Garota Pop

The Story of Bossa Nova features 20 remastered original recordings from the late '50s/early '60s combined with a few modern interpretations of the genre, including 14 tracks written by composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. Taken from the vast EMI-Odeon archive of classic Brazilian music, this introductory set includes Marcos Valle's "Samba De Verao," Sylvia Telles' "Dindi," and the pre-Astrud Gilberto version of "Girl From Ipanema" by Pery Ribeiro.

This is the soundtrack to the 1967 Brazilian film "Garôta de Ipanema". There are plenty of stars on this collection - Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Tamba Trio, Baden Powell, Quarteto em Cy and MPB-4, as well as instrumental orchestral interpretations. The style is mainly mid-to-late 60's bossa nova, with the exception of Ronnie Von's Tropicalia-eque pop version of "Por Você". The songs are by Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Chico Buarque and Ary Barroso. The production is lush and smooth - a nice, breezy addition to any Brazil nut's collection.

Astrud Gilberto's entry in the nicely appointed Verve Jazz Masters compilation series shows exactly why the Brazilian singer is deserving of such an accolade. In her '60s heyday, Gilberto was often derided by jazz purists for her vibrato-less "desafinado" (deliberately slightly off-pitch) singing style and deadpan, childlike voice. But the diminutive bossa nova star has since been a huge influence on dozens of jazz and pop singers. VERVE JAZZ MASTERS is less of a greatest hits package than it is a smartly balanced retrospective of many of Gilberto's best performances. Her biggest hits, "Call Me" and "Summer Samba," are not included, and her signature tune, "The Girl From Ipanema," is only represented by a live take from a 1964 Carnegie Hall concert. The collection places equal emphasis on Gilberto's bossa nova-style interpretations of jazz standards and on her signature Portuguese-language sambas.