ASTRUD GILBERTO,
1940-2023

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian singer with the breathy voice whose debut recording, “The Girl From Ipanema,” launched a bossa nova craze in the U.S., died Monday (6/5). She was 83.

Gilberto—who was married to guitarist-singer Joao Gilberto when he recorded Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Ipanema” with saxophonist Stan Getz—had a four-decade career of solo albums and collaborations with the likes of Stanley Turrentine and George Michael. Her influence can be heard in the voices of Sade, Everything But the Girl’s Tracy Thorn and even Billie Eilish on her 2021 track “Billie Bossa Nova.”

In 1963 Getz enlisted Joao Gilberto to make Getz/Gilberto, his fourth album blending jazz with samba and bossa nova, for Verve Records. Astrud later said in an interview that her husband encouraged her to sing and after Getz heard her performance of "Ipanema," encouraged her to continue though she would not be credited on the release.

"The Girl From Ipanema" went to #5 in 1964, winning the Grammy for Record of the Year. Getz/Gilberto received three Grammys, becoming the first jazz collection to win Album of the Year.

Creed Taylor, who produced “Ipanema,” signed Astrud to Verve, though none of her albums cracked the Top 40 despite being critically well received. She moved to the U.S. in the mid-1960s, performing in Brazil only once thereafter.

In 2008, she received a Latin Grammy for lifetime achievement, six years after releasing her final album, Jungle.

RIP Astrud Gilberto who’s beautiful natural untrained vocal genius and unplanned career would be profoundly influential from Sade to Lana Del Rey and beyond. Her work with João G, Jobim, Getz, Baker, and her sons elevated the Bossa Nova and Samba genres and put Bahia on the map.

— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) June 6, 2023

With one final, lovely shrug she left this plane to walk paradise’s endless shore. RIP Astrud Gilberto. https://t.co/B1vTF8wEFN

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) June 7, 2023

The Girl From Ipanema.

The most perfect debut which sparked an incredible legacy.

Thank you Astrud Gilberto for turning the world onto the brilliance of bossa nova and Brazilian music. pic.twitter.com/sjROZyCk22

— Rough Trade (@RoughTrade) June 6, 2023