This is one of my favourite live recordings of all time. I got the extended version for cheap bucks at a record store. And later, compared to other friends' copies, realised that this is the only version that really matters here, because the original release, which contains only separate performances from Getz and Gilberto, is missing the most important part.

This album is an incredible historical document, as much as it is a layer cake of precious stories. It entered my life in the late 90s in CD format, following the Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2 live album, so for me, it constitutes more of a prequel to an album and a narrative that was already very dear to me.

An impossible album. How can an album made in such a dark place be so inspiring? How can someone so depressed produce, almost single-handedly, such a complex, detailed, beautfil album? And, rhetorically, we might also ask how can someone so talented die so young?