Lygia (1964)

RGE ХRLР-5.232

Before going to sleep, I quick-checked my mail and found an album sent by our friend Edson Mendes, by an unknown (to me at least) lady singer called Lygia.
A quick listening straight out of the compressed file made me instantly prepare this post (instead of going to bed)…

This is the only album she has ever recorded, for RGE, under the direction of Maestro Ruben Perez Pocho, with arrangements by Pocho, Lindolfo Gaya, Manfredo Fest and Zimbo Trio.

Why she has not continued her career is a mystery to me. More information about her is welcome.

The great musicians performing with Lygia are:

Paulinho Nogueira (Guitar)
Manfredo Fest (Piano, organ)
Zimbo Trio:
Hamilton Godoy (Piano)
Rubinho (Drums)
Luiz Chaves (Bass)

01. Historia de Uma Criança (Paulinho Nogueira)
02. Quem ri Melhor (Noel Rosa)
03. Do cemente (Walter Santos – Tereza Souza)
04. Você Chegou Sorrindo (Luiz Вonfá – Maria Нelena Toledo)
05. Se a Tristeza Chegar (Geraldo Vandré – Вaden Рowell)
06. Tempo de Sorrir (Paulinho Nogueira – Rita Moreira)
07. Só Por Amor (Вaden Рowell – Viniсius de Moraes)
08. Pequeno Concerto Que Ficou Canção (Geraldo Vandré)
09. João Ninguém (Noel Rosa)
10. Encontro Com a Saudade (Nilo Queiroz – Вilly Вlanсo)

EDGAR ALLAN POE – Music, Covers and Text about Lygia AND a RENEWED LINK

Créditos: Edson Mendes

EDIT by Bossanov: What a sensitive voice, what lovely face!!! Pure beauty.
As far as I know, she is Lygia Freitas Valle.

Latest findings from The Web:
“Lygia Freitas Valle was also apparently an actress and played a part in the Brazilian movie Sede de Amar (Thirst of Love) (not a great movie by any means, but it is included in the list of old cult Brazilian movies in Brazil). In that movie her name was spelled Ligia. She was the daughter of a Brazilian Ambassador Cyro Freitas Valle, thus following the bossa nova pattern of artists and composers from upper middle class and above (such as Nara Leao, Marcos Valle, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Maysa Matarazzo, etc). She had been married to an American called Otto Willy Jordan in her first or second marriage. Oscar Peterson, when he came to Brazil asked about her (the reference about his question is placed the same sentence in which Otto Willy Jordan is mentioned.as her ex-husband. Was Jordan a musician too?)

This is another info ’bout Lygia:
‘Fritz Jordan nasceu em São Paulo, capital, no dia 3 de maio de 1948, sendo o segundo filho do industrial Otto Willy Jordan e de D. Lygia de Freitas Valle Jordan. O esporte foi uma herança que ‘seo’ Otto transmitiu para os filhos. Apesar do nome, ele defendeu a equipe olímpica brasileira de natação e incentivava os filhos a fazer esporte”

I can say only WWWAAAWW!!!
Life of our Lygia (or sometimes Ligia)- this is real screenplay for soap opera, if not F.S. Fitzgerald‘s style novel! In the book “Bordado da fama: uma biografia de Dener” I just found the story about her life in the madhouse (Milan, you asking about next albums of Lygia…), after her adulterer-husband, refusing to share the property, accused her for connections with Russian spies and even (Milan!) with Marshal Tito!…

EDIT by frank-oliver: This album was reissued as a mini LP CD in Japan a few years ago (BOM-26003) with a great sound quality, but it is out of print now.

EDIT by Edson Mendes: The husband of a friend of mine has “Freitas Valle” as family name, and he confirmed that Lygia was cousin of his father, so this confirms that this Lygia is really Lygia de Freitas Valle…

NOTE by Milan Filipović: Edson Mendes has just sent me a document with information and pictures of Lygia (with Marshal Tito, former president of Jugoslavija, among others). The pictures are beautiful, the texts are extremely interesting, so I have decided to add it all to the original compressed file and I have re-uploaded it again. So the file now contains also the Edson‘s collected documents.
There is also a separate download link now for the text only, meant for those who have got already the music.

REVIEW by Nikola: What a huge Bossa Nova fan would long for if not to discover a marvelous Bossa Nova album he’d been completely unaware of?
That’s exactly what’s happening to me right now Milan.
Man, what a line-up: Paulinho Nogueira, Manfredo Fest, Zimbo Trio and this nightingale Lygia whose voice is sweet like honey and sharp like razor at the same time!
The list of songwriters is no less impressive: Baden Powell, Vinicius, Luiz Bonfá, Geraldo Vandre, Noel Rosa, to name only some of them.
Man, I am floored. This is so damn good.
A million thanks to you and to Mr. Mendes.
Just keep them comin’!