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Antonio Carlos Jobim CDs & Books
Brazilian
Music
Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) and João Gilberto were the two key architects of bossa nova, with Jobim supplying beautiful melodies and the genre's sophisticated harmonies. Influenced in part by samba-canção, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and modern classical music, Jobim added new twists to the venerable samba and in so doing created something uniquely beautiful. Jobim was not a great instrumentalist, like Luiz Bonfá or Baden Powell, or a charismatic singer, like Carlos Lyra or João Gilberto. But his compositions would make him the most important Brazilian musical figure of the late 20th century. Countless artists have covered Jobim compositions like "The Girl From Ipanema," "Desafinado," "Chega De Saudade," "One-Note Samba," "Corcovado," "Ela É Carioca," "Insensatez," "Dindi," "Luiza," "Triste," "A Felicidade," "Wave," and "Águas De Março." -- The Brazilian Sound
Antonio Carlos Jobim:
The Man
From Ipanema (3-CD Box Set)
(1995)
Packaged like a spiral notebook, this three-disc set, while neither complete nor definitive, offers useful, intriguing insights into the man and his music. The notes include a biography and interviews with Jobim, producer Creed Taylor, and arranger and producer Oscar Castro Neves. Musically, the 55-song collection is organized in three parts: a disc of vocal performances (revisiting classics such as Jobim's duet with Elis Regina in "Aguas de Marco"), a disc of instrumental versions, and a volume featuring several readings, by different groups, of some of Jobim's best-known works.--Fernando Gonzalez
Antonio Carlos
Jobim Albums A - Z
20th Century Masters - The Millennium
Collection: The Best of Antonio Carlos
Jobim
(2005)
Antonio Carlos
Jobim & Friends
Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, Shirley Horn,
Jon Hendricks, Oscar Castro-Neves, Herbie Hancock
(1996)
Antonio
Carlos Jobim: The Composer of Desafinado Plays
(1963)
Since first hearing these haunting tunes 26 years ago, each
revisit has been a treat. You can't listen to Desafinado or Corcovado and not
want to curl up on a couch with someone you love and a glass of good wine. The
melodies range from sprightly to melancholy, so you'll always find one to fit
your mood. The Getz/Gilbero/Jobim album is no less an all-star than this one,
but don't miss this dose of undiluted
Jobim magic.
--an Amazon reviewer
The Most
Beautiful Songs Of Antonio
Carlos Jobim And Vinicius De Moraes
with Vinicius De Moraes
Antonio
Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour
(2000)
While Antonio Carlos Jobim is an essential figure in the music of Brazil, he also created a significant place for himself in American music as a great songwriter and a key figure in the tremendous popularity of bossa nova. Apart from his unique melodic gift, what makes Jobim's work memorable is the complexity of mood he could evoke--the touch of sadness that colors the brightest bossa nova, the irony in the midst of joy, and the mixture of delicacy and resilience in his voice and piano. He was an artist who worked primarily in pastels, but it was his sense of shadows that gave his work its most enduring qualities. Including his most famous tunes and collaborators -- like "The Girl from Ipanema" with Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto -- Jobim's Finest Hour catches it all, from the standard-bearers to such gems as the playful "Aguas de Marco." --Stuart Broomer
The Art Of Tom
Jobim
compilation
(1990)
Black Orpheus
(Orfeu Negro)
movie soundtrack with music
by
Tom Jobim and Luiz Bonfá
(1958)
This impressionistic score from Marcel Camus's 1958 cinematic retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus was most Americans' introduction to the Brazilian musical style called bossa nova. As it became a nationwide craze that featured both Brazilian samba and U.S. cool-jazz participants, the names of Black Orpheus composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa became familiar far beyond the hi-fi set. Along with the haunting theme song, "Manha de Carnaval," and several Jobim compositions are the vibrant street sounds of the pre-Lenten festival Carnaval, which provides the backdrop to the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The score is awash with percussive samba rhythms and the laughter and chanting of the annual festival melee. This is a great disc to play when the day needs a parade. --Lois Maffeo
Compact Jazz:
Antonio
Carlos Jobim
Jobim compilation
(1991)
Elis & Tom
with Elis Regina
(1974)
Locals consider Elis Regina the most gifted Brazilian singer ever. She died
too soon, in 1982.
Tom Jobim
is one of the creators of Bossa Nova and the
conductor that made the genre famous worldwide. This combination alone would
make this CD remarkable. But there's more. A lot more. Elis was in her top shape
in 1974 when the CD was recorded. The arrangements are subtle, delicate. Jobim's
piano is sublime here. The recording is flawless, the textures, the tones,
everything is crisp and present. Many takes are FIRST TAKES. The emotion was
captured raw and sincere, very few overdubs were done. A rare gem. If you go to
a Brazilian's home and browse through his/her CD collection,
chances are this CD will be there. If you ask a musician from that
country what are the top 10 albums ever, chances are this will be listed. If you
have to own ONE Brazilian CD, this should be it. --an
Amazon reviewer
Francis Albert
Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
(1967)
This 1967 album features Jobim
sharing vocals with Sinatra on "The Girl from Ipanema" and "How Insensitive."
Three standards--"Change Partners" by Irving Berlin; "I Concentrate on You" by
Cole Porter; and Robert Wright, George Forrest, and Alexander Borodin's
"Baubles, Bangles, and Beads"--round out the program of seven
Jobim tunes. This
is a lovely taste of Latin melody and rhythm from two masters of relaxed swing.
--Stanley Booth
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz, João Gilberto
& Jobim
(1963)
Jobim
(1972)
As this rich, 1973 reissue amply illustrates, Jobim was capable of creating music that revealed the full encyclopedic scope of his eclectic genius. Jobim's achy vocals and spare guitar and piano work are backed by an all-star orchestra, conducted and arranged by Claus Ogerman, featuring bassists Ron Carter and Richard Davis and percussionist Airto Moreira. The plaintive "Aguas de Marco/Waters of March," "Maite Pere," and "Ana Luiza" ring with the haunting feel of saudade--the Afro-Portuguese equivalent of the blues. But, as his award-winning soundtrack of Black Orpheus proved,
Jobim was also an exceptional film composer, and his evocative score for "Cronica de Casa Assassinada/Chronicle of the Murdered House" on this disc is filled with faraway train sounds and dreamy Ravel-Debussy impressionism. The angelic instrumentals "Um Rancho Nas Nuvens," "Tiemp do Mar," and "Nuvens Douradas" highlight the cool, continental confluence of Villa-Lobos, Gershwin, and Ellington that made Antonio Carlos Jobim's music timeless. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Live at Minas
by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Matita Pere
(1973)
Miucha & Antonio Carlos Jobim
(1977)
The First LP Previously Unavailable on CD from Miucha (Bebel Gilberto's Mother) and Tom Jobim (Co-founder of the Bossa Nova Movement) Recorded in 1977, with Special Guest: Chico Buarque (Bebel Gilberto's Uncle) Performing "Vai Levando."
Passarim
(1987)
The American producer Creed Taylor produced some of the best recordings Antonio Carlos Jobim ever made. Taylor's lush strings, evocative woodwinds, and selection of top-notch jazz musicians were a perfect match for Jobim's spare, bossa nova-flavored compositions. This 1970 recording features Jobim backed by bassist Ron Carter, trombonist Urbie Green, flutist Hubert Law, and soprano saxophonist Joe Farrell. Several classics, such as "Children's Games," the lilting "Tereza My Love," and the two soft samba/swing renditions of Ary Barroso's "Brazil," are lovingly draped in the velvet arrangements of the then-young Brazilian sensation Eumir Deodato. Jobim's dry and achy vocals, along with his acoustic and rarely heard electric-piano playing, add the right sonic seasoning to this delightful disk. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Symphonic Jobim
(2005)
Antonio Carlos Jobim is remembered as one Brazil's greatest composers. He spearheaded the creation of bossa nova nearly a half century ago; he was also a musician whose talents extended far beyond that of a composer. His training was in classical music and he'd been involved with large-scale orchestral collaborations for his work over the years. This posthumous effort, recorded live in 2002, highlights many of those large-scale works, offering lush arrangements by the maestro himself, Claus Ogerman, and Nelson Riddle, as well as new charts by son Paulo Jobim and Mario Adnet. In addition to classical arrangements of such classics as "A Felicidade" and "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Impanema"), previously unreleased pieces "Preludio" and "Lenda" make their debut on this double-disc collection. This large canvas of sound deftly illustrates the beauty of Jobim's melodies, but the composer's majestic sense of harmony is really highlighted, thus offering up the biggest revelation of the project. This is the best re-imagination of the composer's work since Morelenbaum/Sakamoto's Casa. --Tad Hendrickson
This album, along with the "Stone Flower" album are in my opinion the 2 finest albums Jobim ever did. The melodies are beautiful, as always. But the real rewards here are Eumir Deodato's arrangements. Every track has that perfect balance of the familiar and the surprising. The way Deodato mixes the horns with flutes, electric piano with acoustic guitar, Brazilian percussion with traditional trap drums- is amazing. You'll be engaged by some great arranging technique on one track, and then the next track is yet another brilliant arrangement, totally different from the previous one yet still perfectly in the spirit of Jobim's "sound". This goes on through about dozen tracks- all of which are great. --an Amazon reviewer
Urubu
(1976)
Verve
Jazz Masters 13: Antonio Carlos Jobim
compilation of Jobim songs
Wave
(1967)
It's hardly a stretch to say that Antonio Carlos Jobim--the
wonderful Brazilian composer almost single-handedly responsible for all things
bossa nova--influenced some of past half century's best and most insipid musics,
from bossa nova jazz to elevator Muzak. Wave, a collection of 1967 dates
featuring keyboardist Jobim backed by an extensive orchestra, straddles that
line: it's full of amazing original compositions, but the arrangements have a
certain faux suave, late-'60s lounge feel that reeks of stale cheese. The result
is actually great, the veneer of kitsch insidiously masking Jobim's trademark
immeasurable sadness, which creeps up on you and leaves you unexpectedly
affected. --Keven McAlester