Bebel Gilberto sings

Music review:

Bebel Gilberto sings

De Tarde, Vendo O Mar, The Sound of Brazil (Evolver)

Bebel Gilberto fans will find this new re-release a real gem. Long before her smash hit debut CD “Tanto Tiempo,” Gilberto appeared on “De Tarde, Vendo O Mar” as lead vocalist, recorded in 1991 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. However, this CD was unavailable in North America until recently.

In “De Tarde, Vendo O Mar”, producer Neil Oda successfully readapts famous Japanese pop star/songwriter Yumi Matsutoya’s songs to a Bossa Nova beat. The music, serene, cool and sophisticated, is imbued with a lingering Japanese pop sensibility that adds a pleasant edge to it.

Proving herself a worthy interpretator of Matsutoya’s songs, Gilberto’s delivery is delicate, sensual and beautiful, like ripples flowing across a tranquil lake. Songs such as “De Tarde, Vendo O Mar,” “Amor Unilateral,” “Feche Os Olhos,” “No Escuro Do Quarto” and “Quando O Ceu Nao Estava Azul” are gorgeous, breezy bossas. It is no wonder that Gilberto is considered one of Rio De Janeiro’s top singers.

– Tim Pelzer (tpelzer@sprint.ca)

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CONTRIBUTOR

Fred Gaboury

Fred Gaboury was a member of the Editorial Board of the print edition of  People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo and wrote frequently on economic, labor and political issues. Gaboury died in 2004. Here is a small selection of Fred’s significant writings: Eight days in May Birmingham and the struggle for civil rights; Remembering the Rev. James Orange; Memphis 1968: We remember; June 19, 1953: The murder of the Rosenbergs; World Bank and International Monetary Fund strangle economies of Third World countries