Tanto Tampo by Bebel Gilberto

25 Aug

Written by Mark Keresman
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Bebel Gilberto is the daughter of one of the big Brazilian bosses of the bossa nova, Joao Gilberto. She sounds a bit, no a lot like Astrid Gilberto ("The Girl From Ipanema") but deeper, with a shade more darkness in her tone, and sings in both Portuguese & English. The music is classic bossa nova style: picked acoustic guitar, gentle & restrained percussion, only Bebel G. is not trying to turn back the clock. Tanto Tempo owes some of its magnificent design to the studio-wizardry flair of Amon Tobin and Suba. Which is not to say TT takes a classic sound & reduces it to eviscerated & faceless dance Muzak. (For the last time, electronics are not the devil's tool - there's scant difference betwixt a frame drum and a synthesizer, as they both make sounds that most humans otherwise can't.)

This album has a sleek, contemporary feel that sacrifices nothing in the way of tunefulness, dignified fervor and reverence to the bossa nova. While not exactly earth-shattering, Tanto Tempo is indeed a rarity these daze: agreeable music of considerable substance, sounds that will leave you with a warm, contemplative glow long after the CD player reads "0:00."