Not only is this album a great party CD for "retro" parties, relaxed evenings or just sitting at home and relaxing, but it introduces you to the greats of Brazilian music. Oh, there is a whole lot more great Brazilian music than just this, but this album is surely the place to start. (By the way, if you have insomnia, this can be quite soothing. Lie back on that imaginary beach in Rio and float away on Gilberto's soft voice. Mmmmmmm....)


Captivating   December 19, 1999
 23 out of 23 found this review helpful

How did I find this gem? I was looking at Sade, whom I think are pretty good themselves. But there was something about their sound (and this may betray my ignorance of music...) that I couldn't put a finger on. Here on Amazon, they indicate what other music is bought by those who buy certain discs. Sade buyers buy Getz/Gilberto. I checked into it and bought it.

The first time I listened to Getz/Gilberto I almost burst into tears (I'm as sensitive as the next, but this was something else...), struck by it's beauty and power. I was captivated, enthralled... I listened to it three times back to back to back. Though I don't understand Portugese, it's not necessary in order to understand what is being conveyed. This is what musicians strive to accomplish, too often without success.

This album was recorded over 35 years ago. Compare it to the bland, slick, superficial, and generally passionless music so often presented today. Getz/Gilberto reminds us that honest emotion, delivered with technical competence is truly a work of art.

I wish (and hope...) that there are young musicians somewhere out there who are listening to, and learning from, this and other recordings like it. Perhaps they'll return quality and yes, artistry to popular music.


Quiet Thoughts and Quiet Dreams   March 8, 2003
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

To date, this review has been helpful 26 of 27 times.

A college friend recommended this album to me. He said he didn't think I would go wrong with it, that it was pretty good. I had no idea what it was, or who Jobim, Getz, or Gilberto were, but I figured his recommendation was as good as the reviews I read on the backs of the album covers for music I had never heard, so I bought it. That was over 30 years ago and I still listen regularly to this "Getz/Gilberto" album........I don't understand a word of the Portuguese but the music is as fresh today as it was back then. It continues to touch my soul and smooth me (especially after a day with lots of rough edges), it lifts me, it soothes me and bathes me in warmth and hope. It is light, whimsical, deep, and beautifully balanced rhythmically.

Thank God for CD's; the old vinyl disc was worn so badly. I listen and I want the music to go on forever; and for me, so far, it has.

"Quiet nights of quiet stars, quiet chords from my guitars, floating on the silence that surrounds us, quiet thoughts and quiet dreams, quiet walks by quiet streams,and the window that looks out on Corcovado..."

This music brings me ageless pleasure, and...as we (the music and I) recede farther and farther from 1963, its velvety chords just getter better and better.

"Oh, how lovely . . . "