Getz/Gilberto

A haiku: bossa nova nice but gets 5 for drummer's name: Milton Banana

This album feels like a summer day with gentle breeze

I have fallen head over heels in love with Brazilian music in the last few years and it's partly due to 1001 periodically putting me back into contact with it. This has an all star lineup with Joao Gilberto, AC Jobim, and, the real scene stealer, Astrud Gilberto. Not to mention the smooth sax fingerings of Stan Getz. A finely balanced blend of jazz and Bossa Nova.

This sometimes verges a bit too on the "easy" side of easy listening; I wish it had just a bit more bite to it. But what can I say, it's a classic for a reason... something about it just Getz me.

Me and my girlfriend did interesting things in the back of my car to this Best song: The Girl from Ipanema

It's unfortunate how many people just consider this "elevator music." There aren't too many better albums to put on while drinking coffee on a Sunday morning.

5.0 + Makes me feel like I'm enjoying a well-blended cocktail at some ancient courtyard bar, candlelit and not too crowded. It's a breezy summer night filled with possibilities.

A sort of Bossa nova gateway drug. I wasn’t around in the early 60s but this record probably had a similar effect on me as it did to many others at the time. Dipping in to a bit CTI jazz and coming away with a newfound interest in Brazilian music. Very cool. Can imagine myself listening to this, sipping a caiprinha in a piano bar with the beautiful people. Then realise that I’m a pale, haggard, middle aged man from Glasgow who has no right to be there.

"American 20-something returns from overseas trip and plays this album for friends as if she didn't just spend a month vomiting on historical landmarks and having sex with strangers in pub toilets". "Bland cafe in 'endless suburbia' part of city sets self apart by playing Girl from Ipanema on repeat, as do the other 5 cafes on the same block". "Entire fucking Gilberto family appears on dumb 1001 albums list in show of author's desire to appear worldly, despite pathetically miniscule knowledge of music outside the Anglosphere". "Amateur music critic narrowly avoids death by boredom as dull, waify hotel cafe jazz album reaches 39th minute and ends". 2/5.

Solid jazz/bossa nova record. Can get kinda repetitive, but still a fun listen nonetheless.

First, Getz comes in too loud on "The Girl from Ipanema." I realize he was the star of the show, but the mix should have been done with more subtlety. As a whole, this is a perfect album to have on in the background of a laughably overpriced, “artisanal,” cocktail bar. Can’t you just picture yourself watching flies fornicate on the window surrounded by hipsters in full affectation mode trying to pretend this music isn’t a snooze-fest every bit as boring as they are. Get out your drool bucket as this album is auditory Nembutal.

I know this is iconic and legendary. I know it's smooth and cool and sexy. But I just found it to be boring today. 🤷‍♂️

I guess someone had to write "The Girl from Ipanema". This record did nothing for me. The horn sounded weird through out.

Absolute classic bosa nova. Layed back vocals, beautiful and stripped back melodies, saxophone recorded so closely you can hear every valve and breath. Crack open a bottle of wine and make dinner to this. Must listen.

For me, music like this offers a time capsule/teleportation to an idyllic space of music that's easy going and relaxed but has enough harmonic and melodic complexity to keep it interesting and mysterious. It's a bit of a gateway drug to Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim - one I gladly fall into every time this sort of music comes around. If I could change one thing, I'd compress the tenor sax down - 's a bit loud.

At first I was going to give this a really solid 4 because it was a really pleasant listen throughout and I especially liked the saxophone solos. However, after listening to it throughout the entire day, I realized that this was a rare jazz/bossa nova album that transcended simply ambient listening and became something I actively enjoyed for 40 minutes straight. Girl from Ipanema was a great start to the album and it kept up those good vibes throughout.

A beautiful, calming, relaxing and soothing album. I love her melancholic voice. If I ever organise a coctail party in a hot summer night close to a beach this album will be played for sure.

Cool music to just chill with in the background, but not my main vibe.

a classic of the bossa nova genre which is yet another genre i'm always saying i should listen to more. this is like a warm blanket to me. joão gilberto's soft vocals and stan getz' soothing saxophone are so comforting. what i find most interesting about the development of the genre is how it was in response to the development of microphones, yet only the lower quality ones available in brazil, so it was intentionally cut back, simplified, and arranged differently. the innovation through the magic of buying two of them giving equality clarity to the vocals and the guitar is a novelty as well. nothing really new to say about an album like this but it's one that deserves all the praise it gets.

If there was an essential bossa nova album this would be it. Or at least a very strong contender. Easy 5 stars. Especially the time of listening my city has been raining for the last 2 weeks. This brings Copacabana vibes and lifts the spirits somewhat.

I never tire of Girl from Ipanema. I've loved it from the time I first heard it on my transistor radio as a kid. AG's voice is so exotic and foreign. It's amazing that the single sat on the shelf for a year because the producer insisted on removing "Ipanema" from the title. These days, I have a better appreciation for Stan's warm saxophone solos. I'm sure a lot of jazz purists in '62 would have dissed him, comparing his mellow and simple sound unfavorably to Coltrane or Sonny Rollins, but it fits perfectly here. I've never been fond of male samba or bossanova singers (the Brazilians specifically) because their voices are a bit delicate for me, but again, it adds to the overall mood of the album.

My music listening skills are not high enough to rate a jazz album. Kind Of Blue is supposed to be the best. I couldn't tell you for sure if is or not. This is in a similar catagory. Is this the best Bossa Nova jazz album? Is the Mona Lisa a great painting? Is Citizen Kane the greatest movie? Or is this album just one I need to listen to before I die because it's one of the better albums. Are there 5 more jazz or bossa nova albums like this that are better? I have no reference. This is fine to listen to on a rainy day with nothing else going on in your life. I don't hate it... and don't love it. It's perfect music for a cocktail party or lounging around on a rainy afternoon with nothing else going on in your life. My rating will skew more towards the middle only because I have nothing to compare it to... and other than the opening track I don't recognize anything. Also 95% of the album is not in English so I couldn't even appreciate the lyrics.

The working title of this was apparently 'Music To Die Slowly In A Care Home To' but they decided to go with something less on the nose.

thank you Stan Getz, vibes immaculate as always

What a lovely little album! Bosa nova has been hitting my ear right recently. i am curious - is this the first ever iteration of girl from impanena? Album is great, can have it on repeat in the bg of a party or at work and everyone would be happy. loving it. feels like a sigh.

The band's wink is quiet, but proves subtle instead of weak well into the era of streaming through headphones. Getz/Gilberto is a small-space jazz album, but there still is space. The music works almost anywhere, provided it doesn't have to overwhelm anything. The opener contains the largest note of expected beauty, which flits around the rest of the tracks. Each offset just a bit, each suggesting the easiest of landings.

Was this the second or third album 1001 sent us that had The Girl From Ipanema? The male and female vocals on this version are excellent. It’s hard to believe this was the first time Astrud sang professionally. This album was made only five years after the bossa nova genre started. It’s hard for kids like us to have this perspective. The music on this album is very quiet but it moves. I like Steve Getz’a soft almost whispering sax on The Girl from Ipanema and a couple of other songs on this album.

Contrary to popular belief, bossa nova evolved inpendently from Jazz, emerging from samba in the mid- to late-fifties. Nevertheless, on this album we see these styles collide with Gilberto (guitar), the "father of bossa nova", working with Gets (sax) with cool jazz roots. The result is a work that will introduce the world to bossa nova and create several songs that will ultimately become jazz standards. This is a great album, I enjoyed the listen. Considering its ongoing and historical importance, this was an album well worthy of inclusion on the list.

Decades before anyone ever utilised the word ”chill” as a musical genre this surely has to be the template of this very description. An album to just put on and simply forget about all the shit that is going on in the world today. Getz was the definition of chill & cool.

There is a certain type of music that makes me sad because it is background music to a life I’ll never live. This album falls into that category.

This album is so smooth and famous that people sometimes mistake it for mere background elegance. That is lazy listening. The greatness here is not surface prettiness. It is control. Nothing is pushed too hard. Nothing begs. João’s guitar and voice are so quiet they almost seem casual, Getz’s saxophone glides instead of dominating, Jobim supplies harmonic intelligence without clutter, and Astrud’s untrained, nearly weightless singing on “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Corcovado” gives the record its ghostly softness.

I feel like I'm listening to this music wrong by not listening to it whilst laying on a hammock with a caipirinha in hand, but this is lovely anyways. The original chill beats to study and relax to. Such a good evening listen before relaxing to sleep. I really do not have much to say about this album, I think it sounds great and I know it's a bit of a "babies first Bossa Nova" due to its ubiquity in America, but there's a reason for that and it's because it's lovely.

For anyone who would like to start their jazz journey, this is one of the main points of entry to the genre. Lovely vocals, charming textures, and great production. It’s a timeless work that earned its place in the “must listen before you die” list.

have listened before actual perfection imo like how could you say anything negative about it fav: girl from ipanema, desafinado

Soft, intimate, effortless. Guitar is quiet and precise. Piano glides in and out, filling the tracks out whilst leaving space where space is needed. Vocals are perfect, inviting, relaxing. I can only guess what is being said but im sure its beautiful and romantic. Sax is almost another vocalist in itself, so much emotion in every note. Late evening or early morning. Lower the lights. Close your eyes and drift. A wonderful experience. 9/10

I'm not super knowledgeable about jazz or bossa nova, so all I can say about this album right now is that the songs sound nice. The general sound of the album feels very calm and sweet, and sounds like something that would play in a dimly lit coffee shop somewhere. I also don't know Portuguese thoroughly so I'm not quite sure what is being said. But the instrumentation is very good! I like the use of what I think is saxophone in Doralice. Also interesting that this was half made by an American guy. Bring back bossa nova in 2026 I think. 10/10

Certainly one of the best albums of all time, and probably the most important Bossa Nova recording ever made. Although I will say, this should really be called "Getz/Gilberto/Jobim", but maybe that's just my bias as someone who loves Jobim. "The Girl From Ipanema" might be the best bossa nova song ever. It's absolutely beautiful, the performances are so delicately dynamic and tight, and that chorus is as catchy as it gets while still keeping it's distinct rhythmic complexity. I love that it has English lyrics, that single choice most likely made the song so much more widespread throughout the world. It's a 4.7/5 for me. It's not my favorite album ever but it's just so important to this genre that I think it deserves the round up to 5.

Stan Getz and João Gilberto are irreplaceable. I've enjoyed every chart of theirs that I've played, and it really does bring you closer with whatever band you're playing with (if it's the right group)

If you want to know why they call Bossa Nova the fusion of samba and jazz, listen to this album.

I will not let the most bitterly cold day of the year so far ruin what is a truly incredible album. I've listened to this album before, I listened now, and I will listen again. It's the perfect soundtrack for the life you want to live.

Bossa nova jazz great for cafe working and studying

Música brasileña, poco qué añadir ❤️❤️

Magical on a sunny Friday. Magical on a wet Saturday

The best elevator music on the market. This is an amazing album, incredibly well produced and sounding so damn smooth and nice. There are simply no rough edges to be found on this. Ideal music for Sunday Morning Jazz Club.

I enjoyed this very much, so much so I dusted off my air sax .... good Sunday morning vibe.

Banger. The Girl From Ipanema is an all timer earworm melody. And the rest of the album is great too. I'm fascinated by music that can be engaging to listen to or sit perfectly in the background. This music is timeless for me. Another excellent selection from the generator. 5 stars all day.

As soon as this album was generated I knew it would be a good one. So incredibly feel good and chill. The guitar, the saxophone, the vocals. Perfect

This album is a memory to me. Walking down 26th to meet my mom at work and really hearing it for the first time. Every note is in it’s place, every musician holds up their end of the bargain, but to me Astrud’s voice is the star. Not to discount João’s.

I’m a sucker for bossa and this is a perfect entry into the genre

Really great. High fidelity. Great early morning music. Very soothing and calming. Will replay a whole bunch.

When I was a kid, my father would play guitar and sing "The Girl From Ipanema" to me. He passed away in 1980. Today would have been his 87th birthday and this was my Album of the Day. Happy Birthday, Papai.

Perfect album. I will be listening again and again!

I have heard The Girl From Ipanema maybe dozens or hundreds of times, but I didn't know this was THE album where it was first featured. I liked it a lot. I'm already thinking of driving along the coast listening to this, and I can't wait to do it.

Goat album älskar bossa simple as

Vie, vie, vie vie ... VIE!!

Is there any music more soothing than this? I think not.

The Good: We get to enjoy Joe Pesci!!! The Bad: That’s another Stan Getz… The Ugly: They still fuck you at the drive-thru!!! How many of you young-uns are going to understand the above? So, when I was a little younger, more frequently then not, around my birthday, every 3 years or so, we would move to a new country. My father was not one of them important civil servants working at your local embassy or consul, no no, he worked in the finance sector, and was tasked with the things he was tasked with. It was ’82 and I found my surroundings to be the beach all of a sudden… My birthday is in the middle of summer, which is the reason that we would always move around my birthday, because this way we would not be transferred to a new school in the middle of the year. Anyway, Rio de Janeiro had become our new destination… and before people start jammer about how could that must have been… Rio, in the ‘80s, was dirt poor, and we, for all intents and purposes, were considered rich… If you’ve never had a machete pulled on your because someone wants your watch and sneakers, you don’t know what I’m talking about. So what the fuck does this have to do with our “o disco da vez”? Well, wherever we would go, my father would embrace local music and play it constantly. So I got to listen to a ton of Gilberto Gil, and I was actually hoping to find some bossanova on this list… Great album, greater memories—even if the machete pulling is no fun, it is still an integral part of my youth… I dedicate this 4* rating to the beach volleyball club Caspahinho who were nice enough to “adopt” my younger brother and me as part of the clan!

This was fun. Very easy to get lost in the weeds with this one. Its nice and soothing, easy to have on in the background. I love the saxaphone throughout, but even the vocals kind of grounded me. This was cool.

The comically over-confident reframing of carcinisation – “… the many attempts of nature to evolve a crab” according to its discoverer – as the ultimate, unavoidable fate of all species is one of my favourite memes. It might be the best meme: po-faced, daring you to take it seriously, completely unable of doing anyone any harm and so, so silly (Critics of the meme, who aver that it may lead to a misunderstanding of evolutionary biology, do exist … but come on, chill out). What’s that got to do with this bossa nova record? Well, the argument goes that while jazz might have always had complex chord progressions, samba musicians were always doing that sort of thing anyway, so really it’s the case that bossa nova was happening in both genres before it was given its formal name. From that perspective, no one group was responsible, it was rather – what with the encroaching popularity of rock and roll forcing innovation in both forms – that bossa nova was always inevitable. It’s fun to think that Bossa Nova – a form neither jazz nor samba seems to want to fully claim as its own – might offer a musical equivalent to the carcinisation argument. Not least because the selection pressures that favour the crab body plan so neatly parallel those that gave expression to bossa nova – as a crab lives in waves, bossa nova takes its name quite literally from a “new wave”; as the crab requires body armour to defend from threats, so too was bossa nova an artistic response to the emergence of rock and roll; as a crab needs to traverse sand quickly, the signature song of the genre, “Girl from Ipanema” is literally about a beach. It won’t shock anyone to hear that I like crabs. They move in predictable but rhythmically compelling ways. They have the capacity to spring a surprise. They put me in mind of charmed days on the beach. And on all counts, so does Getz/Gilberto.

Great bosa nova/jazz album, i prefer the one with frank sinatra but this version still veeery good, really was thinking about 5 but nah it does NOT deserve that high rating

A few years ago on this list (I can't believe it's been so long that I can say a phrase like that), we had the album "Jazz Samba" by Stan Getz, which I really enjoyed. In the months after, I ended up listening to it a lot more, and it became one of my most-played albums. I even listened to this album, "Getz/Gilberto," and another Stan Getz album called "Big Band Bossa Nova" because I couldn't get enough of the style. This is a lovely, easy-to-listen-to album of bossa nova with wonderful solos. The piano and saxophone in particular stood out to me on this listen. I love how the music is both calming and upbeat. I find I can put it on in just about any situation and it fits the mood!

This was a great album. It makes me wonder if bossa nova is considered a sub-genre of jazz? It's very smooth with a melodic flare.

Lovely and classic. 60’s dinner party fondu vibes. Kinda made me want a martini at 8am - but it was also Tuesday.

Sounds like a delightful summer afternoon on a quiet beach.

I’ve thrown faint praise around for albums being nice in the past. But this is Niiiice. Not in a jazzzz sense. Well, a bit in a jazzzz sense. You could describe most pillows as ‘nice’. But some pillows are just a different gravy. Whether it’s a fancy hotel pillow, your own pillow on your own bed … or that £149 space foam job is you saw in John Lewis that is both preposterous and weirdly tempting. Anyway, this is really good nice.

The bossas of nova.

Easy listening Latin jazz for low-key rainy evening mood.

I mean, this album is just a delight. I feel happy and relaxed just thinking about it.

4.5

Exceptional!!

The fusion works for me , it’s smooth ambient and often beautiful . It’s different than most of the albums on here which makes it stand out and it doesn’t quite have the highs that some of my top rated albums do but it works … I can have this on and get through a hour of coding feeling peaceful

Deeply enjoyable to listen to. Suggested soundtrack to painting rocks or eating leftover spaghetti.

I like jazz

Quite literally the perfect record to relax with after a long day’s work.

Cool 😎

Delightful background music. Will save the entire album for cocktail hours and date nights. I feel like I’ve heard all of these songs as backing tracks in movies.

Smooth tropical sound and a softie for The Girl From Ipanema.

to the guy who said "Me and my girlfriend did interesting things in the back of my car to this" it's MY GIRLFRIEND AND I dumbass

Full disclosure: I don't like jazz This was only 34 minutes, and I fell asleep twice trying to get through it.

Chav sex after party music.

Muzak. Fine in an elevator or playing in a bar at an all-inclusive resort

Very elevator music vibe. Maybe good for dinner background noise at a high end restaurant but not a daily listener.

This is such a timeless and charming album. A friend introduced me to the record as a whole over 20 years ago (was only familiar with Girl From Ipanema prior) and it was love at first listen. This is still in regular rotation on the turntable

E VAI TER BRASIL SIM 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

Soooo good! I love this. It's got such lightness and all of the artists made such tasteful choices in their delivery of the music. The saxophone is a highlight for me. And the album art is cool.

Busy few weeks on my end. So this was nice to return to my routine and chill in the morning while drinking coffee. Great coffee shop vibe music.

10/10

Very nice album Vai vai vai

music is love

Getz/Gilberto es una obra de arte atemporal y una de las cumbres más sofisticadas de la música del siglo XX que ha envejecido bien, manteniendo intacta su frescura y su elegancia minimalista. El álbum es una cátedra de sutil virtuosismo acústico donde se entreteje todo muy bien: el piano contenido de Jobim, la guitarra rítmica y flotante de João Gilberto y el fraseo cálido del saxofón de Stan Getz. Dentro de este repertorio perfecto, "The Girl from Ipanema" destaca como una de mis favoritas, mientras que "Corcovado" resulta también deliciosa, configurando los pilares de un viaje sonoro inolvidable. La genialidad de esta fusión entre el jazz cool y la bossa nova radica en su capacidad para habitar una dualidad emocional exquisita, envolviendo al oyente en una constante sensación de paz melancólica. Desprovisto de artificios, el álbum destila una autenticidad y autoridad superior que emana de la discreción, el susurro cercano al micrófono y la perfecta economía de recursos. Nos encontramos ante una obra maestra de una plasticidad y calidez tan nobles que resulta ideal para múltiples usos: el trabajo creativo, un manejo relajado, caminar, servir de fondo para platicar o la intimidad, la reflexión solitaria y leer.

This hit

Sounded really good and helped me focus on the work I was doing. It made me feel very calm and blocked out distractions. I could see myself going back to this if I need help relaxing or working on things.

acredito eu que seria obrigatório toda e qualquer música ter metais no instumental, o getz conseguiu aprimorar essas masterpieces da música brasileira, perfeito.

Friday. May 29, 2026 Legendary album. Every song hits the right vibe.

an absolute person favorite - perfect for warm weekend mornings

Good vibes

Jazz, i loved the female vocals

Instrumentalmente es alucinante escuchar la fusión de cada instrumento. Los ritmos, las voces, hay una sensualidad en ellas. Un disco para poner de fondo en esos momentos que uno se siente mágico.

una fusión de jazz y samba .suave y con elegancia y swing.imagino una playa en río una calle llena de color .una puerta entre abierta y dentro bajando las escaleras entre el humo del cigarro unos músicos de jazz de un club de nueva York.Garota de ipanema es para la música popular brasilera lo que pele al fútbol.

Essential easy listening! My 6 year old said "this sounds like love music"... indeed!