If I had one jazz album to keep and had to throw the rest away, Getz/Giberto would be at the top of my list to save. Released in March of 1964, Getz/Gilberto is one of, if not the greatest Jazz/Bossa Nova albums ever released. The mixture of Stan Getz’s beautiful, soulful saxophone, mixed with the Latin-inspired guitar and soft, silky singing that comes from João Gilberto makes Getz/Gilberto one of the best listening experiences. Throughout this album, guest singer Astrud Gillberto would make appearances in songs such as “Girl from Ipanema” and “Corcovado (Quiet Nights at Quiet Stars)”, providing a similar feel to Gilberto’s but, instead of Portuguese, she sang in English, providing a higher level of connection for English listeners.

The American population was entranced by the album, with it earning four Grammys. These awards included Best Album, Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Best Engineering, and Best Non-Classical Album. Earning four Grammys for a Bossa Nova/Jazz album in 1964 was revolutionary for the time. Instead of another classical album, a whole new genre appeared and immediately dominated the playing field. This domination over other albums was not just shown during the Grammys, but also on the Billboard 100. According to udiscovermusic, Getz/Gilberto hit number two on Billboard charts, the first time a Jazz Album has ever been in the top 10 of a Billboard chart. The rest of this article will be my thoughts and opinions on some of the best songs off the album.

The first track off of Stan/Getz is the most popular track released by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, and for a good reason; the beautiful combination of João Gilberto’s soft guitar and voice while Stan Getz plays soft, almost silky saxophone in the background builds a calming, yet attentive track. The song starts off with Gilberto playing his guitar while singing in Portuguese about a girl from the town of Ipanema, Brazil. Astrud Glllberto would sing the same lyrics, except in English. The softness of both of their voices in this song makes it sound almost like a love song, but it is a song about admiring the beauty of youthfulness in life. Years later, the girl from Ipanema would be revealed as  Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto. In the "Girl From Ipanema" story, by Jazz Fuel, it is revealed by Composer João that Heloísa just simply caught his attention and radiated youth and grace, becoming the girl from Ipanema

Doralice was originally a Greek word meaning ‘gift’, and was used widely as a feminine name. The lyrics by “Doralice” by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, despite the upbeat instrumental, describes the mess and inconvenience that Gilberto keeps finding in love. The starting lyrics go as such: “Doralice, it’s as I spoke: To love is but a joke, Silly and out of control; I’d rather keep to myself.” I think the instrumental is supposed to be a mirror to these lyrics, showing the true beauty that love can bring to someone. The fact that love can be used as a doralice, a gift to someone, but also be used in the way Gilberto keeps experiencing it, a pain and an inconvenience.

Desafinado, a Portuguese word, translates into “out of tune” or “off key”. In 1959, Bossa Nova artist Antônio Carlos Jobim composed “Desafinado” as a response to critics calling Bossa Nova the genre for bad singers, twisting the meaning behind Desafinado into a beautiful song about the tragic falling out of love. Getz and Gilberto covered this song in Getz/Gilberto, with Getz pouring his heart out in a beautifully sorrowful saxophone solo. In 2001, “Desafinado” off of the Getz/Gilberto album, was put into the Latin GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

“Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)” starts off with Astrud Gillberto singing in an almost sorrowful tone, but with beautifully written love lyrics: “Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams. Quiet walks by quiet streams. And a window that looks out on Corcovado. Oh, how lovely.” Astrud sings about the beautiful nights of Rio de Janeiro. Corcovado, one of the tallest mountains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is known for the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer (Jesus Christ) and has a magnificent view over the Brazilian coast. These nights that Astrud talks about have an overarching tone of romance, with some of João Gilberto’s lyrics in Portuguese complementing that thought. Both Astrud and João’s lyrics, combined with Stan Getz’s beautiful saxophone, make a calm, peaceful, yet romantic piece, making it one of the best songs off of Getz/Gilberto. 

Sources: 

• 'Getz/Gilberto': When Jazz Defined the Rhythms of Brazil - Udiscovermusic.com

• Latin music Grammy Hall of Fame - LatinGrammy.com

• The story behind 'The Girl From Ipanema' - Jazzfuel.com

• 1964 Grammy winners - Grammy.com