Biography

TOM JOBIM

Antonio Carlos Jobim, nicknamed Tom, was born January 25, 1927 in the Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro to Jorge Jobim and Ni !a "rasi ero de # meida Jobim$ %is father &assed away in 19'5 and he grew u& with his mother, his ste&father (e so )rota *essoa, and his on y sister, %e en$ +n 19,1 he began &iano essons, howe-er he was headed toward a career in architecture and he entered the .choo of #rchitecture in 19,/$ 0et by the age of 21, the wor d of music was a &owerfu force in his ife, and he dro&&ed out of architecture schoo within the year$ %e began & aying the &iano in nightc ubs and working in recording studios$ "y the time Tom started working at (ontinenta records in 1952, he had married There!a %ermanny and had a son, *au o$ Tom2s first record was made in 195, backing singer "i )arr as the eader of 3Tom and %is "and$3 +n 195/, Tom began working at 4deon Record (om&any as artistic director and a so began a &artnershi& with the &oet, 5incius de 6oraes with whom he re eased the successfu and res&ected score for the & ay, Orfeo do Carnaval 7 ater made into the famous fi m, Black Orpheus8$ +n 1959, Joao :i berto, a then unknown "ra!i ian singer, recorded some of Jobim2s songs, inc uding 3;esafinado3 and 3(hega de .audade$3 This e-ent is considered one of the &rimary cata ysts that aunched the "ossa No-a mo-ement$ The All Music Guide to Jazz described "ossa No-a, or "ra!i ian Ja!!, as 3a fresh bree!e of warm .outh #merican air <that= b ew through #merican ja!! in the ear y 19/12s, the seducti-e b end of "ra!i ian rhythms, #merican coo ja!!, and ad-anced >uro&ean c assica harmony$3 +n *ortuguese the term a&&ro?imate y means 3new wa-e3 and "ossa No-a ser-ed to offer an a ternati-e to the #merican ja!! scene and a mass cu ture dominated by easy istening and rock 2n2 ro $ The bossa no-a rhythm is a soft, &ro&u si-e y ticking, regu ar stream of eighth notes with irregu ar accents that de-e o&ed from "ra!i ian samba 7a series of wi d rhythmic &atterns rooted in #frican music which used a arge -ariety of &ercussion instruments8$ "ossa no-a &ioneers stri&&ed down the samba by taking away the noise and com& e? @ua ities$ The -o ume was owered yet the 3hy&notic3 accents remained$ #dded to this was the 3 o&ing3 rhythm of the acoustic guitar with 3g iding3 me odies and yrics$ This created a yearning fee ing that "ra!i ians ca ed 3saudade$3 "ossa no-a o&ened u& the door to other emerging inf uences from "ra!i and created a body of songs essentia to the ja!! community$ Anti the ear y 512s, #mericans thought of "ra!i ian music on y in stereoty&es$ 0et a few "ra!i ians were inf uenced by #merican ja!!$ Best (oast ja!! musicians such as :erry 6u igan, (het "aker and "arney Cesse e?erted a huge inf uence on Tom Jobim at that time$ The other source of inf uence on these "ra!i ian musicians were )rench im&ressionist com&osers$ Jobim studied c assica music, which he a so o-ed, and

his inf uences ranged from ;ebussey to (ho&in to 5i aDEobos$ +n 195', "ra!i ian guitarist Eaurindo # meida &ut bossa no-aD ike rhythms on recordings with sa? & ayer, "ud .hank$ Joao :i berto, in the midD512s, a so began & aying his guitar in the distincti-e synco&ated rhythmic sty e that wou d become the basis of bossa no-a$ )or this, Jobim a ways ga-e :i berto the credit of starting the bossa no-a, though Jobim definite y & ayed a &art with his unusua new songs with ad-anced harmonies$ 3(hega de .audade3 aunched the bossa no-a mo-ement in "ra!i , and the score to Black Orpheus, re eased in 1959, aunched it around the wor d$ +n 19/2, the bossa no-a 3fad3 began when .tan :et! recorded 3;esafinado,3 bringing both :et! and Jobim recognition in the states$ 3"ossa No-a3 was branded on many a bums that came out in the ne?t few years by musicians such as :ene #mmons, ;a-e "rubeck, Fuincy Jones, 6i es ;a-is, %erbie %ancock, and >ddie %arris$ # arge number of musicians were f own from "ra!i to New 0ork for the first North #merican bossa no-a concert at (arnegie %a on No-ember 22, 19/2$ This wou d be the first time that Tom Jobim had tra-e ed to the Anited .tates$ Just as it seemed the bossa no-a fad was dying out in 19/,, :et!, :i berto, :i berto2s wife #strud, and Jobim scored a major hit with 3The :ir )rom +&anema,3 from the a bum :et!G:i berto. )or the remainder of the /12s, &roducers such as (reed Tay or and musicians ike :et!, Jobim and .ergio 6endes continued to break new ground in the bossa no-a fie d$ Jobim2s stature was so idified in 19/7 when he recorded with )rank .inatra$ %is first recording with )rank was on #ugust '1, 19//$ "y the 19712s, the fad of bossa no-a had most y died out, though inno-ations within the fie d of "ra!i ian ja!! continue to the &resent day and bossa no-a is a ways around in one form or another$ Jobim &referred the recording studios to touring, and he made se-era a bums of his music as a &ianist, guitarist and singer for 5er-e, Barner "ros$, ;isco-ery, #H6, (T+ and 6(# in the /12s and 712s$, and 5er-e again in the 912s and 912s$ %is &iano & aying, guitar & aying and singing sty es were sim& e, modest, and often haunting$ %e worked often with arrangerGconducter ( aus 4german$ #fter the 3o-ere?&osure3 of bossa no-a in the /12s, Jobim concentrated on fi m and te e-ision scores in "ra!i $ +n 1995, howe-er, wor d music took on a new &o&u arity and Tom &ut together the No-a "and with his second wife #na Eontra, his son *au o, his daughter > i!abeth and other musician friends with whom he toured$ Jobim recei-ed the recognition he deser-ed by the time of his ast concerts in "ra!i in .e&tember 199' and (arnegie %a in #&ri 199,$ %e died sudden y of heart fai ure in New 0ork (ity on ;ecember 9, 199,, after which tribute a bums and concerts fo owed$ %is re&utation as one of the greatest songwriters of the century is secure, and many ca him the :eorge :ershwin of "ra!i , where he is a nationa hero$ %is inf uence on "ra!i ian ja!! and ja!! wor dwide was in-a uab e$