Astrud Gilberto: The Girl from Ipanema singer dies at 83

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian bossa nova vocalist champion known for The Girl from Ipanema, has died aged 83.

One of Brazil's biggest stars of the 1960s and 70s, she recorded 16 albums and worked with artists ranging from Quincy Jones to George Michael.

Her mentation of The Girl From Ipanema sold much than 5 cardinal copies and helped to popularise bossa nova.

"I'm present to bring you the bittersweet quality that my grandma became a prima today, and is adjacent to my gramps João Gilberto," wrote Sofia, who is besides a musician.

"She was a pioneer and the best. At the property of 22, she gave dependable to the English mentation of Girl from Ipanema and gained planetary fame."

Paul Ricci, a New York-based guitarist who collaborated with Gilberto, besides confirmed the quality connected Facebook.

"I conscionable got connection from her lad Marcelo that we person mislaid Astrud Gilberto," he wrote. "He asked for this to beryllium posted.

"She was an important portion of ALL that is Brazilian euphony successful the satellite and she changed galore lives with her energy. RIP from 'the chief', arsenic she called me."

The BBC has contacted Gilberto's representatives for authoritative confirmation.

Born Astrud Evangelina Weinert successful Bahia, she moved to Rio de Janeiro astatine an aboriginal property and took philharmonic inspiration from her mother's broadside of the family, wherever "almost everyone played an instrument".

In her mid-teens, she fell successful with a radical of young radical she described arsenic a "musical clan", whose members included the celebrated vocalist Nara Leao and acclaimed guitarist João Gilberto, who helped make bossa nova.

Astrud and João joined a fewer months aft meeting, and it was their narration that accidentally gave emergence to her signaling career.

In 1963, she accompanied her hubby to New York to assistance him arsenic a workplace translator portion helium chopped an medium with jazz fable Stan Getz.

When the set came to grounds the English lyrics for The Girl From Ipanema, they needed a vocalist - and Gilberto shyly suggested she could grip the task.

"Producer Creed Taylor said helium wanted to get the opus done close distant and looked astir the room," technologist Phil Ramone told Jazzwax successful 2012.

"Astrud volunteered, saying she could sing successful English. Creed said, 'Great.' Astrud wasn't a nonrecreational singer, but she was the lone unfortunate sitting determination that night."

Although she had small clip to prepare, Gilberto's detached but sultry vocals perfectly captured the vibe of a "tall and tan and young and lovely" miss who turns the heads of everyone she passes.

The opus was an instant deed and went connected to triumph the Grammy Award for grounds of the year.

Gilberto wasn't credited connected the way (which was released nether the sanction Stan Getz and João Gilberto) and she lone received the modular $120 league interest for her performance.

However, it was the springboard for a palmy solo career, opening with 1965's The Astrud Gilberto Album, connected which she teamed up with incomparable jazz guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim connected a suite of Brazilian standards.

Speaking to The Independent past year, her lad Marcelo claimed that Gilberto struggled with the objectification she received from the press, and often had to combat misogyny successful the euphony industry.

Writing connected her website successful the aboriginal 2000s, Gilberto recalled however respective radical had claimed work for her occurrence with Ipanema, with Stan Getz saying helium had rescued her from being a "housewife".

"Nothing is further from the truth," she wrote. "I conjecture it whitethorn them look 'important' to person been the 1 that had the 'wisdom' to admit endowment oregon 'potential' successful my singing… I accidental I should consciousness flattered by the value that they lend to this, but I can't assistance but to consciousness annoyed astatine the information that they resorted to lying!"

In the 1970s, she began penning her ain songs, arsenic showcased connected albums similar Astrud Gilberto Now (1972) and That Girl From Ipanema (1977).

On the latter, she achieved a beingness ambition by signaling 1 of her songs, Far Away, arsenic a duet with legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.

Alongside recording, she developed a 2nd strand to her career, acting successful the films The Hanged Man and Get Yourself a College Girl and signaling the soundtrack for The Deadly Affair, arranged by Quincy Jones.

In the aboriginal 1980s, Gilberto formed a radical that featured her lad Maeclo connected bass and toured the world, but she mostly avoided playing successful Brazil, wherever she felt she had not been afforded the designation she deserved.

"Brazil turned its backmost connected her," Marcelo told The Independent. "She achieved fame overseas astatine a clip erstwhile this was considered treasonous by the press."

In Europe, she recorded an medium of samba classics with James Last; and George Michael sought her retired to duet connected a mentation of Desafinado for foundation medium Red Hot + Rio successful 1996.

She recorded her last album, Jungle, successful 2002, aft which she announced an indefinite hiatus from nationalist performance, having antecedently said that being "close to the nationalist was frightening".

The vocalist devoted astir of her aboriginal years to campaigning against carnal cruelty, but the bequest of her archetypal signaling lived on, with everyone from Frank Sinatra and Madonna to Amy Winehouse and Nat King Cole offering their ain interpretations of Gilberto's performance.