Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor

The most essential albums recorded by Joao Gilberto are his first three, Chega de Saudade (1959), O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor (1960), and Joao Gilberto (1961). All three remain extremely up-to-date and share in common a superb standard of quality in compositions, arrangements (mostly designed by Tom Jobim), and Gilberto's performances at the guitar and voice. The second LP recorded by Joao Gilberto, O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor, included the "Samba de Uma Nota Só" ("One Note Samba") by Tom Jobim/Newton Mendonça, which was immediately successful the previous year with the release of the single "Samba de Uma Nota Só" and became a classic of bossa nova. Gilberto also interpreted "Outra Vez" (Jobim), which had been recorded by Dick Farney and Elizete Cardoso with quite different results. It was the first time that Gilberto recorded the other classics, "Só Em Teus Braços" (Jobim), "Se É Tarde, Me Perdoa" (Carlos Lyra/Ronaldo Bôscoli), "Meditaçao" (Tom Jobim/Newton Mendonça), "Corcovado," "Discussao," and "Outra Vez." The LP was reissued, along with the first and third, in 1990 in the U.S. as The Legendary Joao Gilberto, with the omissionof one of the few instrumental tracks recorded by Gilberto, "Um Abraço No Bonfá." ~ Alvaro Neder