41. Stan Getz & João Gilberto — Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Gilb-ARTO is more like it

1. From the first notes, this album is iconic like few before it. Everybody — everybody — knows “The Girl From Ipanema”. This is the Audrey Hepburn of songs. There’s really nothing quite like it, an absolute groove that just buries itself in your ears and doesn’t leave til it’s ready.
2. I felt very similarly about Booker T & The MG’s “Green Onions” (from their album Green Onions), and notably did not feel the same about the rest of that album. Getz/Gilberto is the anti-Green Onions. This whole album takes that groove from “Ipanema” and keeps the party going. The songs can sound similar to one another, but I attribute that to unfamiliarity; this bossa nova sound isn’t exactly my wheelhouse. Compare one song directly to another, though, and they’re totally unique, while maintaining the same vibe throughout.
3. Stan Getz here makes his second appearance on the 1001 in a three year period. His last record (also co-credited, with Charlie Byrd) Jazz Samba was one during which I contemplated the question and conflicts of a couple white dudes from America appropriating the Brazilian bossa nova sound back in the states. No such concerns here; Getz gives João Gilberto equal billing (including the album title itself) and João’s vocals and guitars shine through and through with equal weight to Getz’s still-lovely sax.
4. The album really makes few efforts to Americanize itself, with lyrics almost entirely in Portuguese, on songs written by a collection of Brazilians, performed by a band that — Getz aside — was made up entirely of Brazilian players. It’s a major achievement in breaking down walls (both language and location), and a testament to Getz that after borrowing the bossa nova sound a few years prior, so many of its major players wanted to play along with him here.
5. Even the one way the album does Americanize: a single verse in “The Girl From Ipanema” sung in English — is international. From 1001 Albums:
   
   Legend has it that the producer wanted one verse of “Girl from Ipanema” to be sung in English, not Portuguese. João could not speak English, so his young wife Astrud volunteered to sing a take. Of course, her breathy, girlish vocals became one of the defining vocal performances of the century.
   
   This is a great record.

One Essential Song:

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