Astrud Gilberto (1940–2023) was the Brazilian bossa nova singer whose cool, conversational vocal on The Girl from Ipanema — cut for Getz/Gilberto (1964) with Stan Getz and João Gilberto — carried bossa nova around the world. Getz/Gilberto or The Astrud Gilberto Album (1965) is the natural entry point. Shop Astrud Gilberto vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Astrud Weinert Gilberto was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil on March 29, 1940 and raised in Rio de Janeiro. She married João Gilberto in 1959. In March 1963, during the New York recording sessions that produced the album Getz/Gilberto (Verve, 1964), she sang the English-language vocal on The Girl from Ipanema, the recording that brought the song international fame. The Getz/Gilberto album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1965. She continued recording on Verve, CTI, and other labels into the early 2000s. She lived in the United States, primarily Philadelphia, for most of her adult life. She died on June 5, 2023.
Astrud Gilberto's vocal style was characterized by a soft, conversational delivery often described as cool and understated, contrasting with the more demonstrative singing styles of contemporary Brazilian and American popular music. She typically recorded in both English and Portuguese, often interpreting the Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes songbook.
Original Verve pressings of Getz/Gilberto and the early Astrud Gilberto solo catalog are widely collected. Multiple anniversary reissues of Getz/Gilberto have been released, including Verve Acoustic Sounds Series audiophile pressings.
Listeners new to Astrud Gilberto typically start with Getz/Gilberto (1964) or The Astrud Gilberto Album (1965).
