João Gilberto - White Album (1973)

Advantages: composition, vocals
Disadvantages: none

...Anybody can recognize "The Girl From Ipanema", it's a classic. But where did it come from? Where did Bossa Nova spread its roots? Pianist Tom Jobim is credited for the composition of most of the classic Bossa Nova standards, but is was João Gilberto who took these standards, and interpreted on the guitar what we now identify as Bossa Nova. By harmonizing the chords on the guitar with the traditional Brazilian Samba rhythm, Gilberto evolved Jobims' compositions and popularized the style. Gilberto's guitar playing is virtuous, but what really captures me is his voice. He sings with a "blown" quality as if he is blowing air from his gut, which produces an intimate close-to-the-microphone sound. It's possible to hear his lips smacking dryly during the pronounciation of certain words, and he has an excellent vocal amplitude, using...

Morellli 04.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Joao Gilberto - Joao Gilberto

Latin Diva

Advantages: Beautiful lullaby voice, subtle but effective jazz backing
Disadvantages: None, all the songs are classics

...Astrud Gilberto is, in my opinion, the best female Latin-American singer to ever grace the face of the earth. Her voice is completely relaxed, free and easy; it is as if she isn’t even trying! Just hearing her voice conjures up images of Rio, sandy beaches, and the carnival. Astrud Gilberto sings Bossa nova and Samba. She first came to prominence in the mid sixties, when she sung the famous ‘Girl From Ipanema’ with her husband of the time Joao Gilberto. She recorded several albums with Joao and also jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, which all had critical acclaim. Most of the albums were recorded under the infamous Verve jazz label. Which brings us to this album. The Astrud Gilberto Album is a collection of her recordings on the Verve label from the mid to late 60’s, when she was in the prime of her career...

joannahudson 02.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Silver Collection - Astrud Gilberto

a book of cosmic importance

Advantages: easy to follow, interesting read
Disadvantages: not something everyone can be interested in

...Joao Magueijo is a scientist at the top of his field. This book describes how he tried to come up with a theory that improves upon the "inflationary model" for the creation of the universe. ----------------------------- The Theory ----------------------------- The theory is actually quite simple. Instead of saying "The speed of light is constant and therefore what we observe means there must have been a fast expansion of the universe early on" he reasons that "perhaps early on, the speed of light was not the same as it is today, thus it would appear that it expanded rapidly when it didn't". This has huge implications on the whole of the cosmological model - if the speed of light is different, then the theory of relativity is effected! This is the basis of the theory in this book. It goes through to describe some scenarios...

C_W_Monkey 13.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Faster than the speed of light - Joao Magueijo

A fast-paced text...

Advantages: Interesting, cutting-edge
Disadvantages: Some bits too personal, political

...Joao Magueijo's book 'Faster than the Speed of Light' is an intriguing look into some of the 'bleeding edge' theoretical realms of cosmology and theoretical physics, while also charting an all-too-familiar pattern of academic jealousy, intrigue, and the attempt by the established powers-that-be, the keepers of the dogmatic domain, to downplay those ideas (or persons) that might present significant challenge to their fields. In many ways, this is not unlike church structures of the past that saw it necessary to force thinkers such as Galileo to recant his scientific positions; alas, academic politics has always been among the more nasty of the forms of politics (Kissinger made this observation comparing the realms of academic politics with 'realpolitik'); Mageuijo makes no secret about those he respects and those he does not in this text...

frkurt 05.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of Faster than the speed of light - Joao Magueijo

Stan Getz - Apasionado

Advantages: A great jazz collection
Disadvantages: Stan is the only soloist

......

Supernaut 23.11.2000 · Read review
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Review of Getz/Gilberto Vol.2 (Live At Carnegie Hall) - Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto

Stan Getz all smooth on us.

Advantages: Near perfect saxophony.
Disadvantages: Too smooth.

...this double CD is that there is a whole bunch of other incredibly talented musicians her such as: Astrud Gilberto (vocals), Chic Corea (piano), Joao Gilberto (acoustic guitar), Max Roach on drums, and a whole host of other folk, all listed on the CD sleeve. This review would end up as a major dissertation if I reviewed every track so I won't, I'll select what for me are the best to review: ~~~~~CD1~~~~~ The Girl From Ipanema: One of those 'hate it' or 'love it' tunes. A very silky male vocal in Spanish, then a second verse from a female vocalist (Gilberto?). Getz does not get to play till almost halfway through this track when he comes in with a very strong solo. He then spends the end of the track backing the vocal with an unusually high set of notes for him. Just class. Summertime: You would not believe how many saxophone...

paulhanton 16.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Sax Moods (The Very Best Of Stan Getz) - Stan Getz

From Curry To Cataplana

Advantages: Good writing
Disadvantages: Unconvincing characters

...this it must have seemed only logical to write about the village and its, presumably fictionalised, inhabitants. Less logically, Ali also creates a substantial immigrant community, although the immigrants here tend to be northern Europeans escaping to the sun or escaping from their former lives. The first problem with this novel is the name of the village. Ali's Mamarossa sounds, frankly, like an Italian pizzeria rather than a Portuguese village. Still, this may be considered a quibble. The novel adopts an episodic structure. The first chapter concerns an old man Joao, sitting in the countryside by the dead body of Rui the man he loved, in a fairly unrequited manner, since his youth. He reminisces about the hard life he's led, Salazar's dictatorship and his love for the harsh country around his birthplace. So far, so good...

JoePoirot 04.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Alentejo Blue - Monica Ali

"I didn't try to kill myself...I had a headache"

Advantages: Acting, characters and soundtrack
Disadvantages: Some parts could be a litle disturbing

.... Clea Duvall plays Georgina, Susanna's pathological lying roommate. Both actresses play believable roles and are f=great supporting roles. Vanessa Redgrave and Jeffrey Tambor play 'Dr. Dyke,' and 'Dr. Melvin Potts,' respectively. I thought that it was a lovely little performance from Ms Redgrave; she was only in it for two short scenes but was excellent. THE SOUNDTRACK I thought that the soundtrack for the film was wonderful, it fit the emotion and action that I watched on the screen so well. . It is one of those soundtracks that actually enhances the film, rather than just providing background music. *"Bookends" Performed by Simon & Garfunkel *"The Girl From Ipanema" Performed by Astrud Gilberto *"Down Town" Performed by Petula Clark *"It's All Over Now Baby Blue" Performed by Them * "Got...

oldchem 17.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Girl, Interrupted (DVD)

Memories of Marisa Monte

Advantages: Sumptuous arrangments and the voice of Marisa Monte.
Disadvantages: 'Rose & Charcoal' is a better album.

...I first remember hearing this album on a warm steamy tropical afternoon in 2003 whilst swinging in a hammock beside a riverbank. I'd kind of forgotten I still had the CD and have only recently started playing it again after rediscovering it at he bottom of my CD collection. It is all to easy to place Marisa Monte's music into the category of MPB (Música Popular Brasileira - Brazilian Popular Music) - a type of urban popular music that emerged in the 1970s with artists such as Chico Buarque, Maria Bethânia and Gal Costa. MPB evolved from the Bossa Nova period that dominated the 1960s and the subsequent 'Tropicália' movement led by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Like European and North American pop music, MPB combines many influences derived from contemporary folk and rock, but often borrows heavily from traditional Brazilian Samba...

Zmugzy 26.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Memories Chronicles And Declarations Of Love - Marisa Monte

My life in a forest of books!

Advantages: more books for you to read
Disadvantages: Go offline for reading

...Auster, Paulo Coelho, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, TOLKIEN, Stephen Lawhead, Noah Gordon, Bernard Cornwell, Tom Sahrpe, Douglas Coupland, João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Luis Sepulveda, Bruce Chatwin. Q: Which book would you take with you on a desert island? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hummmm tough one... now it would probably be: "Viver para contá-la" The last novel from G G Marquez (it's a huge book!!) and I don't no the english name (sorry!) Q: What is your attitude towards translations? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Translations for books here in Portugal are much better than the ones made for the subtitles for cine or TV series (we do have subtitles for everything... Thanks God I wasn't born in Spain!!!) LOL Q: Do you buy your books/get them from the library/borrow them from friends...

jtogando 02.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Everything that starts with L ...