joão gilberto, astrud gilberto, & stan getz - the girl from ipanema

this is another song that you gotta listen to in looooow light.  i was just digging through my itunes trying to figure out what to recommend tonight, and when i came across this, i found myself subconsciously dimming the lights and grabbing a beer.

every time this songs comes on, i can’t help but grin: the combination of the hushed, covered guitar strings and the vocal “doo doo doo”-s are just too much for me, and i can’t fight it!  jobim’s “the girl from ipanema” is one of my all-time favorites.

the first verse is just so dang hip.  everything is so tossed off and nonchalant.  doesn’t it just sound natural?  like it couldn’t have been any other way?  joão’s voice is warm and his pronunciations are refreshing and delicate.

and then she enters.  and what a voice she has.  the cadence of her speech is gorgeous.  i don’t know much about ms. gilberto, but she speaks as if her first language wasn’t english.  do you hear it?  the way she says “girl,” “walks,” “sways?”  i practically slide out of my chair every time.  and those sighs?

“ahh.”

as much as i love everything about this song, i’m always just the smallest bit disappointed when joão comes in just for the smallest bit around 1:51.  i want it to keep going so bad!  those voices together?  come on, it’s a no-brainer!

“tall and tan and young and lovely/the girl from ipanema goes walking/and when she passes, he smiles, but she doesn’t see”

the saxophone and piano solos are both so innovative and vocal.  i’m still regretfully far too ignorant to talk much about improvisation, but i still know what i like.  and this, i like.

how do you feel when you hear this song?  does the bossa nova rhythm make you feel sexy?  do the lyrics make you feel sorry for the young man trying to get the attention of the girl from ipanema?  can you feel the sweat on your skin accumulating as you sit in the warm brazilian sun?  do you feel your jaw drop when she walks by?

how do i feel?  i can’t pick just one.

enjoy,

-jglmnk

p.s. keep the e-mails, texts, and facebook messages coming!  i’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of feedback i’ve received, and it makes me want to share even more with y’all.  i’m also thinking about doing a few guest posts here and there, so if you’d like to write a post, let me know and we’ll make it happen!