The berimbau ( /bərɪmˈbaʊ/; Brazilian Portuguese: [beɾĩˈbaw]) is a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, from Brazil. The berimbau's origins are not entirely clear, but there is not much doubt about its African origin, as no Indigenous Brazilian or European people use musical bows, and very similar instruments are played in the southern parts of Africa. The berimbau was eventually incorporated into the practice of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira, where it commands how the capoeiristas move in the roda. The instrument is known for being the subject matter of a popular song by Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. The instrument is also a part of Candomblé-de-caboclo tradition.

The berimbau consists of a wooden bow (verga – traditionally made from biribá wood, which grows in Brazil), about 4 to 5 feet long (1.2 to 1.5 m), with a steel string (arame – often pulled from the inside of an automobile tire) tightly strung and secured from one end of the verga to the other. A gourd (cabaça), dried, opened and hollowed-out, attached to the lower portion of the Verga by a loop of tough string, acts as a resonator.

Astrud Gilberto (born March 30, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for her performance of the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".

Astrud Gilberto was born as Astrud Weinert, the daughter of a Brazilian mother and a German father, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. She was raised in Rio de Janeiro. She married João Gilberto in 1959 and emigrated to the United States in 1963, continuing to reside in the US from that time. Astrud and João divorced in the mid-1960s and she began a relationship with her musical partner, Stan Getz.

She sang on the influential album Getz/Gilberto featuring João Gilberto, Stan Getz, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. She had never performed professionally, and sang on the recordings at the suggestion of her (then) husband, João Gilberto.

Gilberto's recording of "The Girl from Ipanema" established her as a jazz and pop singer. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. In 1964, Gilberto appeared in the films Get Yourself a College Girl and The Hanged Man. Her first solo album was The Astrud Gilberto Album (1964). Upon moving to the United States, she went on tour with Getz. Beginning as a singer of bossa nova and American jazz standards, Gilberto started to record her own compositions in the 1970s. Her repertoire includes "The Shadow of Your Smile", "It Might as Well Be Spring", "Love Story", "Fly Me to the Moon", "Day by Day", "Here's That Rainy Day", and "Look to the Rainbow". She has recorded songs in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese.