Antonio Carlos Jobim Wave CD

Composer: Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Personnel: Antonio Carlos Jobim (guitar, piano, celesta, harpsichord); Lewis Eley, Julius Held, Leo Kruczek, Joseph Malignaggi, Louis Stone, Louis Haber, Bernard Eichen, Raoul Poliakin, Gene Orloff, Irving Spice, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Harry Lookofsky (violin); Abe Kessler, Charles McCracken, Harvey Shapiro, George Ricci (cello); Raymond Beckenstein, Jerome Richardson, Romeo Penque (flute, piccolo); Joseph Singer (French horn); Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green (trombone); Domun Roma, Claudio Gion, Bobby Rosengarden (drums, percussion); Claudio Slon, Dom Um Romao, Claudio Sion (drums).
Liner Note Authors: Norman Gimbel; George Frazier.
Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (05/22/1967-06/15/1967).
Photographer: Pete Turner.
Arranger: Claus Ogerman.
When Creed Taylor left Verve/MGM for his own label under the auspices of A&M, he quickly signed Antonio Carlos Jobim and they picked up right where they left off with this stunningly seductive record, possibly Jobim's best. Jobim contributes his sparely rhythmic acoustic guitar, simple melodic piano style, a guest turn at the harpsichord, and even a vocal on "Lamento," while Claus Ogerman lends a romantically brooding hand with the charts. A pair of instant standards are introduced ("Wave," "Triste"), but this album is to be cherished for its absolutely first-rate tunes -- actually miniature tone poems -- that escaped overexposure and thus sound fresh today. The most beautiful sleeper is "Batidinha," where the intuitive Jobim/Ogerman collaboration reaches its peak. One only wishes that this album were longer; 31:45 is not enough. ~ Richard S. Ginell
Perhaps Antonio Carlos Jobim's best-known album, 1967's WAVE was Jobim's first release for his longtime producer Creed Taylor's special CTI imprint at A&M Records. In fact, it was only the label's second release--after Wes Montgomery's A DAY IN THE LIFE--and WAVE went a long way towards establishing both the sound and even the look of the fledging label. Playing guitar, piano and harpsichord on these 10 original instrumentals, Jobim is backed by a small combo and Claus Ogerman's usually tasteful but occasionally overbearing strings. The tracks are brief--over half are under three minutes--introducing a theme, coloring it with a few brief solos and a lot of solid ensemble playing, and then fading. The overall mood is mellow without being sleepy, and as a whole, WAVE is a soothing, almost intoxicating delight. While it's probably not Jobim's best album, it's certainly one of his most offhandedly entertaining.