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Remembering João Gilberto

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

And the last word in music we'll give to Joao Gilberto, the man who helped make famous "The Girl From Ipanema."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE GIRL FROM IMPANEMA")

ASTRUD GILBERTO: (Singing) Tall and tan and young and lovely. The girl from Ipanema goes walking. And...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The Brazilian singer, composer and guitarist was best known as the father of bossa nova - the sexy, breezy mix of traditional samba and jazz. Gilberto's bossa nova was subtle and intimate and quickly became a symbol of a new urban and sophisticated Brazil.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DESAFINADO")

JOAO GILBERTO: (Singing in Portuguese).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: His collaboration with American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz became a worldwide hit. And many of the songs on their album became jazz standards, like "Desafinado."

(SOUNDBITE OF STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO SONG, “DESAFINADO”)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Joao Gilberto died in Rio at the age of 88.

(SOUNDBITE OF STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO SONG, “DESAFINADO”) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. She is infamous in the IT department of NPR for losing laptops to bullets, hurricanes, and bomb blasts.