Antonio Carlos Jobim

Born: January 25, 1927

It has been said that Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was the George Gershwin of Brazil—and there is a solid ring of truth in that, for both contributed large bodies of songs to the jazz repertoire, both expanded their reach into the concert hall, and both tend to symbolize their countries in the eyes of the rest of the world. With their gracefully urbane, sensuously aching melodies and harmonies, Jobim's songs gave jazz musicians in the 1960s a quiet, strikingly original alternative to their traditional Tin Pan Alley source.

Jobim's roots were always planted firmly in jazz; the records of {{Gerry Mulligan = 9681}}, {{Chet Baker = 3578}}, {{Barney Kessel = 8339}} and other West Coast jazz musicians made an enormous impact upon him in the 1950s. But he also claimed that the French impressionist composer Claude Debussy had a decisive influence upon his harmonies, and the Brazilian samba gave his music a uniquely exotic rhythmic underpinning. As a pianist, he usually kept things simple and melodically to the point with a touch that reminds some of Claude Thornhill, but some of his records show that he could also stretch out when given room. His guitar was limited mostly to gentle strumming of the syncopated rhythms, and he sang in a modest, slightly hoarse yet often hauntingly emotional manner.

Catina De Luna, Otmaro Ru��z, Roswell Rudd, Sheila Jordan

by Katchie Cartwright
September 7, 2025

A two-fer on this week's edition of Caminhos do Jazz... First up is Lado B Brazilian Project 2 (Sunnyside, 2025), from Brazilian singer-pianist Catina De Luna and Venezuelan guitarist and arranger-producer Otmaro Ruíz, the second installment of the illustrious duo's B-side project. Read our review here. The idea of the project is to interpret what we ...

Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ru��z: Lado B Brazilian Project 2

by Pierre Giroux
August 26, 2025

Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruíz have once again teamed up to explore the rich tapestry of Brazilian music in Lado B Brazilian Project 2. As a follow-up to their earlier exploration of this repertoire, this album sees the duo delve even deeper into Brazil's lyrical and melodic treasures, producing results that are both innovative and rooted ...

Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ru��z: Lado B Brazilian Project 2

by Katchie Cartwright
August 17, 2025

In a time of disembodied digital-only releases, luxuriously well-crafted albums like Catina DeLuna and Otmaro Ruiz's Lado B Brazilian Project 2, with physical disk, album notes, lyric translations and evocative graphics, can really be the balm. The project was born in 2015 with the release of Lado B Brazilian Project (Self Produced), which received ...

Steve Millhouse: Looking Back to Today

by David A. Orthmann
August 10, 2025

In an era when athleticism, blatant egotism, and cacophony are all too common elements of jazz performance, it is refreshing to hear a record populated by players who exhibit give-and-take, musicality, and a willingness to listen and share sonic space. Six-string electric bassist Steve Millhouse's Looking Back to Today is a sterling example of a bass, ...

Festival International de Jazz de Montr��al 2025

by Mark Sullivan
July 16, 2025

Various Venues Festival International de Jazz de Montr��al Montr��al, Canada June 28-July 2, 2025 The headliners of the 45th edition of the festival included names like Gospel legend Mavis Staples, Canadian rockers Blue Rodeo, Canadian Inuk musician Elisapie, New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Nigerian singer/songwriter Ayra Starr, Canadian ...

Introducing Pianist Ben Collins-Siegel

by Sanford Josephson
July 2, 2025

I first saw Ben Collins-Siegel play piano in July 2019 at the Roselle Park Jazz Festival. Then a 12-year-old seventh grader at Maplewood Middle School, he led off a performance by the JTole Jazz Orchestra of Thad Jones' “Counter Block," written for the Count Basie Orchestra. It was stunning. JTole stands for Julius Tolentino, ...

Ensemble Novo At Mount Laurel Library

by Carl Medsker
June 14, 2025

Ensemble Novo Mount Laurel Library Mount Laurel, NJ June 8, 2025 In a spacious, windowed corner of the Mount Laurel, NJ public library (yes, library), amidst the Silent Zone signs, Ensemble Novo was anything but. The beautiful, sultry and sometimes melancholy sounds of Brazilian Samba and Bossa Nova filled ...

Connetto Jazz 2025

by Marco Iacoboni
June 9, 2025

Connetto Jazz Festival Teatro Politeama; Sonar; Bottega Roots Poggibonsi; Colle Val D'Elsa (SI) 21-25 maggio 2025 La terza edizione del Connetto Jazz Festival si �� aperta con un concerto in piano solo di Rita Marcotulli, nella bella sala concerti del Teatro Politeama di Poggibonsi. “Autoritratto" �� il nome dato dalla Marcotulli ...

Mike Thompson: 6th Avenue

by Jack Bowers
May 30, 2025

Composer and arranger Mike Thompson was in his mid-twenties when 6th Avenue, his debut album as leader of a big band, was recorded (in the mid-2020s) at Q Division Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts, enlisting for the most part veteran Boston-area musicians whom Thompson had met and befriended while studying at the Berklee School of Music, from ...