The Warm World Of Antonio Carlos Jobim

Albumbeschreibung

Although Antonio Carlos Jobim recorded fairly often, he is best known as a composer. This compilation has a couple dozen Brazilian recordings from 1957-1960 of songs that he wrote or co-wrote, just one of them (the famous "One-Note Samba") by the performer with whom he's most often associated, João Gilberto. Of the other artists, perhaps only Luiz Bonfá (who backs singer Norma Suely on guitar for "Amor Sem Adeus") and Walter Wanderley (who accompanies Isaura Garcia on "Meditacao") might have much name recognition beyond the bossa nova world. While the lack of familiarity with many of the musicians may discourage some listeners who'd rather have a record by Gilberto or Jobim, the wide range of performers ensures a much greater variety than you'd hear on a single-artist anthology, as well as making many obscure performances of Jobim material available to the European and North American market. There are slightly ostentatious crooners with syrupy orchestration; more typical breezy bossa nova with light jazz charts and effervescent swing, like Maysa's opening track, "Meditacao"; more plaintive, airier numbers emphasizing by-the-beach guitar strumming or (on Wanderley and Garcia's "Meditacao") wheezy organ, and instrumental arrangements with wordless scat vocals (Silvio Silveira's rendition of another of Jobim's most famous compositions, "Desafinado"). Some of the settings sound a little corny and dated, but much of it's likeably buoyant. And in many respects, the diversity yields a more enjoyable listen to the non-bossa nova specialist than many more conventional bossa nova anthologies that target specific artists or more renowned recordings. It's unfortunate, however, that the liner notes (though containing basic information on Jobim) offer no background on these performers or (aside from the years they were recorded) specific details on these tracks. Nor do they specify if or how Jobim participated in any of them as a musician. There also seems to be some wobble in the tape speed on Lucio Alves' "Lamento No Morro," though overall, the CD's sound quality is good.

© Richie Unterberger /TiVo