CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Getz/Gilberto

by: Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto

Release Date May 20, 1997
Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Jobim, and others worked together and created a landmark in jazz and bossa nova, but that's not the reason you should listen to it. You should listen to this record because it's a great, beautiful slice of bossa nova. I don't know much about the genre, but genre matters not. This is great jazz, and they don't em' like this any more.

The playing on this record is ace, melancholy, moody, swinging. Joao plays some really good guitar, smooth, lovely, exotic, and melodic, and Getz swings and sings with the saxophone. While the lyrics by Jobim are in a different language, the music is pretty universal, and with Jobim's wife singing in English, you pretty much know what the songs are about. The rhythm section ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date May 15, 2001
this album brightens my day. i got it about a month ago and ive listened to it about 7 times. her voice is so soothing.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

The Silver Collection: The Astrud Gilberto Album

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date October 25, 1990
the sound of this cd is mostly ok, but a few tracks sound like they didn't spend much time with the transfer to digital... some distortion on louder orchestral parts on one track, a couple tracks actually start a few beats into the recording, so you miss the downbeat! imagine releasing an album like that? maybe the original source recordings are flawed too, who knows, i'd try for one of the more recent remastered versions, see if they're any better.

but the music is mostly cool, esp. the first half which is the original tracks of the Astrud Gilberto Album, a few tracks are iconic: Agua De Beber, Dindi, Once I Loved... by today's standards a little heavy with studio orchestra in some moments, but it was the flavor of that age, even ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Astrud Gilberto

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date March 29, 2005
Romantic, jazzy, relaxing. What more could you ask for? Astrud's voice has romantic, lilting quality that is very unique. To my ear, there are a few spots where she sounds a little off-key, but for me it just adds to her charm. I could listen to this CD for hours on end - and I have. I wish I knew more about music so I knew all the right words to describe the music. All I can say is, every single song on this album is a winner, and the instrument playing is superb. You will not regret buying this CD. Ah...so nice!

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Gold

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date June 24, 2008
Romantic, jazzy, relaxing. What more could you ask for? Astrud's voice has romantic, lilting quality that is very unique. To my ear, there are a few spots where she sounds a little off-key, but for me it just adds to her charm. I could listen to this CD for hours on end - and I have. I wish I knew more about music so I knew all the right words to describe the music. All I can say is, every single song on this album is a winner, and the instrument playing is superb. You will not regret buying this CD. Ah...so nice!

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Beach Samba

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date October 12, 1993
I got "Beach Samba" and "September 17, 1969" for Christmas 2007. Of the two, I like "Beach Samba" better. Released in 1967, it perfectly captures the breeziness of that year's music. "Beach Samba" is fun, jazzy, up-tempo, and well produced. Astrud's vocals are as charming as ever, and it doesn't have pop pretentious in the way "September 17, 1969" does (a cover of "Light My Fire," really?). On "Beach Samba," she is still close to her Latin/bossa roots. Most of the songs here are in English. "Canoeiro" (which, near as I can tell, is about Brazil's canoe people) is in Portuguese. "Face That I Love" is one of her better songs, which I had first heard years ago on her wonderful "Finest Hour" CD. "Face that I Love" makes me think of couples strolling on the boardwalk ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Compact Jazz: Astrud Gilberto

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date October 25, 1990
I find it astounding that her own husband frowned on her singing "The Girl from Ipanema" on the Getz/Gilberto thing. Astrud is not a one hit wonder. I have yet to find a song from her that is even average. Thank you Joao for giving in and Astrud for giving us Bebel.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Verve Jazz Masters 9

by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date March 22, 1994
There are some beautiful, romantic, popular tracks on this CD.
I agree with one of the reviewers - if you are new to her material there are better recordings available. The tracks on this CD have been selected from different LP's. Some of the tracks present themselves very well. The microphone glitch mentioned by another reviewer is not much of a problem - it does not spoil the number. In fact that particular track has extremely well captured vocals. On the down side there are few tracks that have considerable tape hiss and degraded sound quality - to a point where they interfere with the listening experience.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Catch Me If You Can

by: John Williams

Release Date December 10, 2002
The way people have been talking about this score, from the reviews to the liner notes, you'd think it was a stylistic counterpart to "Checkmate." In truth, there is minimal jazz or even pseudo-jazz content in this score. It is mostly orchestral with occasional jazzy touches, such as vibes or sax, but it's hardly a return to his days as Johnny Williams (as some have suggested). And the handful of tunes by the likes of Sinatra, Dusty, and Getz/Gilberto are readily available elsewhere in more appropriate settings. On its own terms, the score is certainly pleasant, but it's hardly a "jazz score" as defined by the likes of Mancini, Lalo Schifrin, Johnny Mandel, Kenyon Hopkins, and others.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness

by: Astrud Gilberto, Walter Wanderley

Release Date October 20, 1998
I was quite confused when I read somewhere how this was one of better Astrud's albums, and how her instrumental accompaniment/partnership on this outing practically equalls that of Getz, Jobim or Joao Gilberto...

This sounds like pure easy listening music, as opposed to her more jazzy sides, but than again, maybe my tastes in music are just not broad enough to embrace this album... But listen to third song - isn't it the dullest possible recording imaginable (some songs are a bit better).