The famed daughter of bossa nova legend João Gilberto and singer Miúcha, Bebel Gilberto, is from Rio de Janeiro. If only we were all so fortunate! Gilberto has created a sound that reflects the cultural beauty that is Brazil: Portuguese lyrics, congas, jazzy piano and sun-drenched rhythms. Did you really think you would wind up with anything less beautiful and refined from such a Brazilian songstress?!
Gilberto’s latest album on Six Degrees, proves that we can find solace in the fact that she does exactly what we’ve come to love and expect from her. Her vocals are absolutely in a space without time, warm, intimate and soothing. I’ve never claimed to enjoy the female vocalists so much, but ever since I heard Tanto Tempo, the craving for such soothing and pretty music that I never quite knew I had was quenched. There’s just something so ethereal and fun about the Portuguese language.
Not everything is in Portuguese. Tracks like “All Around,” are in English but still contain that jazzy Brazilian bossa nova juju that’s hard not to enjoy. The song “Aganjú” is a fun one to listen to; the way the word looks in print does no justice to how the word sounds when Gilberto sings it. I don’t understand a damn word of Portuguese (wait! I know one! Obrigat!), but I almost feel as though it’s better that way. It makes everything that much more melodious when a voice itself is more like an instrument because the words coming out of it have no meaning to you. It’s pure music, the kind that is so good for you.
And that’s exactly what this CD is.
Bebel Gilberto will be playing the Gothic on August 26th.
