With string arrangements by Claus Ogerman (Antonio Carlos Jobim’s favorite arranger) and Johnny Mandell (Frank Sinatra’s favorite arranger) this double-album CD re-issue stands today as one of the best collections of João Gilberto’s recordings at the height of his career.
By the late 70’s Gilberto, who had earned the title of ‘Father of Bossa Nova’ by virtue of his 1957 recording of ‘Chega de Saudade’, the very first song in the style which would become known as Bossa Nova, had found his musical ‘home’ after stints in New York, Paris and Mexico City. His unique voice and mastery of Bossa’s phrasing and guitar play was celebrated worldwide and imitated by many. Plus, his careful choices regarding recording projects always resulted in a superb selection of songs – some chestnuts, some breaking new ground. This period of his studio career revealed itself all too briefly before it disappeared, only to resurface a final time for his self-titled ‘João’ CD years later in 1991.
That’s why ‘Amoroso’ has been tabbed as an ‘essential’ album for fans of Brazilian music by our editors at Connectbrazil.com
The first eight tracks find Gilberto’s soft tenor (Our publisher Scott Adams describes it as ‘a voice that can whisper through walls’) framed by the elegant string arrangements of Claus Ogerman in a session that many critics point to as one of the German-born arranger’s finest moments. And while Gilberto’s many live solo recordings proved that his voice and guitar are all that is needed to enjoy his artistry, it can be said that talent on this scale represents a great challenge: How to properly write string passages without competing with the singer’s one-of-a-kind sound.
Its here that the delicate nature of Ogerman’s own considerable talent comes through. Each of these eight songs create a perfect marriage between these two dominant musical forces of nature. Take your pick: ‘Wave’, with its enveloping introduction, ‘Tin Tin Por Tin Tin’ featuring Gilberto’s vocal percussion lead in.
Latin America’s standard ‘Besame Mucho’ has been recorded in Spanish, Italian and even French, but rarely with as much emotion as it receives here. Jobim’s ‘Caminhos Cruzados’ is given a similar ‘standard setting’ performance.
How important is ‘Amorso’ in the lexicon of Brazilian music? Singer Rosa Passos planned her first major label release for the US completely around it, with some clever word play to create a title purely reflective of the original: ‘Amorosa.’
Three years later, João Gilberto teamed up with Brazil’s top MPB stars to record ‘Brasil’ with Johnny Mandell directing six songs featuring Gilberto, Caetano Veloso and his sister Maria Bethania, and Gilberto Gil.
Here the mood swings Brazilian, with a sense of esprit de corps not found on any other Gilberto recording. The song selection is brings these standards – including Ary Barosso’s ‘Aquarela Do Brasil’, ‘Bahia Com H’ and the classic ‘No Tabuleiro Da Baiana’ – to us in a new light: These are not definitive versions, but the arrangements are well suited to these singers and the setting and in creative contrast to the first half of the album.
To our way of thinking, having the genius of João Gilberto’s ‘Amoroso’ available to us on CD is priceless, and with these remarkable songs for ‘Brasil’ added in, this title become invaluable, too.
