Gilberto 's first recordings were released in Brazil as two-song , 78-rpm singles between 1951 and 1959 . In the 1960s Brazilian singles evolved to the " double compact " format , and Gilberto released some EPs in this new format , which carried four songs on a 45-rpm record . In 1956 , he returned to Rio and struck up old acquaintances , most significantly with Antônio Carlos Jobim , who was by then working as a composer , producer , and arranger with Odeon Records . Jobim was impressed with Gilberto 's new style of guitar playing and set about finding a suitable song to pitch the style to Odeon management . In 1963 , Gilberto collaborated with American jazz musician Stan Getz on the album '' Getz/Gilberto '' which was released the following year . Jobim played the piano for the album while Gilberto 's then-wife Astrud performed the vocals in English while he sang in Portuguese . Although Astrud Gilberto was only in the recording studio to be with her husband , João Gilberto requested her to sing on several of the tracks as he could not sing in English.This resulted with a duet between the two on the track " The Girl from Ipanema " which became a major hit from the album . At the 7th Annual Grammy Awards , '' Getz/Gilberto '' won three awards including Album of the Year , which marked the first time a jazz album received the accolade
7th Annual Grammy Awards
7th Annual Grammy Awards
João Gilberto