Sylvia Telles - Pure Bossa Nova (2005)

The earliest and one of the best of the bossa nova singers, Sylvia Telles recorded the versions of a host of Brazilian standards that became the way to sing them, echoed by Astrud Gilberto, Elis Regina, and many others. The Verve collection Pure Bossa Nova includes 14 songs from the last half of her brief ten-year career, roughly from 1960 through 1966. Although the ideal Telles compilation would dip into the '50s as well, it's difficult to fault the compilers here; this is easily one of the best American retrospectives ever done on Telles, with her work on songs like Jobim's "Dindi," "Samba de uma Nota Só," and "Vivo Sonhando," Luiz Bonfá's "Manhã de Carnaval," and Vinícius de Moraes' "Você e Eu." Listeners with only superficial knowledge of Brazilian music will be delighted by Telles' artistry, including the range and sophistication of Regina but the sweetness of Gilberto.~© John Bush /TiVo