Tanto tempo

After working with artists like Caetano Veloso, David Byrne, and Towa Tei, Bebel Gilberto made her solo recording debut in the U.S. with Tanto Tempo, licensed for American release in 2000 by Six Degrees. It's an album of stylish, cool, contemporary bossa nova, with Gilberto's vocals a bit more assured and polished than Astrud Gilberto's classic and similar recordings of the '60s. The tone is restrained and subdued, simmering over the low heat of quiet passion; the instrumentation is mostly acoustic, although there are some unobtrusively electronic dance-club sounds as well. Overall, Tanto Tempo is a terrific, promising way for Gilberto to make her first impression as a solo artist.