song as interpreted by him, but, its a hit. What can I say?) was a potential hit, but needed some English lyrics in addition to Joao's Portuguese. Fortuitously present at the session was Joao's wife Astrud (born in Bahia, Brazil, 1940), who knew a little English, but had no professional singing experience.

She was given a shot at "Ipanema" and the result was so charming that a 7" single version (with Joao's vocal edited out) became a smash hit in America in the summer of 1964.

And, as they say, the rest is history.

No training, whatsoever, as a singer, Astrud's appeal was her childlike, wistful, unaffected voice. There are times that she sings off-key, but her voice is always tinged with sadness that you will always feel the melancholy being imparted by the songs.

I am still having a hard time in trying to appreciate Astrud's music, as I am not really a jazz aficionado. But I am getting there. I've put the cassette on the player a few times and Astrud is sounding better every time.