Astrud Gilberto accompanied her husband, Joao Gilberto, in March of 1963 to a recording session he was having with Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim and soon found herself singing on a handful of tracks one of which, “The Girl From Ipanema”, would become a smash hit ushering in the bossa nova craze. The producer of the session was Creed Taylor who would later leave Verve Records to start his own label CTI which soon became the biggest independent label in the history of jazz. Astrud Gilberto became an international star who went on to record some excellent sides for the Verve label throughout the Sixties, but like Creed before her she decided to leave the label recording her last album for them in 1970.

It made perfect sense that she would then hook up with Creed Taylor again and do an album for his CTI label in 1971. Maybe a reunion with the producer of the hit 1963 recording would recapture some of that same magic of the past, but with a more contemporary sound and style. But before you could say abracadabra the project hit the rocks and CTI was lucky to even get an album’s worth of material out of the studio. A veritable CTI all-star team was assembled to help cut the record; Deodato, Hubert Laws, Toots Thielemans, Airto, Ron Carter, and Stanley Turrentine are a few of the big names included. Astrud grew dissatisfied with how things were going and she walked out before the recording was finished leaving a mess to be cleaned up by arranger, Deodato, and producer Creed Taylor resulting in the inclusion of two instrumentals to make up a full release.

Maybe it was the Bacharach tunes that set Astrud off. There’s no sure way of knowing, but she was said to have been unhappy about the material that had been selected for her. She sounds completely bored on “Wanting Things” and “Where There’s A Heartache”. Both songs are uninspired elevator music pieces and Turrentine does not appear on either track. His presence is felt on “Brazilian Tapestry” which is the standout cut of the album; a wonderfully evocative track with bright playing including Deodato’s piano fairy dust sprinkled throughout. The instrumental version of Stephen Stills’ “To A Flame” is simple filler and thanks to digital programming it’s easy to skip it. “Solo el fin” is from the film Lovers And Other Strangers. Turrentine is back on accompaniment for the Jorge Ben composed “Zazueira” and he cooks in a nice contrast to Astrud’s cool approach. “Ponteio” has a light, international airport terminal feel perfect for the Wallpaper magazine reader. Gene Bertocini’s guitar playing shines on “Traveling Light” which has a jittery appeal. Listen for Deodato’s electric piano on instrumental “Vera Cruz”. It was supposed to just be a guide for Astrud’s vocals. Don’t let the title “Historia de amor” fool you for even though Astrud sounds fine, this is still the all time dog of a song called “Love Story” from the film of the same name. Three bonus tracks are added to this reissue but only “Polytechnical High” has any real appeal and even that is more one of novelty.

Article Author: Wally Bangs

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