CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Getz/Gilberto

by: Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto

Release Date May 20, 1997
Wonderful and relaxing music. Very soft, wonderful sound tracks. There are two soundtracks of "The Girl From Ipanema," with the first being the ultimate recording. I would highly recommend this CD for anyone who enjoys cool jazz or any relaxing International-style music.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Amoroso/Brasil

by: João Gilberto

Release Date September 14, 1993
i will focus on the brasil part in this review. as other reviewers have noted, joao was at his finest on some amoroso tracks but the production is unbearable at times.
the voices on brasil are familiar to anyone who is a fan of brazilian music: gilberto gil, caetano veloso, joao gilberto, and maria bethania are among the greatest superstars all time of brazilian music individually. and on this album they all come together to play joao gilberto's style of music. i'm not sure about bethania but gil and caetano were avid joao fans. however they had never tried to replicate his sound. tropicalia's musical influences certainly included joao but were nothing like his music. in this 1981 release, we here straight bossa nova. joao plays ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Live in Montreux

by: João Gilberto

Release Date October 25, 1990
I OWNED MOST OF JOAO'S ALBUMS [SOME OUT THERE WERE SIMPLY RECYCLED] BUT THIS MONTREUX ALBUM REALLY STANDS OUT. THIS IS JOAO IN HIS FINEST HOUR --- THE VOICE, THE GUITAR, THE PHRASINGS. IF YOU HAVEN'T TRIED BOSSA NOVA BEFORE GIVE THIS ONE A SHOT, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Getz Gilberto

by: Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto

Release Date October 29, 2002
Upon hearing the original vinyl pressing, I wanted to have a copy to put my SACD player to use. I was very disappointed in the mastering of this SACD. THe recording levels were much too high, and there was no dynamic range to speak of. There were even times that I could notice distortion. THis was regardless of volume level or between the high end sony and toshiba players.

Go out and get the original vinyl, and made sure verve records didn't produce it.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Joao Gilberto

by: João Gilberto

Release Date December 19, 1997
The best Gilberto album (one of the best Brazilian albums of all time), stripped down to his voice, his guitar, and light hi-hat/percussion. It's sublime, it's enduring and timeless, it's a desert-island disc, it has opened the ears of musicians and fans alike for many years. Stop reading and buy it.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

João Voz e Violão

by: João Gilberto

Release Date June 13, 2000
This is a simple, yet intimate album. It sounds like what you might hear had you Joao Gilberto over for drinks and got him to play his guitar for a half hour. I am not very familiar with Joao Gilberto's music (I am better acquainted with his ex-wife Astrud's). Mostly what I know of him is from the classic Getz-Gilberto album. But if this album is any indication, Joao's talent has not diminished since the 1960s. He made a wise artistic choice here and recorded these tracks with just him on guitar and singing. No drums, sythns, or strings. Most of the songs I was unfamiliar with, other than the classic Desafinado. Perhaps great musicians of the 1960s can never really recapture the sound they had perfected back then, whether it be Joao Gilberto, Bob Dylan, or Paul McCartney. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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 8
Average Rating:

Getz/Gilberto #2

by: Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto

Release Date October 12, 1993
The sound mix of this "Live" concert is appalling -- it's kind of like "João Gilberto, Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto & Hi-Hats!" No disrespect to Joe Hunt or to Helcio Melito (the two drummers for this concert), but the playing and/or sound mix is simply too obtrusive ("undesirably noticeable" is an apt definition here), as the voice and guitar of João Gilberto, as well as the fluid tenor saxophone of Stan Getz, are consistently overshadowed by those darned hi-hats. (...rolling eyes...) Despite this annoyance, João performs at the peak of his powers, although it appears that the performances of both Astrud and Stan Getz are greatly restrained (perhaps there was some backstage (read: real life) drama going on there?). Suffice it to say, if it is great inspiration that you seek, you will ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

With Antonio Carlos Jobim

by: Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto

Release Date February 26, 1999
I used to lay in bed and sweat, thinking, another day had gone by and I still hadn't found or purchased a CD of Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto With Antonio Carlos Jobim.

It was in the stores for a short time and I let it slip through my fingers, and then, along came Amazon to the rescue.

The CD was delivered to my doorstep, I can hold it in my hand, I can catch up on my sleep!

Darn, Vinyl.

I was worried I was never going to hear the tracks without scratches or pops in the background.

Amazon put an end to that.

I once heard, a number of songs written by Gilberto and Jobim around the time of this recording, became so popular in Brazil, they were sung at half time during soccer games like they were ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

The Best of Joao Gilberto: Portrait in Bossa Nova

by: João Gilberto

Release Date September 15, 2003
I used to lay in bed and sweat, thinking, another day had gone by and I still hadn't found or purchased a CD of Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto With Antonio Carlos Jobim.

It was in the stores for a short time and I let it slip through my fingers, and then, along came Amazon to the rescue.

The CD was delivered to my doorstep, I can hold it in my hand, I can catch up on my sleep!

Darn, Vinyl.

I was worried I was never going to hear the tracks without scratches or pops in the background.

Amazon put an end to that.

I once heard, a number of songs written by Gilberto and Jobim around the time of this recording, became so popular in Brazil, they were sung at half time during soccer games like they were ... Read More: