The Girl from Ipanema – Vinicius Moraes & Tom Jobim – Piano Cover

Summer is a season for bossa nova, that’s how I felt whenever I’d go to the beach. Listening to the “Girl of Ipanema” became a must for me during that time. Although I’ve never had the chance to visit the Ipanema Beach, as soon as I plugged in my earphones and listened to the first bars of this beautiful song I felt immediately in Rio de Janeiro. I could picture myself walking around the beach on a sunny morning, feeling the fresh breeze in my skin and watching other people passing by happily. “The Girl of Ipanema” known in Portuguese as “Garota de Ipanema” was composed in 1962 by Vinicius de Moraes and Jobim. It was originally written for a musical comedy but it would become a hit thanks to the version recorded for the album Getz/Gilberto. In this version in addition to Jobim on piano and the singer Joao Gilberto (one of the pioneers of the “bossa nova”) we can listen to Stan Getz, great jazz saxophonist, who realized the big potential of this genre, that seemed to be a perfect match for his style: mellow, relaxed and lyric. Is also worth mentioning Astrud Gilberto (wife of Joao Gilberto back then) who sang her part in English. Her singing, untrained and spontaneous, became one of the signatures of this song, and would lead her to start her own music career too. Brazil is a country with a very rich music tradition, so I will definitely share a few more Brazilian songs in the future. Thanks for listening and, if you are on holidays enjoy your summer! 🎹🏖