Antonio Carlos Jobim Composer Of Desafinado, Plays CD

Personnel includes: Antonio Carlos Jobim (piano, guitar); Claus Ogerman (arranger); Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Leo Wright (flute); George Duvivier (bass).
Producer: Creed Taylor.
Reissue producer: Michael Lang.
Recorded at A&R Studios, New York, New York, on May 9 and 10, 1962. Includes liner notes by Dom Cerulli, Johnny Mandel and Bob Belden.
Digitally remastered by Chris Herles (Polygram).
This is part of the Verve Master Editions series.
In his first American album, Antonio Carlos Jobim presents a dozen of his songs, each one destined to become a standard -- an astounding batting average. Jobim, who claimed to have been out of practice at the time of the session, merely plays single notes on the piano with one hand, punctuated by chords now and then, sticking to his long, undulating melodies with a few passages of jazz improvisation now and then. Yet it is a lovely idea, not a gesture is wasted. Arranger Claus Ogerman unveils many of the trademarks that would define his Creed Taylor-produced albums with Jobim -- the soaring, dying solo flute and spare, brooding unison string lines widening into lush harmony; flutes doubling on top of Jobim's piano chords -- again with an exquisitely spare touch. The songs include "Desafinado," "Corcovado," "Chega de Saudade" (No More Blues), "The Girl From Ipanema," "Meditation," "One Note Samba," and half-a-dozen others (every one of which is included on The Man From Ipanema set). ~ Richard S. Ginell
This disc offers instrumental interpretations of some of Jobim's most famous compositions from the salad days of the early '60s Bossa Nova craze. It's also one of the earliest examples of Jobim's long-standing and fruitful collaboration with arranger Claus Ogerman. Trademarks like Jobim's single-note piano style, the accompanying flute melodies and Ogerman's arranging techniques (unison string parts, the bass clarinet underpinnings in "How Insensitive") would decorate Jobim's music for the next two decades. Similarly representative are the authentic Bossa Nova guitar and drums, subtle variations of which occur on each tune. Throughout the recording, Jobim's songs are powerful enough for the melodies to stand up even sans lyrics.