Brazilian bossa nova singer Astrud Gilberto – famed for her model of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ – has died aged 83.
The singer-songwriter was one in every of Brazil’s greatest stars of the ‘60s and ‘70s, recognised as one of the leading artists who helped popularise the bossa nova genre and known for working with the likes of Quincy Jones, George Michael and more.
News of her death was broken by her granddaughter, Sofia, who announced the update with a post on Instagram. “I’m right here to carry you the unhappy information that my grandmother grew to become a star at this time, and is subsequent to my grandfather João Gilberto,” she wrote (as translated from Portuguese).
“She was a pioneer and the best. At the age of 22, she gave voice to the English version of ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and gained international fame.”
New York-based guitarist and collaborator Paul Ricci additionally confirmed the information on Fb. “I just got word from her son Marcelo that we have lost Astrud Gilberto,” he mentioned within the replace. “He asked for this to be posted.”
“She was an important part of ALL that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed many lives with her energy. RIP from ‘the chief’, as she called me.”
Born in Bahia as Astrud Evangelina Weinert, the singer moved to Rio de Janeiro at an early age and found a bunch of associates she would describe as her “musical clan” as an adolescent. This included guitarist João Gilberto and singer Nara Leao, who would later be considered pioneers of bossa nova.
Astrud and João married inside months of assembly, and it was upon accompanying her husband to a New York recording studio in 1963 that she started her profession as knowledgeable musician.
It was whereas right here {that a} band got here to report the English lyrics for ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, and Astrud volunteered to contribute the vocals. She was solely paid the usual $120 session price for her efficiency and her title was not credited on the monitor — which went on to be a worldwide hit and received a Grammy award for report of the yr.
Whereas the monitor proceeded to be coated by Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Nat King Cole and extra, the track additionally acted as a catalyst for her solo profession, which noticed her collaborate with the likes of jazz guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim, jazz trumpeter Chet Baker and legendary producer Quincy Jones.
Later in her profession, she additionally teamed up with former Wham! frontman George Michael for a duet of ‘Desafinado’ — a monitor first made in style by Stan Getz and João Gilberto in 1962. The collaboration arrived on the charity album ‘Red Hot + Rio’, which was launched in 1996.
Her remaining album, ‘Jungle’, arrived in 2002 after she took an in depth hiatus from public performances and dwell reveals. The ultimate years of her life, nonetheless, noticed her dedicate a lot of her time to campaigning in opposition to animal cruelty.
