Take Two
The Girl From Ipanema
Helô Pinheiro - the inspiration for “The Girl from Ipanema”
Ipanema is a coastal resort to the south of Rio de Janeiro. Every Sunday, the roadway closest to the beach is closed to motor vehicles allowing local residents and tourists to ride bikes, roller skate, skateboard, and walk along beside the ocean. Ipanema is one of Rio's most expensive districts to live in; private investment has led to the building of world-class restaurants, shops, and cafés.
At the age of 17, Helô Pinheiro was seventeen when she was seen by songwriters Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes and became became the inspiration for the song “The Girl from Ipanema”. Vinicius intially wrote the lyrics in Portuguese and English lyrics were added later by Norman Gimbel.
Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes
Each one she passes goes - ah
The song was recorded by Astrud Gilberto and became a hit, but it also popularised the music of Bossa Nova and its jazz interpretation with saxophonist Stan Getz on the recording. Here is a video reminder from 1964.
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Since then there have been countless recordings of the song, but for our Take Two feature we choose two different jazz approaches to the tune. Our first take is by guitarist Pat Metheny who included the song on his album What's It All About. Here is a video of the number.
Our second 'take' is from Ella Fitzgerald who, as you might expect, adds her own particular phrasing and approach to the song. The video, from 1965, has text information about Ella which most readers will already know, and on this video she is accompanied by the Tommy Flanagan Trio - Tommy Flanagan (piano); Keeter Betts (bass) and Gus Johnson (drums).
When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes
Each one she passes goes - ooh
11.2024