Tue 6 Jun 2023 12.18 BST
Astrud Gilberto, whose dreamy interpretation
of The Girl from Ipanema became the most popular version of the
song, has died aged 83.
Paul Ricci, a collaborator with Gilberto,
confirmed the news on social media, writing that he had been asked
to announce it by Gilberto’s son Marcelo. “She was an important
part of ALL that is Brazilian music in the world and she changed
many lives with her energy,” he added.
Born in 1940 in the Brazilian
state of Bahia and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Astrud Weinert married
musician Joao Gilberto in 1959. In 1963, she accompanied him on
a trip to New York where he would record with jazz artist Stan Getz
and fellow Brazilian bossa nova star Antonio Carlos Jobim. The session’s
producer wanted an English-language singer to help The Girl from
Ipanema cross over to a US audience, and Astrud - who had no previous
recording experience - was the only person who could speak it.
