Her soft, languorous voice made you want to dance a samba on a beach. Aged 83, Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto died on June 5 at her home in Philadelphia, USA, according to the G1 news site. Alongside Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto, she gave the inimitable feminine touch to one of the world's greatest hits of the song, The Girl from Ipanema.
Astrud Weinert was born on March 30, 1949 in the Bahia region of Brazil. In 1959, her destiny changed when she married guitarist Joao Gilberto. In 1963, this magical couple who dedicated their art to bossa nova decided to try their luck in the United States. It was there that they met the great American saxophonist Stan Getz. The three artists will record the English version of A Garota de Ipanema. Joao sings in Portuguese, Astrud in English, Stan Getz's sax gives the vibrato of this magical recording that will sell more than twenty million copies.
See alsoJoao Gilberto: bossa-nova loses its patriarch
The Girl from Ipanemaby Astrud and Joao Gilberto, on the Stan Getz sax
Duets with George Michael and Étienne Daho
After a crossing of the desert that lasted twenty years, from 1970 to 1990, Astrud Gilberto will return to the front of the stage. At first we see her singing in duet in 1996 with George Michael on Desafinado. Then, the same year, it will be the turn of Étienne Daho, always ready to make nostalgia vibrate, to ask him to lend his voice to the beautiful song Les bords de Seine.
Undeniable world star but discreet personality, Astrud Gilberto devoted his whole life to discovering bossa nova and more generally authentic Brazilian melodies. And when we listened to her, by magic, we immediately projected ourselves on the beautiful beach of Ipanema where "when she walked, she looked like a samba that swings so softly, so softly..."