Anne Walsh – The Astrud Project (A to Zink Music, 2022)
As the album title indicates, “The Astrud Project” is a recording dedicated to the work of iconic Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto. Astrud became very popular internationally in the 1960s, and she played an essential role in the dissemination bossa nova worldwide. Now, an equally talented singer, Anne Walsh, beautifully performs some of Astrud’s finest works.
Anne Walsh is classically and jazz trained and has a captivating and gorgeous vocal style. What stands out about this project is Walsh’s graceful, flawless and artful delivery, singing in Portuguese and English. “Learning the Portuguese lyrics is so important to understanding how the music should swing. In Brazil, you can find yourself listening to a conversation and faintly hear the cadences of the various percussion instruments. That is such a huge part of getting the music under your skin as a singer; really internalizing the percussive feel of the language. I sing most of ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ in Portuguese because it’s impossible to get that same rhythmic feel from the English lyrics,” said Walsh.
Another high point of the album is the masterfully constructed arrangements orchestrated by Tom Zink that skillfully incorporate Brazilian traditional rhythms, providing a deeply satisfying balance between Brazilian music and jazz.
“Looking over Astrud’s life and career in researching that song (“Nao Bate O Coracao”) was the beginning of a deeper dive into the songs that inspired this collection. I’ve always found a kindred spirit in the vocal approach that Astrud took. Her light, straight tone is what really makes the music she sang shine. There is little doubt that Astrud’s approach set the stylistic vibe for the bossa nova movement of the 1960s,” said Walsh.
Favorite tracks on “The Astrud Project” include “On My Mind”, “Crickets”, “(Take Me to) Aruanda”, “The Girl from Ipanema”, “Beach Samba”, “Canto de Ossanha”, “Fotografia” and “Voce e eu”.
“Our hope was to keep that sunny innocence of the original, while updating the sound and playing to reflect our own perspective on the era. One of my favorite elements as an orchestrator is how the original recordings could go from simple two-person performances to huge orchestral arrangements and yet still retain the fun and light sound that characterizes bossa nova. This recording moves from guitar/voice duos to very large ensembles with full string, woodwind and brass sections. All of the arrangements are original, but I focused on retaining the sense of innocent beauty that was so characteristic of Astrud’s recordings,” said pianist, producer and arranger Zink.
The lineup includes Anne Walsh on vocals; Tom Zink on piano; Mitchell Long on guitar, cavaquinho; Kevin Winard on drums, percussion; Chris Wabich on drums; Mike Vacarro on flutes, clarinet, bass clarinet; Gary Meek on flute solos; Tony Guerrero on trumpets, flugelhorn; Andy Martin on trombone; Charlie Bisharat on violin; Tom Lea on viola; and Irina Chirkova on cello.
Anne Walsh was born in Boston and currently lives in Long Beach, California. Walsh is a classically trained singer, lyricist, composer and educator. She recorded combinations of Brazilian and contemporary jazz for “Pretty World”, followed by the “Go” (2011) and “Brand New” albums.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.