Brasilian bossa nova chanteuse Astrud Gilberto is probably best known for her Grammy award winning song The Girl From Ipanema that everyone and their dog has heard at one point or another but for my money Black Magic (A Gira) is by far and away her best record. Funnily enough for a woman who sings with such confidence on record she was for many years far too scared to sing in nightclubs or on stage and would refuse to perform, which as you can imagine didn't really endear herself to her record company executive. Astrud only overcame her fear of performing after studying at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in 1982 nearly fifteen years after her debut and she subsequently went on to perform just about everywhere around the world to record crowds.
Some of you may know this track tucked away as the B2 as a part of a Tangoterje re-edit 12" that came out on Supreme in 2006 but for my money the original is perfect. I heard the legendary DJ Harvey play this on the Queen Mary, which is moored off Long Beach here in California last year and it was a highlight from what was a great sunset set by the king bearded tramp of balearica. As Harvey is prone to doing, he played this at just about the right time and the sheer joy of that moment will live with me for a long time as I danced on the deck of the ship on a beautiful summer evening. With its, "You've Got Me Turning, Turning...You've Got Me Spinning Around" chorus that gets instantly stuck in your head you'll be whistling this all day and that my friends will leave you with nothing less than a huge beaming smile from ear to ear. An absolute gem of a record.
Astrud Gilberto - Black Magic (A Gira)
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