GOODBYE BOSSA NOVA LADY

Astrud Gilberto passed away a couple days ago. Identified mostly with bossa nova, she was the female voice on Stan Getz's "The Girl From Ipanema", the one song of hers that everybody knows. She did others. Here's a few. They may be a bit mellow for you. Tough shit, I like 'em. It's prime post-beach barbecue music. Pop them Hamm's.

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Listen:
Stan Getz With Astrud Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema mp3 at Internet Archive
Astrud Gilberto - Corcovado mp3 at Internet Archive
Astrud Gilberto (Feat Antonio Carlos Jobim) - Agua De Beber mp3 at Internet Archive
Astrud Gilberto - All That's Left is to Say Goodbye mp3 at Internet Archive
Astrud Gilberto - Felicidade mp3 at Internet Archive

STILL, LOSE THE SHOES.

This was weird. I got home from the beach today and had some chores to do, so I put on one of many of the go-to after beach records that I dig. The record was the 1964 collaboration with Stan Getz and João Gilberto, appropriately named Getz/Gilberto. It's jazz mixed with bossa nova, with a line up that features Getz on sax, Gilberto on guitar and vocals, Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano and Gilberto's wife Astrud on vocals on two songs. It's like a supergroup. Seriously folks, if you don't own any other Brazilian or bossa nova titles, this is one you should get. Though it's one of the best selling jazz LPs of all time, it's not really jazz. It's not straight up bossa nova either. But it's great, a mid-sixties pool party classic. Mad Men era chill music.

What was weird about picking that album to play was that, while I was listening to it, I took a break to check the news headlines online. Fuckin' A, João Gilberto passed away today at the age of 88. Head scratchers hear me, it's like losing the Chuck Berry of bossa nova.

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Listen:
Stan Getz and João Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema mp3 at Caipirinha Lounge with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto
Stan Getz and João Gilberto - Corcovado mp3 at Caipirinha Lounge
João Gilberto - Bim Bom mp3 at Sadko Martin Considered by some the first bossa nova song.
Stan Getz and João Gilberto - O Grande Amor mp3 at Il Tafano

DUDE...SHOES.

Astrud and João Gilberto

You'll have to excuse me. After day at the beach, with trunks still well, sunburned and salty, I had to cool off. I had little choice. It was time for some bossa nova. Yeah, laid back. Sue me. I've been meaning to post some Brazilian stuff anyway, ahead of the Summer Olympics, because there might be all sorts of side stories there and they may taint your associations with Brazilian music (that is, if you haven't heard much). At the very least there's the Zika virus, which is tragic no matter how you look at it. Then there's that "Welcome to Hell" thing. Yeesh. You never know though, things could go well.

If you've heard one bossa nova song, chances are it's "The Girl From Ipanema", most likely the English version, sung by Astrud Gilberto and backed by João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz. It's like the "Johnny B, Goode" of bossa nova (although that reference may be lost on you younger folk). The story goes that in the midst of a recording session for the Getz/Gilberto LP, which included the Portuguese version sung by Antonio Carlos Jobim, someone had the big idea to record a version sung in English. Gilberto's wife Astrud, an untrained singer, was chosen to sing because she was the only Brazilian in the studio that spoke English well enough to wing it.

Here's that song, and a few Astrud Gilberto oddballs, if only because she managed to milk a career out of a chance opportunity. Then there's a link to a post that includes, what the author claims are, the eleven best bossa nova songs, past and present. I'm in no position to argue. If you're still not fully chillin', there's another link to a 46 song compilation Blue Note Plays Bossa Nova, featuring jazz artists on the Blue Note label, which means most aren't Brazilian but, hell, I ran across it so I'm not going to let the link go to waste.

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Listen:
Stan Getz and João Gilberto with Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema mp3 at Caipirinha Lounge
Walter Wanderley Trio with Astrud Gilberto - It's A Lovely Day Today mp3 at Art Decade Bossa nova with organ, you don't hear that everyday.
Thievery Corporation with Astrud Gilberto - Light My Fire mp3 at Spacepack Not bossa nova, but interesting pairing
Elis Regina - Águas de Março mp3 at Caipirinha Lounge Because the author claims it is the number one of all time, the best version of "the perfect bossa nova". Sounds good to me. Awesome in fact.
Visit:
Top 11 Bossa Nova Songs, Past & Present at Caipirinha Lounge
Blue Note Plays Bossa Nova at Internet Archive Note: Scroll down until you see VBR MP3 iunder "Download options" in the right column. Click on that.

WHAT WOULD GETZ DO?

I had reservations about posting the image above. Is it objectifying a woman because of her looks? What about the fur? Dead animals laying all over her? It could get me into hot water with all sorts of people. If I saw this sort of thing today, I'm not sure I'd give it a second glance. Is it okay to drool today, because "it was a different time" when the photo was taken? I don't care. It's Astrud Gilberto, which makes the image all the more arresting. Seeing the woman who sang the most relaxed song ever recorded, in that get up? Sorry, excuse me all to hell, I gotta be honest here. All things considered, she looks hot.

She recorded the song, "The Girl From Ipanema", more than once, and I'm not sure which one is the first. I don't particularly care. I'm not in the mood for more legwork than necessary after hearing it again. I'm too relaxed. All sorts of fun facts can be found here and here. The song has a rich history, that much I remember. I am now going to go chill my head off.

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Listen:
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto - The Girl from Ipanema mp3 at Basaap
Astrud Gilberto - Stay mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Video:
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto - The Girl from Ipanema at YouTube Getz and crew show up at 1:30. Looks like stoners to me.

FIGHT ROAD RAGE

The man, João Gilberto, and first lady, Astrud Gilberto

It all started with a hunt on BandCamp, a site that lets bands can sell their own music via download or CD. As you might guess, this lets all sorts of hack amateurs in, so a hunt for good stuff is random at best. Thankfully, Maylee Todd had an interesting album cover. That prompted a sample listen, and it was some good stuff; bossa nova, as if Stereolab had crashed the recording session. Before I knew it, I was pulling the first Nouvelle Vague CD for my daily drive. As I listened to it, it occurred to me that bossa nova always has a calming effect, it makes it seem like you're on a sunny beach. I figured some of you may be freezing your ass off right about now, so here's some a little sumpin' sumpin' to warm you up.

Maylee Todd, the kid

First, about the instigator, Ms Maylee Todd. As much as I dug her "Summer Sounds," the imaginative video for the song is really good clean fun; switching gears mid-song before ascending into an intergalactic dance party. Then there's Nouvelle Vague, whom some of you may be familiar with. Their first album was bossa nova themed, and, like their subsequent releases, all covers; specifically new wave, post-punk and punk covers. It featured singers from France, Brazil and New York, all selected for their unfamiliarity with the original versions. Nowhere is the juxtaposition more intriguing than their take on the Dead Kennedy's "Too Drunk to Fuck." Next up is the Mosquitos, a band consisting of two New Yorkers and, literally, a girl from Ipanema. (Not sure if they're still at it, their site seems to be dormant.) Following them is Smokey & Miho, an unlikely collaboration between a guitarist for Beck, and a singer from Japan's Cibo Matto. And after them, three cuts from bossa nova royalty, the Gilberto clan. João Gilberto is of course, the Chuck Berry of bossa nova; the dude created it. That's huge; like inventing reggae or something. Astrud, his wife, had never sung professionally before being coaxed by Stan Getz, into trying the vocals for "The Girl From Ipanema." And then there's daughter Bebel, holder of the Gilberto torch.

The Mosquitos

Just a couple more. There's Quincy Jones' take on the sound in "Soul Bossa Nova," if only to illustrate that when the band gets too big, you lose the necessary simplicity. The most ill-informed of the bunch is a cover from a hokey concept project, Bossa n' Ramones. It's rather tacky, even when compared to Nouvelle Vague, but it's a curiosity nonetheless. The last link is to the top eleven bossa nova songs, past and present, as selected by Caipirinha Lounge. This is a no-brainer. I will humbly defer to their picks, as they know eleven bona fide bossa nova artists and I had to pad my picks with a bunch of newer artists. Plus they've got a very cool site, and must know what the hell they're talking about.

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Maylee Todd - Summer Sounds mp3 at I Love T.O.
Nouvelle Vague - Too Drunk to Fuck mp3 at Town Full of Losers
Mosquitos - Boom Box mp3 at Kick Kick Snare
Smokey & Miho - Consolacao mp3 at Salon.com
Astrud Gilberto - Berimbau mp3 at Too Much Happiness
Bebel Gilberto - Chica Chica Boom Chic mp3 at Panic Manual
João & Astrud Gilberto w/Stan Getz - The Girl From Ipanema mp3 at Caipirinha Lounge
Bossa n' Ramones - Blitzkreig Bop mp3 at Music For Maniacs
ESSENTIAL: Top 11 Bossa Nova Songs, Past & Present at Caipirinha Lounge