Lisa Ono -- Ipanema no Musume (イパネマの娘)

One of the other guests on the latest episode of "Uta Kon"(うたコン) a few nights ago was the wonderful bossa nova singer Lisa Ono（小野リサ）. She used to make a few appearances on the NHK program's predecessor "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）so it was nice of her to make a return trip.

In all honesty, I haven't been following her career like a die-hard fan although I like bossa nova and have bought a few albums by Ono. Still, listening to her vocals is like hearing those clear summer chimes in Japan called fuurin（風鈴）...she seems to bring a lovely coolness into the room. She may be just the thing to bring down air conditioning costs...almost.

Anyways, she performed one of the pillars of bossa nova that night, "Garota de Ipanema", otherwise known in English as "The Girl From Ipanema" and in Japanese as "Ipanema no Musume". And when Ono was performing that song, I knew I was in for a treat. Having an ice cream at the same time would have just perfected the moment. I tracked down her performance to an album that she released in November 2007, "The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim" (her cover of the song is Track 1).

I guess I have a soft spot for that girl from Ipanema since the bossa ballad by Antonio Carlos Jobim was one of the first songs that I remember hearing as a toddler. As far as I know, I don't think my father had the record as part of his collection but it was a tune that I heard quite frequently on radio and TV. Years later, it was required playing during my lone year of band class back in high school although I didn't quite have the appreciation for it that I do now (playing off-tune renditions of it on an old clarinet can take the buzz off). Realizing that the song has become possibly so ubiquitous to the point of kitsch, I think if "The Girl From Ipanema" is given its due respect, it can still be that wonderfully cooling song from 1964.