João Gilberto – Amoroso

When this album landed on the turntables in 1977, João Gilberto, the Nestor and father of bossa nova, had long enjoyed praise for his life’s work which was still far from complete. His straightforward, sometimes dry and rasping voice sounds out distinctively in the mezzo piano and forges his totally unique and personal style of playing Latin jazz with international appeal. With "Wave", "Triste", "Caminhos Cruzados" and "Zingaro" he brings together on this LP four splendid numbers by his congenial fellow countryman Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Just how universally applicable Gilberto’s bossa mixtures are is shown by Gershwin’s hit "’S Wonderful", which he performs in a completely new way. In lieu of the thrilling original, a completely new version of this musical classic is created that is agreeably free of dynamic effects and filled with wide-awake declamation. The question as to whether the well-tried mix of guitar and a refined rhythm group could have done without the lush strings is answered by listening closely: Claus Ogerman’s arrangements are less a highly colourful enhancement than a carefully woven interplay of internal and opposing voices. On this album we have an exclusive team of instrumentalists who carry the melancholic mood of this music right to their fingertips.

This Speakers Corner 180g vinyl LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.