Search - Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto :: The Art of Duo

Good Music, Bad Packaging, and an Exorbitant Price

James Skrydlak | Pella, Iowa | 01/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This two-CD set includes one of the most historically important jazz LPs in Getz/Gilberto and a very good follow-up in Jazz Samba; the two LPs both include "Desafinado"; other than that, there is no overlap in material.



While Getz/Gilberto is justifiably one of the best-known jazz LPs ever-recorded, I was struck by how ragged it is at times. Astrud Gilberto's singing, in particular, displays a pretty poor sense of rhythm, and neither she nor Joao Gilberto has much of a voice. It surprised me that the musicianship was noticeably better on Jazz Samba.



The real reasons for giving this only four stars, however, are the packaging and the price. There are two CDs here, but there's really only enough material for one. Even with the 45 rpm singles versions of "The Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado", and "Desafinado", which seem just to be cut and spliced from the LP versions, the music comes in under 75 minutes. The package was issued in Korea, and the notes are nearly entirely in Hangul. There is a reprint of the notes from the original Getz/Gilberto LP, but it is all but illegible.



The price, moreover, is much too high for a reissue of two LPs. Those who want a CD version of only one of the LPs can find one for far less money (and including the 45 rpm singles issues) , and buying separate CD versions of both will run to less money than this package."