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album reviews

Bebel Gilberto



Tanto Tempo 9 ( 2000 )
Samba da Benção / August Day Song / Tanto Tempo / Sem Contenção / Mais Feliz / Alguém / So Nice (Summer Samba) / Lonely / Bananeira / Samba e Amor / Close Your Eyes

Every so often an artist comes along that defines you for a period of time. Bebel Gilberto is just such an artist. She embodies sunshine and foreign lands, exotica and sensuality. Born Isabel Gilberto in New York City, Bebel is the daughter of Joao Gilberto and singer Miucha. Imagine a bossanova Eliza Carthy or a Brazilian Martha Wainwright, if you will. Her uncle is singer/composer Cicho Buarque and Bebel has been performing since her youth in Rio de Jeneiro. 'Tanto Tempo' is the debut LP on her own and was released when she was 33/34 years of age. I don't know why she left it late, yet she had been busy performing and guesting prior to this LP. 'Tanto Tempo' arrived, won two grammys and sold in excess of a million copies worldwide. If you're of a certain age you'll be thinking Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz and wondering what all the fuss is about. The thing is, Bebel brings the music naturally into more contemporary surroundings without over-egging the pudding. The nature of the music remains the same, she also has a wonderful voice and the elements of electronica give the whole package the modern feeling it needs. The first thing you may notice when listening to the LP is how well integrated the subtle electronica elements actually are. Take the title track for example, a European feel permeates the bossanova as Bebel sings in her native Brazilian/Portugese. There's such a delicious feel to the track, a child-like melody as she sings and then voices a wordless refrain to accompany the melody, 'La la' and 'de da' and sounding utterly gorgeous with it. It's a tune touched with melancholy, but this melancholy has a clean, sandy beach for as far as the eye can see, a deep blue sea and a sunny sky stretching into eternity.

'So Nice' is such a sweet song, ah, I can listen all day. Bebel generally will sing songs in her native tongue but there are examples such as this where she sings in English. It all broadens her appeal and no doubt has helped her sell a few of those million copies, no mean feat for a 'world' music release.

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