Antonio Carlos Jobim - Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour

While Antonio Carlos Jobim is an essential figure in the music of Brazil, he also created a significant place for himself in American music as a great songwriter and a key figure in the tremendous popularity of bossa nova. Apart from his unique melodic gift, what makes Jobim's work memorable is the complexity of mood he could evoke--the touch of sadness that colors the brightest bossa nova, the irony in the midst of joy, and the mixture of delicacy and resilience in his voice and piano. He was an artist who worked primarily in pastels, but it was his sense of shadows that gave his work its most enduring qualities. Including his most famous tunes and collaborators--like "The Girl from Ipanema" with Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto--Jobim's Finest Hour catches it all, from the standard-bearers to such gems as the playful "Aguas de Marco." --Stuart Broomer Amazon.com essential recording

What about Joao Gilberto?

Strange you should mention Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto in this review and leave out Joao Gilberto. It is true that Tom Jobim is a musical genius, wrote many of the songs that we identify as bossa nova, and is one of only two musicians that I know of to have an international airport named after him (the other is Louis Armstrong). But Joao is generally considered to be the inventor of the particular style that came to be called bossa nova [...].

So by all means buy and listen to anything by Tom Jobim, but be sure to buy and listen to anything by Joao Gilberto also. June 17, 2008

Great at first, ultimately disappointing

Listening to this compilation gave me the chills at first, but it was also an introduction for me into Jobim's work and Bossa Nova in general (though this is cetainly to Bossa Nova per se, don't get me wrong). After I started exploring other recordings and returned to this CD, I realized that it's not that great after all, flawed actually. Buying better headphones didn't increase my appreciation for the mastering either. February 6, 2008

Bossa Nova

I love Bossa Nova music. Playful, fun, peaceful. It took a flower sellers insight to tell Antonio Carlos Jobim that he was destined for greater things. It took a flower seller to see the genius of the man and the music. We have loved it ever since.

March 29, 2007

A Good Primer For Beginners ; One Mislabeled Track

For those beginning to explore the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Bossa Nova in general, 'Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour' is a nice first album. The classic versions of "Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado" and "Desafinado" with Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto are included with this compilation, but the best material on this CD are the tracks from Jobim's 1963 'The Composer of Desafinado, Plays' album, which are beautiful instrumental versions of his best-known compositions, complete with Claus Ogerman's lush orchestra. Some might think that these particular tracks sound like "Elevator Music", but listen carefully and you'll find a depth of emotion and beauty in Jobim's spare, haunting piano playing and sideman Jimmy Cleveland's trombone solos that will change your preconceptions about lush orchestral music.

One Warning: 'Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour' has a mislabeled track, "O Morro Nao Tem Vez (AKA Favela)" is actually "Amor Em Paz ("Once I Loved"). Both tracks are from the "The Composer of Desafinado, Plays" album. The latter is the more popular song, but "O Morro Nao Tem Vez" is one of the most underrated songs Jobim ever wrote and a masterpiece in its own right. The remainder of the songs on 'Finest Hour' come from Jobim's other albums dating from the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These tracks do not have the same wondrous beauty as those earlier, 1960s-era cuts, (hence the four star rating) but are still worth your undidvided attention. January 26, 2007

My third time buying it

I first heard this CD at a friend's house about eight years ago, then heard it again about a year or two after that and absolutely fell in love. Since then, I've moved and re-moved, lost/broke this CD few times, bought new ones, and now it's in my ipod as a favorite! The music is relaxing, uplifting, and Jobim's voice is truly soothing: a true soundtrack for a warm and misty evening stroll through the streets of downtown NYC. July 28, 2006

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