Elis Regina, a cool, feminine Brazilian singer who died tragically of cocaine/alcohol poisoning at age 36, made this often deeply affecting album with Antonio Carlos Jobim in Los Angeles for the Brazilian market only; it was not released in the U.S. until 1989. While there is plenty of bossa nova here, the arrangements at times reflect the more cinematic, more inward directions that Jobim's music was taking, and the lyrics often speak even more harrowingly of heartbreak than ever. Yet this pair can also celebrate Jobim's music, as they do in a rendition of "Aguas de Marco" that nearly collapses in unself-conscious laughter. Throughout, Regina is in the spotlight, with Jobim a supporting, sometimes invisible but always pervasive presence.
(by Richard S. Ginell, All
Music Guide)
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