The artist died at her home in Philadelphia, United States, according to the Brazilian news site G1.
Astrud Gilberto was born in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, northeastern Brazil, in 1940 and was married to the musician Joao Gilberto, another notable name in the genre who passed away in 2019.
Away from the stage since 2002 and owner of a discography of 19 albumsAstrud Gilberto turned “Garota de Ipanema” -the famous song by Tom Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes- into a worldwide hit with its English version together with saxophonist Stan Getz.
That version made her the first Brazilian to be nominated for a Grammy, an award she won in the category of best song of the year in 1965.
Different personalities, such as the American singer Mark Lambert, lamented the death of the artist on Tuesday.
“His contribution to the dissemination of Brazilian music in the world is immeasurable.. Her incomparable swing and good taste will always stay with me,” lamented Lambert, who shared a photo with the artist on her Instagram.
Timothy Burgess, English singer of Charlatans, posted on Twitter a video of the singer performing “Garota de Ipanema” and the message “Goodbye, Astrud Gilberto.”
For her part, Bebel Gilberto, composer and performer daughter of Joao Gilberto, wished Astrud that “rest in peace” and he assured on his instagram that “now he will sing beautifully with the birds and angels around him”.
Last month, Brazilians fired another of their musical icons: singer-songwriter Rita Lee, who died at 75 and is considered by many to be the “queen” of Brazilian rock.
In December, Gal Costa also disappeared, at the age of 77who turned numerous Brazilian popular music compositions into anthems, rising to the muse of Tropicalia, which mixed samba, bossa nova, jazz and psychedelic rock.