tan Getz made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1949 as part of a superstar bill that included the Woody Herman Orchestra, Nat "King" Cole, and Harry Belafonte. (Getz played in the saxophone section of the band, often referred to as Woody Herman's Second Herd.) He was already a Carnegie Hall regular when he joined forces with Brazilian guitarist and whispering vocalist João Gilberto for the live followup to their groundbreaking Getz/Gilberto album released just seven months before their October 1964 concert. Gilberto had made his debut two years previously as part of the now famous Bossa Nova at Carnegie Hall concert—in which Getz also starred—that sparked the explosion of bossa nova in the US.
Stan Getz meets João & Astrud Gilberto: New York 1964 is a live recording of bossa nova in the making. In 1989, the Giants of Jazz label released a live recording of a 1964 New York City performance featuring Stan Getz, João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto, his then-wife. The album, entitled Stan Getz meets João & Astrud Gilberto is actually misleading: the trio had met previously in 1963 for the recording of the wildly successful album Getz/Gilberto, which was released in 1964 and set off the bossa nova frenzy in the U.S. As a result of that album’s success, the Brazilian Gilbertos and the American Getz played a number of shows in the U.S., such as the one recorded here. Released as part of the “Immortal Concerts” series, this recording exhibits the chemistry the three obviously shared and captures bossa nova in its infancy, as it was still being created and defined.
Bebel Gilberto releases her new album via [PIAS] Recordings. Entitled Joao, the album is a collection of songs made famous by her father João Gilberto, widely regarded as the “father of Bossa Nova music. João Gilberto passed away in 2019 after a 70 year career in music. Bebel began singing with him as a small child and the songs she sings on this new album have been with her all her life. Says Bebel- "João" is a love letter to my father. Since my first album I've never really covered any of my Dad's music. Now it's time to present to the public the songs from João Gilberto that have influenced me since I was born- and even before”.
One of the biggest-selling jazz albums of all time, not to mention bossa nova's finest moment, Getz/Gilberto trumped Jazz Samba by bringing two of bossa nova's greatest innovators - guitarist/singer João Gilberto and composer/pianist Antonio Carlos Jobim - to New York to record with Stan Getz. The results were magic. Ever since Jazz Samba, the jazz marketplace had been flooded with bossa nova albums, and the overexposure was beginning to make the music seem like a fad. Getz/Gilberto made bossa nova a permanent part of the jazz landscape not just with its unassailable beauty, but with one of the biggest smash hit singles in jazz history - "The Girl From Ipanema," a Jobim classic sung by João's wife, Astrud Gilberto, who had never performed outside of her own home prior to the recording session…