Astrud Gilberto: The Queen of Bossa-Nova

Astrud Gilberto, one of the most well-known Brazilian singers, was born on March 29, 1940 in the Northeast of Brazil, Bahia.  However, she spent all her childhood in Rio de Janeiro.  She was one of a German father and a Brazilian mother’s daughters; thus, her real name is Astrud Weinert.  In the decade of the 60’s, she moved to the United States, the country in which she has lived since this time.  Due to her great significance as an artist, she is known as the “The Girl from Ipanema” and/or “The Queen of Bossa-Nova”, which is a particular kind of music from Brazil.  Her music is characterized for being a great combination of Jazz, Brazilian rhythms and American Pop.

In 1959, Astrud Gilberto married Joao Gilberto. Four years later, she performed in the album Getz/Gilberto although she was not professional at it.  However, they got divorced during the 60’s.  Astrud Gilberto’s track called “The Girl of Ipanema” got to be such a great success that she became a famed jazz star.  The beginnings of her artistic career were marked with American jazz and Brazilian bossa-nova interpreting, but in the 70’s, she started composing her own songs.  In fact, the song “Astrud” was written as a tribute to Gilberto.

Among her great albums, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto – Getz Au-Go-Go, The Astrud Gilberto Album, The Shadow of Your Smile, A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness, Gilberto Golden Japanese Album, That Girl from Ipanema, Live in New York and Jungle are outstanding.  Actually, Jungle is her very latest album since it was released in 2002.  Hence, Astrud Gilberto will always be remembered as one of the best Brazilian artists and one remarkable activist in pro of animal rights.