Bebel’s music always carries a charismatic tone, but now you can add ‘intimacy’ to your list for this, her fourth album. Recorded in the US, Brazil and Jamaica, her unique role as a femme fatal/Brazilian crooner comes via her familial birthright, her NYC birthplace and teen years in Rio de Janeiro. Whatever, because when she begins to sing, you can’t help but get caught up in it. With Daniel Jobim, Carlinhos Brown and Didi Gutman of the Beat Girls.
Other Voices:
There couldn’t be a more apropos title than the one Bebel Gilberto has given her fourth album. All in One is just that: the place where the singer, born in NYC to Brazilian royalty (dad is iconic guitarist João Gilberto, mom is singer Miúcha), puts all her eggs in one basket.
Gilberto could easily anoint herself keeper of the bossa nova flame and be done with it; when she keeps it simple and classic, as on the opening “Canção de Amor” and “Nossa Senhora” (both produced by Carlinhos Brown), no one swings so cool and sways so gently. But she’s never been a pure traditionalist: her comfort zone encompasses electronic spicing (Brazilian Girls’ Didi Gutman and Dust Brothers’ John King are among the other producers) as well as acoustic guitars, and All in One ups that ante.
Stevie Wonder’s “The Real Thing,” produced by Mark Ronson and Tom Brenneck and one of several tunes sung in English (the others are in Portuguese), rocks out, and her take on the old Carmen Miranda staple “Chica Chica Boom Chic” borders on the surreal, like some lost Os Mutantes track. Despite its disparate influences and multi-handed production approach, All in One never feels less than cohesive. Coated throughout in a romantic patina (credit Gilberto’s recent marriage), the record oozes warmth not only from the soft and sensual tracks (“Secret (Segredo),” “Far from the Sun”) but from the groovers (“The Real Thing”), too.
- The Phoenix
Gilberto’s fourth album All In One is her debut album for Verve, which means she now shares a label with Diana Krall (who released her own take on the Anglo-Brazilian tradition earlier this year) and Melody Gardot (whose laidback vocals have a warmness not dissimilar to Gilberto’s). Like those artists, Gilberto delivers an album that seems designed for comfort and easy listening, featuring slow-to-medium tempo songs which are unchallenging but beguiling. All In One opens with ambient noises and the soft sound of a distinctively Brazilian guitar, Gilberto’s voice immediately velvety and inviting as she delivers a “canção de amor” (love song). A piano enters later, introducing a sound that is central to what will prove to be the softest of the singer’s albums.
- Popmatters.com
Summer may have unofficially ended but listen to Bebel Gilberto's new album All In One and you'll preserve your sweet thoughts of summer all year long. All In One is mostly sung in Portuguese and like her previous work, Bebel offers the heart and soul of traditional Brazilian music with a twist of modern sounds. A fresh blend only a Gilberto knows how to serve best.
The exotic Brazilian singer enlisted an all-star team of collaborators to help make her vision a reality. Expect songs with Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse), Didi Gutman (Brazilian Girls), Carlinhos Brown (Caetano Veloso), Daniel Jobim (grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim), and John King (the Dust Brothers).
- Sharinglemons.com
