Let’s be straightforward about this: saying you know and appreciate music while not having heard “Getz/Gilberto” is like saying you know movies but have never seen Casablanca. You just don’t know what you’re talking about because a major piece of art is missing from your catalogue. This 1963 album has never been out of print; this expanded edition, in both mono and stereo, with extra takes and 45rpm versions of the hit tunes like “Girl From Ipanema” are simply extra enticements to finally get this music under your skin.
Stan Getz may not have exactly started the bossa nova craze, and thereby saving jazz, with this album, but he was definitely part of the first wave. And what an impact the soft wispy voice of Astrud Gilberto had on the US! Who hasn’t been moved by her sighing on “Corcovado” and the ubiquitous “Ipanema”? Getz’s tenor never sounded more luscious, and the quite chords from the guitars of Joao Gilberto and the fragrant piano of composer Tom Jobim made standards out of almost every song on this album. One to take to the desert island with you.
Verve Records