Home » Jazz Articles » Liner Notes » Antonio Carlos Jobim et al: Focus On Bossa Nova

Antonio Carlos Jobim et al: Focus On Bossa Nova

By Arnaldo DeSouteiro
April 16, 2025
View read count

: Antonio Carlos Jobim et al: Focus On Bossa Nova

This is a trip into the world of bossa nova. Or the worlds of bossa nova. For the style that made Brazilian music so respected and famous all over the world has some subdivisions that coexist among its universe. Bossa nova ranges from the cool/introspective/airy sounds patented by

Joao Gilberto

vocals
1931 - 2019

" data-original-title="" title="">Joao Gilberto in the late Fifties, to a strong/vigorous/hard-bop influenced samba-jazz that reigned in the mid-Sixties. But both streams are equally sophisticated in harmonic terms, mixing beautiful melodies with captivating grooves. So, here are the most incredible (and rarest!) bossa nova tracks from the RCA/BMG vaults, most of them on CD for the first time.

Opening track "Minha Saudade" is performed by a cult songstress,

Alaide Costa

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Alaide Costa, who is adored by Brazilian musicians. The original recording was done by

João Donato

piano
1934 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Jo?o Donato, playing accordion as a sideman in an album by guitarist

Luiz Bonfa

guitar, acoustic
1922 - 2001

" data-original-title="" title="">Luiz Bonfa in 1955. Alaide's rendition, four years later, was the first one with lyrics, which were added by Joao Gilberto.

Brazil's most famous vocalist in the international jazz scene,

Flora Purim

vocals
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Flora Purim, cut the lovely ballad-bossa "Preciso Aprender A Ser S��" in 1964 for her debut recording, a four-song single that also included "Gente," featured in another album, Focus on Brazilian Music Grooves, from this same CD series. Among the famous sidemen are legendary drummer

Dom Um Romao

drums
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Dom Um Romao, Flora's husband at that time, and guitarist Rosinha de Valen?a.

As far as we are concerned,

Johnny Alf

piano and vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Johnny Alf"s intriguing version of "O Barquinho" is one of the two recordings of this song with English lyrics. A bossa nova pioneer, admired for his jazzy phrasing since the mid-Fifties, Johnny is considered by many as "the Brazilian Nat "King" Cole" for his unique and tremendously charming ability as vocalist/pianist.

Next comes the multi-talented

Mario Castro-Neves

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Mario Castro-Neves, leading his "Samba S.A." ensemble in a refreshing arrangement of "Nana,"

Moacir Santos

composer / conductor
1926 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Moacir Santos' most famous song. This track, recorded in 1967, comes from Mario's only album for RCA. The brother of guitarist

Oscar Castro-Neves

guitar
1940 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Oscar Castro-Neves, he soon moved to London and, then, to New York, where he still leaves.

Released as a single in 1964, and never before reissued in any format,

Marcos Moran

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcos Moran's "Fora do Tempo" is another ultra-rare track. A Marcos Valle composition, originally written as an instrumental for

Eumir Deodato

keyboards
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Eumir Deodato's "Tremendao" album, it soon received lyrics added by Marcos' brother, Paulo Sergio. For Moran's version, Deodato prepared a more "aggressive" big-band score, featuring the driving beat of Dom Um's drums and a short solo by trombonist Edson Maciel.

Deodato's genius once again shines in his very creative arrangement for

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim's bossa standard "So Tinha de Ser Com Voce." This track, from 1965, belongs to the second album

Antonio Adolfo

piano
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Adolfo's Trio 3-D recorded for RCA. Among the special guests are Joao Theodoro Meirelles, leader/saxophonist of the Copa 5 group, and

Raul De Souza

trombone
b.1934

" data-original-title="" title="">Raul De Souza, Brazil's best trombonist ever.

That same year, guitarist/singer Walter Santos cut "Samba Pro Pedrinho" with the top musicians in Sao Paulo—a city he adopted after arriving from Juazeiro, Bahia. The solos are by Walter Wanderley on piano and Hermeto Pascoal on flute, then also newcomers from Northern Brazil.

Wilson Simonal

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Wilson Simonal, who passed away in 2000 at age 61, started his career as a rock singer in the early Sixties. That's why when he discovered the songs of Jobim & Co. he performed them in his unmistakable way—a very different approach from the intimate singing of Joao Gilberto. After releasing his best albums on the Odeon label, Simonal signed with RCA in 1974. He often used large orchestra in the sessions, as indicated by this track, "Sabe Voce."

Raul de Souza is back on "A Vontade Mesmo," the title track from his 1965 first album as a leader. This astonishing performance, recorded "live" in the studio, includes superb solos by the great trombonist (identified only as Raulzinho in the original vinyl cover) and by all the members of the Sao Paulo-based Sambalan?o Trio, his backing band for the session. Airto Moreira's volcanic drum solo is worth the price of this CD!

Milton Banana

drums
1935 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Milton Banana (1935-1999), one of the best Brazilian drummers ever, took part in Joao Gilberto's debut album, backed the singer in the famous 1962 " Bossa Nova At Carnegie Hall concert," and recorded the multi-Grammy winning Getz/Gilberto, which introduced "The Girl from Ipanema" to the world. Back in Rio, he formed his own trio, releasing a series of albums on Odeon. In the late Seventies, he signed with RCA, often recording with orchestral backing. This medley, from a set exclusively devoted to Jobim's songs, includes three all-time bossa favorites: "Chega de Saudade," "Desafinado" and "Corcovado," arranged by Maestro Jos�� Alves aka Z�� Bic?o.

From the original samba version by its composer,

Jorge Ben

guitar and vocals
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Jorge Ben, to the recent funk-jazz reading by

Ithamara Koorax

vocals
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Ithamara Koorax—not forgetting

Sergio Mendes

piano
1941 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Sergio Mendes and

Al Jarreau

vocals
1940 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Al Jarreau along the way—the powerful groove-appeal of "Mas Que Nada" remains unaltered for almost three decades. One of the top bossa groups, the Tamba Trio also have scored a big hit with their 1963 recording for Philips. When Tamba became part of the RCA cast in the Seventies, the same guys (E?a, Bebeto & Milito), decided to take the chance to conceive a new arrangement, in some ways even more adventurous than their first take.

During the sessions for

Yana Purim

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Yana Purim's debut album, recorded in 1980, I had the privilege to assemble an all-star band which included some of Rio`s most-in-demand musicians. A gifted lyricist, who collaborated with Michel Colombier,

Mal Waldron

piano
1925 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Mal Waldron and

Hermeto Pascoal

flute
b.1936

" data-original-title="" title="">Hermeto Pascoal, to name a few, Yana (Flora`s sister) performs "Querendo Voc��," her Portuguese version for "I Apologize," backed by the legendary Joao Donato on piano, and Azymuth`s bassist Alex Malheiros, among others.

Donato is once again featured in another bossa gem from the Eighties, "Saudades de Voce," one of the best tracks from

Vinicius Cantuaria

guitar and vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Vinicius Cantuaria''s self-titled debut as a leader. Fresh from his stint as a drummer for

Caetano Veloso

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Caetano Veloso, Cantuaria sings and plays guitar in this album, a very hard-to-find item. Donato`s sultry arrangement, for strings & horns, is a lesson in "less is more."

A Jobim standard from the early Sixties, "Samba do Aviao" was producer Aloysio de Oliveira`s top choice for the first Jobim & Miucha album, recorded a decade later. Singer Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda—aka Miucha—is the sister of one of Brazil`s top composers, Chico Buarque de Holanda, also a novelist of moderate success.

Any bossa nova compilation would be complete without "The Girl from Ipanema." This is a very recent recording, by Gal Costa, who performed many times with Antonio Carlos Jobim in the Eighties. Recorded live in 1999, sung both in English and in Portuguese, it belongs to her tribute album to the maestro. God bless him!

Liner Notes copyright ? 2025 Arnaldo DeSouteiro.

Focus On Bossa Nova can be purchased here.

Contact Arnaldo DeSouteiro at All About Jazz.
Grammy-voting member, record producer, jazz journalist, historian and educator, screenplay writer, arranger.

Track Listing

Minha Saudade; Preciso Aprender A Ser S��; O Barquinho = Little Boat; Nan?; Fora Do Tempo; S�� Tinha De Ser Com Voc��; Samba Pro Pedrinho; ? Vontade Mesmo; Sabe Voc��; Chega De Saudade / Desafinado / Corcovado; Mas Que Nada; Querendo Voc��; Saudades De Voc��; Samba Do Avi?o; Garota De Ipanema.

Personnel

Arnaldo DeSouteiro

producer

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano

Gal Costa

vocals

Johnny Alf

piano and vocals

Alaide Costa

vocals

Miucha

vocals

Mario Castro-Neves

piano

Raul De Souza

trombone

Flora Purim

vocals

Milton Banana

drums

Tamba Trio

band / ensemble / orchestra

Wilson Simonal

vocals

Mario Castro-Neves & Samba S.A.

band / ensemble / orchestra

Walter Santos

guitar and vocals

Marcos Moran

vocals

Eumir Deodato

keyboards

Vinicius Cantuaria

guitar and vocals

Yana Purim

vocals

Antonio Adolfo

piano

Trio 3D

band / ensemble / orchestra

Album information

Title: Focus On Bossa Nova | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: RCA Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Geneva 1980
< Previous

Square One
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.