Astrud Gilberto

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Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto was born Astrud Weinert, the daughter of a Brazilian mother and a German father, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and was raised in Rio de Janeiro. In 1959, she married João Gilberto, later emigrating to the United States in 1963. They eventually divorced in the mid-1960s.
She sang on the influential album Getz/Gilberto featuring João Gilberto, Stan Getz, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. She had never performed professionally, and sang on the recordings at the suggestion of her (then) husband, João Gilberto.
Astrud Gilberto's recording of "The Girl from Ipanema" established her as a jazz and pop singer. In 1964, Gilberto appeared in the films Get Yourself a College Girl and The Hanged Man. Her first solo album was The Astrud Gilberto Album (1964). Gilberto began as a singer of bossa nova and American jazz standards, but recorded her own compositions in the 1970s. Her repertoire includes "The Shadow of Your Smile", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Love Story", "Fly Me To The Moon", "Day By Day", "Here's That Rainy Day", and "Look To The Rainbow". She has recorded songs in Brazilian Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese.
In 1982, Gilberto's son Marcelo joined her group, and toured with her for more than a decade as her group's bassist. In addition to working as a bassist, he collaborated as co-producer of the albums Live in New York (1996) and Temperance (1997). Son Gregory Lasorsa played on the Temperance album, playing the guitar on her song "Beautiful You", which features singer Michael Franks.