SONG OF THE DAY

“This Happy Madness (Estrada Branca)” by Antonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim (Terra Brasilis, Warner Brothers Records, 1980). Music by Tom Jobim with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes & Gene Lees.

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

РAnt̫nio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim a.k.a. Tom Jobim was a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist.

– Terra Brasilis is Jobim’s 11th album.

– A primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style (one of my all-time favorite styles of music), his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within Brazil and internationally.

– Jobim’s musical roots were planted firmly in the work of Pixinguinha, the legendary musician and composer who began modern Brazilian music in the 1930s. Among his teachers were Lúcia Branco, and, from 1941 on, Hans-Joachim Koellreutter. Jobim was also influenced by the French composers Claude Debussy and Ravel, and by jazz.

– Among many themes, his lyrics talked about love, political repression, betrayal, and especially about the natural beauties of Brazil, like the “Mata Atlântica” forest, characters of Brazilian folklore like Matita Pereira (Saci Pererê), and his home city of Rio de Janeiro.

– A key event in making Jobim’s music known in the English speaking world was his collaboration with the American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, João Gilberto and Gilberto’s wife at the time, Astrud Gilberto (my favorite lady of all time!), which resulted in two albums, Getz/Gilberto (1963) and Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2 (1964) (two of my all-time favorite albums!!!). The release of Getz/Gilberto created a bossa nova craze in the United States, and subsequently internationally. Jobim wrote many of the songs on Getz/Gilberto, which became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, and turned Astrud Gilberto, who sang on “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Corcovado”, into an international sensation.

– Getz had previously recorded Jazz Samba with Charlie Byrd (1962), and Jazz Samba Encore! with Luiz Bonfá (1964) (another one of my favorites!).

– At the Grammy Awards of 1964 Getz/Gilberto won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group and the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. “The Girl from Ipanema” won the award for Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

– American jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra prominently featured Jobim’s songs on their albums Ella Abraça Jobim (1981), and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967), respectively.

– Other notable performers of Jobim songs include Vince Guaraldi, Toninho Horta, Andy Williams, Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Diana Krall, Claudine Longet, Sting, Art Garfunkel, George Michael, Julian Lloyd Webber, and Carlos Santana.

– The 1996 CD Wave: The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook included performances of Jobim tunes by Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Toots Thielemans.

– The Brazilian collaborators and interpreters of Jobim’s music include João Gilberto (often credited as a co-creator of bossa nova), Chico Buarque, Gal Costa, Elis Regina, Sergio Mendes, Astrud Gilberto, and Flora Purim. Eumir Deodato and the conductor/composer Claus Ogerman arranged many recordings of Jobim tunes.

РThe Rio de Janeiro international airport was renamed as Galẹo РAntonio Carlos Jobim International Airport in his honor.

VIDEO OF THE DAY