The recording sessions commenced on March 18, 1963, at
A & R Recording Studios in New York City and were completed on the following day.
Phil Ramone, who owned A & R Recording Studios, was the album's
sound engineer. The
rhythm section backing Getz was Jobim on piano,
Sebastião Neto (
pt) on bass and
Milton Banana on drums. "
The Girl from Ipanema" and "
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)". Like João Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto has a quiet, almost whispered vocal style that would become an important influence on female vocalists in bossa nova. On João Gilberto's first three albums—
Chega de Saudade,
O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor (1960) and
João Gilberto (1961)—the
vibrato in his voice is not entirely absent as it is on
Getz/Gilberto. Stylistic features of bossa nova such as restraint and lyrical objectivity are further developed in
Getz/Gilberto building on Gilberto's previous albums. Jobim's piano performance is
minimalist, contributing only what is needed. Besides playing piano, Jobim was also responsible for some of the arrangements and co-wrote nearly all of the songs except "Doralice" and "Pra Machucar Meu Coração", both old sambas, which are more polished and serious in Gilberto's version. All the other songs are compositions by Jobim and
Vinicius de Moraes ("The Girl from Ipanema", "
Só Danço Samba" and "O Grande Amor") and Jobim and
Newton Mendonça (in "
Desafinado"). "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)" and "
Vivo Sonhando" were composed solely by Jobim. According to
Ruy Castro, Gilberto and Getz often disagreed on which was the best
take, leaving the choice to producer Creed Taylor. Due to these artistic differences,
Getz/Gilberto #2 features Getz and his quartet on side A, and Gilberto, by himself, on side B. In spite of the tension in the studio Gilberto would continue to collaborate with Getz. Twelve years after the release of
Getz/Gilberto the pair reunited at the Keystone Korner club in
San Francisco for a six-day engagement promoting their new album,
The Best of Two Worlds.
Gene Lees wrote the English lyrics for "Corcovado".
Norman Gimbel, who wrote the English lyrics for "
Garota de Ipanema", felt that the reference to "
Ipanema" wouldn't mean anything to Americans but Jobim insisted on keeping the reference to the beach. Producer Taylor shelved the project for nearly a year because he was afraid the record might be a commercial failure. As a consequence,
Getz/Gilberto was finally released in March 1964. ==Artwork==