Antonio Carlos Jobim - The Composer Of Desafinado, Plays (1963/2025) (Hi-Res)

This Claus Ogerman-arranged masterpiece was the debut album from the legendary Brazilian composer / pianist, featuring landmark performances of The Girl From Ipanema, Once I Loved and Corcovado. This album is a totem, but one that’s as light as a feather. Before its release in 1963, the composer Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim was already known as one of the architects of bossa-nova, a new style of music which was beginning to gain traction a few years beforehand in Brazil, with (amongst others) musician João Gilberto and the poet Vinícius de Moraes at the forefront. Their work on the soundtrack for the film Orfeu Negro propelled this music to worldwide exposure. But for Jobim, it’s The Composer of Desafinado, Plays that would go on to unfurl a red carpet for him across North America. It’s his first album recorded under his own name, and his first release in the United States. Jobim takes on the classics: The Girl from Ipanema, Agua de Beber, Desafinado, Jazz Samba, Chega de Saudade… all songs which ooze elegance, sensuality and sleepy groove.

Tom Jobim is agile on the guitar and the piano, and the arranger Claus Ogerman seems to spin these beautiful layers of silky strings and flutes that float above the rest. Everything is minimal but lush at the same time, sharp but soft, definitely dream-inducing. The album is released on the Verve label, one of the biggest jazz labels of the time. From Stan Getz to Frank Sinatra, American jazz would quickly start to draw its inspiration from Jobim. Bossa is nowadays part of the worldwide musical landscape, even considered as a postcard (that’s Instagram to our younger readers) cliché, but in 1963, it was the creme de la creme of all things jazz. © Stéphane Deschamps

Tracklist
1. The Girl From Ipanema (2:42)
2. Once I Loved (3:36)
3. Água De Beber (2:50)
4. Vivo Sohando (Dreamer) (2:36)
5. O Morro Não Tem Vez (3:21)
6. Insensatez (Instrumental) (2:55)
7. Corcovado (2:26)
8. Samba De Uma Nota Só (2:17)
9. Meditação (3:15)
10. So Danco Samba (Jazz Samba) (2:22)
11. Chega De Saudade (4:20)
12. Desafinado (2:45)