Brazilian Bossa Nova star set for new US tour

Broken hearts usually figure in Bossa Nova songs but as Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto gets ready to hit the road again, it's a broken foot that is on her mind.

The daughter of Bossa Nova legend Joao Gilberto broke her foot a few weeks ago in New York. She faces a second round of surgery in Rio de Janeiro this week before embarking on a tour U.S. and Canadian tour starting in Miami on May 19.

The injury has forced Gilberto and her band to use Internet technology to polish the arrangements for the songs they will perform for the tour which starts in Miami on May 19.

"The band and I had to finish our rehearsals by Skype but hopefully everything will be fine," Gilberto said referring to the Internet telephone network in an interview from her apartment in Rio de Janeiro.

Her just-released third album "Momento" is similar in style to her previous efforts which sold millions and made her an international star. It is lush, dreamy and electronic with arrangements influenced by bossa and samba songs.

The lead song "Momento," written with Japanese guitarist Maza Shimizu, is an upbeat, pumping tune ready to please urban types around the world.

The 40-year-old Gilberto said it was her best recording experience to date.

"It was the quickest process, the least painful and the one that gave me more pleasure," she explained.

Besides writing or co-writing many of the songs, Gilberto also included songs from other artists. One of them, "Cacada" was written by her uncle, the Brazilian music legend Chico Buarque. It has a rootsy northeastern flavor thanks to a Brazilian percussion instrument called zabumba.

From New York, her home when she's not in London or Rio, she partnered with the rock band Brazilian Girls, on the song "Bring Back the Love," which is sure to send listeners to the dance floor.

"They are all my friends, we go to each other's houses, they are really close to me. And had a lot of fun together doing this song," she said.

Her U.S. tour includes dates in Miami, New York, Westhampton Beach, in New York, and Washington, as well as two jazz festivals in Vancouver and Ottawa.

Concerts that had been scheduled for Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago but were canceled because of her injury foot injury will be announced later, according to her record company.

posted by nscafuro @ 8:25 PM