1. Cancao de Amor
2. Sun is Shining
3. Bim Bom
4. Nossa Senhora
5. The Real Thing
6. Ela (On My Way)
7. Far from the Sea
8. All in One
9. Forever
10. Segredo (Secret)
11. Chica Chica Boom Chic
12. Port Antonio
Bebel Gilberto - Vocals, whistling
Carlinhos Brown - Percussion, acoustic guitar, programming, synth,
reverb mola (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11)
Masa Shimizu - Acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9)
Didi Gutman - Piano, steel string guitar, synth, strings, bass Moog,
effects, loop (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8, 10-12)
Cézar Mendes - Acoustic guitar, steel string guitar (tracks 1, 6,
8, 10)
Thomas Bartlett - Rhodes, piano, bass Rhodes, effects (tracks 1, 2,
6, 9, 10)
John King - Programming, synth, synth bass, effects, sounds, MPC (tracks
2, 8)
Davi Moraes - Sitar (track 2)
Daniel Jobim - Piano, Moog bass, vocals (tracks 3, 7)
Magrus Borges - Drums, percussion (tracks 3, 7, 9)
Paulo Levita - Acoustic guitar (track 4)
Tom Brenneck - Guitar, vibes, tambourine (track 5)
Homer Steinweiss - Drums (track 5)
Nick Movshon - Bass (track 5)
Victor Axelrod - Crumar synth (track 5)
Fernando Velez - Conga (track 5)
Dave Guy - Flugelhorn (track 5)
Cochemes Gastelum - Flute (track 5)
Aaron Johnson - Trombone (track 5)
Greg Cohen - Acoustic bass (tracks 7, 10)
Christina Coutin, Johnny Gandelsman - Violins (tracks 7, 10)
Jane Cords-O'Hara, Christopher Hoffman - Cellos (tracks 7, 10, 12)
Clark Gayton - Tenor trombone (track 7)
Zé Luis - Flutes (track 7)
Pedro Baby - Acoustic guitar, steel string guitar (tracks 8, 10)
Carlos Darei - Trombones, cavaquinho, percussion (track 11)
Guilherme Monteiro - Cavaquinho (track 11)
Mario C - Programming (track 11)
The surname Gilberto is closely associated with the bossa nova, since
Joao Gilberto is usually credited with inventing the style in cohort
with Antonio Carlos Jobim. And Astrud Gilberto (Joao's former wife)
became famous performing The Girl from Ipanema with Joao and
bossas with Stan Getz. Bebel Gilberto is Joao's daughter, so it would
be no surprise if she also specialised in the bossa nova. The bossa
connection is strengthened by the presence on some tracks of Daniel
Jobim, grandson of Antonio Carlos Jobim.
In fact this album includes bossas but various other styles as well,
showing that Bebel is not a one-trick pony. The eclecticism of the
music is illustrated by the large number of instruments that went
into making the album. Many of the songs are slow and gentle, matching
the laid-back ambience of the bossa, but several of them reveal influences
from American pop music, electronica and other sources. Sun is
Shining (a Bob Marley song) has a Latin rhythm but the beat approaches
rock music, as does The Real Thing.
Bebel had a hand in writing many of the songs, but she also performs
her father's composition, Bim Bom, as well as Stevie Wonder's
The Real Thing, which mixes Latin rhythms with a boogaloo beat.
She even tackles Chica Chica Boom Chic, made famous by Carmen
Miranda, another singer with Brazilian roots. This has a shuffling
samba atmosphere. Probably the most attractive song on the CD is the
title-track, co-written by Bebel with guitarist Cézar Mendes.
At least Bebel sings more in tune than Astrud Gilverto did, and she
has an appealing (albeit fragile) voice which is effective in many
genres. However, her singing is sometimes in danger of being submerged
by the busy accompaniment. She delivers the lyrics in a mixture of
English and Portuguese - the latter possibly hindering accessibility.
But generally you can let the richness of the sounds wash over you,
without too much regard for the meaning of the words.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Verve 0602527166902
