Getz/Gilberto is an iconic record in many aspects. First, it’s one of the first and best crossover records of all times, blending jazz and bossa nova. Second, it is a collaboration between two musical giants, saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist João Gilberto, accompanied by another legend, composer and pianist Antônio Carlos Jobim. And last but not least, it’s an extraordinary album that contains one of the most recognizable songs ever written, the bossa nova standard “The Girl From Ipanema” as well as other hits such as "Desafinado," "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)," and "Só Danço Samba." Getz/Gilberto made bossa nova a permanent part of the jazz landscape, partly with its irresistible beauty and partly because of "The Girl From Ipanema," a Jobim classic sung by João's wife, Astrud Gilberto, who had never performed outside of her own home prior to the recording session. The rhythm section consists of Sebastião Neto on double bass and Milton Banana on drums and pandeiro.
The record fueled the bossa nova craze in the United States and abroad, becoming the first Grammy Award-winning album from non-American artists. It became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time and turned Astrud Gilberto, who sang on the tracks "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Corcovado", into an internationally celebrated musician. It won the 1965 Grammy Awards for Best Album of the Year, Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. "The Girl from Ipanema" also won the award for Record of the Year in 1965. This was the first time a jazz album received Album of the Year. It was the only jazz album to win the award until Herbie Hancock's “River: The Joni Letters” 43 years later, in 2008.
