Getz/Gilberto [Original recording remastered, Import, from US]

   1960年代、57年の映画『黒いオルフェ』の音楽を書いたブラジルの作曲家アントニオ・カルロス・ジョビンらの活動から発生した、「ボサノヴァ」という新しい音楽が隆盛し始めていた。
   白人サックス奏者、スタン・ゲッツはボサノヴァに興味を示しギターのチャーリー・バードと『ジャズ・サンバ』を録音するが、これがヒット。続いてゲッツはジョビン、ジョアン・ジルベルトとともに本盤を録音する。最も有名なボサノヴァ曲「イパネマの娘」がオープニングを飾る。原詞ポルトガル語で歌うのはジョアン、続いて英詞を歌うのはジョアンの妻、アストラット・ジルベルト。アストラットはこれが歌手デビューではあったが、技巧を感じさせないクールな歌唱で人気者となる。ほかにもボサノヴァ・スタンダードが多く演奏されるが、クールなサウンドにゲッツのサックスが見事にはまる。アルバムは大ヒットし、グラミー賞も獲得するが、それ以上にボサノヴァを全世界に広めた本盤の功績は特筆すべきだ。（高木宏真）

Originally released in March 1964, this collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto came at seemingly the end of the bossa nova craze Getz himself had sparked in 1962 with Jazz Samba, his release with American guitarist Charlie Byrd. Jazz Samba remains the only jazz album to reach number one in the pop charts. In fact, the story goes that Getz had to push for the release of Getz/Gilberto since the company did not want to compete with its own hit; it was a good thing he did. Getz/Gilberto, which featured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, not only yielded the hit "Girl from Ipanema" (sung by Astrud Gilberto, the guitarist's wife, who had no professional experience) but also "Corcovado" ("Quiet Night")--an instant standard, and the definitive version of "Desafinado." Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. It remains one of those rare cases in popular music where commercial success matches artistic merit. Bossa nova's "cool" aesthetic--with its understated rhythms, rich harmonies, and slightly detached delivery--had been influenced, in part, by cool jazz. Gilberto in particular was a Stan Getz fan. Getz, with his lyricism, the bittersweet longing in his sound, and his restrained but strong swing, was the perfect fit. His lines, at once decisive and evanescent, focus the rest of the group's performance without overpowering. A classic. --Fernando Gonzalez

Originally released in March 1964, this collaboration between saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Jo縊 Gilberto came at seemingly the end of the bossa nova craze Getz himself had sparked in 1962 with Jazz Samba, his release with American guitarist Charlie Byrd. Jazz Samba remains the only jazz album to reach number one in the pop charts. In fact, the story goes that Getz had to push for the release of Getz/Gilberto since the company did not want to compete with its own hit; it was a good thing he did. Getz/Gilberto, which featured composer Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, not only yielded the hit "Girl from Ipanema" (sung by Astrud Gilberto, the guitarist's wife, who had no professional experience) but also "Corcovado" ("Quiet Night")--an instant standard, and the definitive version of "Desafinado". Getz/Gilberto spent 96 weeks in the charts and won four Grammys. It remains one of those rare cases in popular music where commercial success matches artistic merit. Bossa nova's "cool" aesthetic--with its understated rhythms, rich harmonies, and slightly detached delivery--had been influenced, in part, by cool jazz. Gilberto in particular was a Stan Getz fan. Getz, with his lyricism, the bittersweet longing in his sound, and his restrained but strong swing, was the perfect fit. His lines, at once decisive and evanescent, focus the rest of the group's performance without overpowering. A classic. --Fernando Gonzalez