Many observers have likened Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim to Brazil’s counterpart of George Gershwin, an analogy grounded in substance because both supplied jazz with extensive catalogs of songs, both moved beyond popular forms into orchestral writing, and both came to stand for their homelands in the international imagination. Jobim’s compositions, notable for their refined urbanity and poignantly sensual melodic and harmonic language, supplied 1960s jazz musicians with a restrained yet thoroughly fresh alternative to the well-worn Tin Pan Alley repertoire.
From the outset Jobim’s musical foundation rested in jazz; the albums of Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Barney Kessel, and other West Coast players exerted a profound effect on him during the 1950s. He nevertheless maintained that the harmonies of French impressionist composer Claude Debussy exerted a decisive influence, while the Brazilian samba supplied the rhythmic foundation of his work. At the piano he favored concise, melody-centered statements whose touch has prompted comparisons with Claude Thornhill, although certain recordings reveal that he could extend his improvisations when space permitted. On guitar he confined himself chiefly to understated strumming of syncopated patterns, and his singing remained modest, lightly hoarse, yet frequently charged with haunting emotional directness.
Born in Rio’s Tijuca district, Jobim initially pursued architecture, yet the pull of music proved irresistible by the time he reached twenty, prompting him to accompany vocalists in nightclubs and to work in recording studios. His debut session occurred in 1954, when he led “Tom and His Band” behind singer Bill Farr—Tom being the nickname he carried throughout his life—and national recognition arrived in 1956 through his collaboration with poet Vinícius de Moraes on the score for the play Orfeo do Carnaval, later adapted into the celebrated film Black Orpheus. In 1958 the still-obscure Brazilian vocalist João Gilberto recorded several of Jobim’s pieces, thereby igniting the worldwide phenomenon known as bossa nova. Jobim’s first major breakthrough beyond Brazil came in 1962 when Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd achieved an unexpected success with the tune “Desafinado”; later that year he joined fellow Brazilian musicians for a Carnegie Hall presentation. Propelled by his songs, bossa nova swept the globe, prompting jazz artists to issue countless albums in the style until commercial momentum faded by the close of the 1960s.
Preferring the controlled environment of recording studios to the demands of travel, Jobim produced a series of refined albums as pianist, guitarist, and vocalist for Verve, Warner Bros., Discovery, A&M, CTI, and MCA throughout the 1960s and 1970s, returning to Verve in the final decade of his career. Early in this period he began working with arranger-conductor Claus Ogerman, whose understated, warmly textured, occasionally introspective scores lent the sessions a distinctive atmospheric quality. During the years when Brazilian music receded from American attention after the 1960s—overshadowed by overexposure and the rise of rock—Jobim withdrew somewhat from the spotlight, devoting substantial effort to film and television scores in Brazil. By 1985, however, renewed interest in world music and a fresh wave of Brazilian influence encouraged him to resume touring with an ensemble that included his second wife Ana Lontra, son Paulo, daughter Elizabeth, and close musical associates. At the time of his concluding appearances in Brazil in September 1993 and at Carnegie Hall in April 1994—both preserved on Verve—Jobim finally attained the broad acclaim long due him, a recognition followed by numerous tribute projects after his sudden death from heart failure in New York City. His standing as one of the twentieth century’s foremost songwriters now rests on firm ground, particularly within jazz circles where scarcely a set passes without at least one bossa nova.
