Bebel Gilberto at Circo Voador

By Sibel Tinar, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Lapa’s famous venue Circo Voador once again hosted a world-class show, as the Brazilian-American MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) singer Bebel Gilberto finished her world tour introducing her latest album All in One last week.

“It will be a big party at home”, said the singer, who was born in New York, and has mostly been raised in Rio de Janeiro, before the show; “I decided to end the tour in my town and at Circo Voador, which is a place I am connected to ever since its inception.”

Being the daughter of João Gilberto, who is one of the creators of Bossa Nova, and the singer Miúcha, thus having the famous samba musician Chico Buarque as her uncle, it seems almost inevitable that Bebel Gilberto ended up as a musician herself.

She started singing at an early age, and accompanied her mother in performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall only at age nine, along with the famous jazz saxophonist Stan Getz. Throughout her life, Gilberto collaborated with the biggest names of Brazilian music, including Caetano Veloso, Cazuza, and her uncle Chico Buarque, as well as other world famous artists, such as Thievery Corporation, and David Byrne.

She has released a total of six albums, achieving major success and recognition with Tanto Tempo (2000), Bebel Gilberto (2004), and Momento (2007), singing both in Portuguese and in English. Her songs such as Samba da Benção, So Nice (Summer Samba), Aganjú, Bananeira, and Cada Beijo have made her distinct voice and singing style recognizable, not only in Brazil, but all around the world.

The show at Circo Voador, of which Gilberto is one of the founding members, featured songs from her latest album All in One, as well as some of her classics. “The repertoire was focused on my last album, but there are always songs that I cannot leave out, like Aganjú, Samba da Benção, and Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo“, explained the singer.

She also paid a tribute to Carmen Miranda, a pioneer in bridging Brazil with the United States, by covering her song Chica Chica Boom Chic, and visited the repertoire of her father João Gilberto for the first time, with her rendition of Bim Bom.

Regarding the band that accompanied her on stage, and that was touring the world with her, she said: “We are celebrating ten years of partnership and this show was also a great celebration of this meeting.”

All in One, which is the album that has the least amount of electronic influences among those she has released since Tanto Tempo, still bears the artist’s signature sound and style she has built over time.

After the single, tour-closing show in one of her hometowns, Bebel Gilberto has started to record her first DVD, scheduled for release in early 2011.