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Month: March 2024

GAROTA DE IPANEMA

from PASSIONE

Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius De Moraes

 

“Garota De Ipanema,” aka “The Girl From Ipanema,” was a pivotal masterpiece in the history of popular music. “Garota De Ipanema” was written in 1962 by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) while the Brazilian Portuguese lyrics were crafted by Brazilian poet Vinicius De Moraes (1913-1980). “Garota De Ipanema ,” with its irresistible Latin beat, smooth atmosphere and jazz-influenced chords, defined the bossa nova music genre to perfection. The first popular version was sung in 1964 by renown singer Astrud Gilberto (1940-2023) on the seminal album, Getz/Gilberto. That recording featured the legendary saxophonist Stan Getz and the great Brazilian singer/guitarist, Joao Gilberto. On “The Girl From Ipanema,” Astrud performed the English lyrics written by Norman Gimbel, while her then-husband, Gilberto, sang the original Brazilian Portuguese words. “Garota De Ipanema” went to #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in July of 1964. In 1965, the song won a Grammy for Record Of The Year.

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MATCHMAKERS

from THE CAPTAIN’S JOURNEY

Written by Lee Ritenour

 

The Captain’s Journey, released in 1978, was Lee Ritenour’s sixth release coming right after the seminal Captain Fingers one year before. The legendary guitarist again assembled an amazing cast of musicians, singers and arrangers to deliver a fresh jazz/fusion masterpiece. David Foster was again on board for the project and arranged and played keyboards on a couple of tracks. One was a vocal rendition of Ritenour’s classic instrumental, “Morning Glory” featuring another Bill Champlin vocal after his fantastic job on the cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” on Captain Fingers. Foster arranged the song and played acoustic piano on it. A previous review of this song can be rediscovered in the archives.

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