Instead, Gilberto has firmly established herself as an artist and performer in her own right, thanks to a passel of acclaimed albums that nod to the Latin jazz of her heritage but tweak those familiar bossa nova and samba rhythms with subtle flourishes of electro-pop and modern grooves built for the dance floor.
Her latest effort, “All in One,’’ which she drew from liberally during Friday’s nicely paced 80-minute set, is a marvelously sunny statement meant to mirror Glberto’s newfound state of marital bliss.
Even if you didn’t understand the lyrics, many of which were sung in her native Portuguese, the plush textures, swaying melody, and carefree whistling that came on “Canção de Amor’’ made the emotional message of the song perfectly understood. Likewise for the willowy warmth that carried the show’s sumptuous opener, “Aganjú,’’ aloft as if on an Ipanema breeze.
Backed by a supple and swinging four-piece band - longtime guitarist Masa Shimizu, drummer Magrus Borges, flutist-saxophonist Rodrigo Sha, and keyboard player John Roggie - Gilberto proved as robust and earthy a presence as her airy, sun-dappled voice was something else entirely: a charming bauble, a thing of dreams and gossamer. A wholesale reimagining of Bob Marley’s “Sun Is Shining ’’ - dosed with cool keyboards and elements of John Barry’s James Bond soundtracks - and the retro feel-good vibe of Stevie Wonder’s “The Real Thing,’’ were among the night’s brightest party favors.
Even a balky sound monitor mix early on - Gilberto abruptly halted “Bim Bom’’ before resuming with a request that the audience “pretend that you’re watching us doing sound check’’ - couldn’t kill the collective buzz of feeling as though we were all caught up in a slice of summer, sheltered, temporarily at least, from the cold November rain outside.
Brazilian DJ Lara Gerin opened the show with an infectiously upbeat, 90-minute mood-setting cocktail of Latin samba and chilled-out electronica, infiltrated with just enough cheesy Euro-pop to make us shudder at the memory of multi-zippered red leather jackets and acid-washed jeans.
