Great news from El Records: Joao Gilberto’s first album, Chega De Saudade, is being reissued on January 18 in the UK, and January 19 here in the U.S.  Chega de Saudade was the first bossa nova album ever recorded, which featured Joao Gilberto’s unique guitar stylings with a laid-back, soft-spoken vocal approach that would define Brazilian music for decades to come.  On this album, he teams up with lyricists Vinicius de Moraes and Antonio Carlos Jobim, who also directed the musical accompaniment on the album.  The title track was a major breakthrough hit for Gilberto in Brazil, and fans of bossa nova will also recognize many of the tunes on this collection.

Paired up with this release is an EP of music from the “Black Orpheus” film soundtrack.  “Black Orpheus” is the influential film that broke the bossa nova sound to the world.

Click on the picture or the album title link above to preorder from Amazon.  This album was briefly on CD many years ago, and apparently was also an SACD release, so it has not been available for many years.  Thank our friends over at Cherry Red Records in the UK for this one!