Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim merged
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
with
cool jazz
Cool jazz is a style of modern jazz music inspired by bebop and big band that arose in the United States after World War II. It is characterized by relaxed tempos and a lighter tone than that used in the fast and complex bebop style. Cool jazz of ...
in the 1960s to create
bossa nova, with worldwide success. As a result, he is regarded as one of the fathers of bossa nova, and as one of the most-celebrated songwriters of the 20th century.
Jobim was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists internationally since the early 1960s.
In 1965, the album ''
Getz/Gilberto'' was the first jazz record to win the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for
Album of the Year. It also won
Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The album's single "
Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema)", composed by Jobim, has become one of the most recorded songs of all time, and the album won the
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
. Jobim composed many songs that are now included in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and pop standard repertoires. "Garota de Ipanema" has been recorded over 240 times by other artists.
His 1967 album with
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, ''
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim'', was nominated for Album of the Year in 1968 and album
Antônio Brasileiro was awarded the 1995
Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.
Early life
Antônio Carlos Jobim was born at 23:15 BRT on 25 January 1927 in the middle-class district of
Tijuca
Tijuca () (meaning marsh or swamp in the Tupi language, from ''ty'' ("water") and ''îuk'' ("rotten")) is a neighbourhood of the Rio de Janeiro#North Zone, Northern Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It comprises the region of Saens P ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. His father, Jorge de Oliveira Jobim (
São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul; 1889–1935), was a writer, diplomat, professor and journalist. He came from a prominent family, being the great-nephew of ,
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
,
privy councillor and physician of Emperor
Dom Pedro II
''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...
. While studying medicine in Europe, José Martins added ''Jobim'' to his last name, paying homage to the village where his family came from in Portugal, the parish of
Santa Cruz de Jovim,
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. Antônio's mother, Nilza Brasileiro de Almeida ( 1910–1989), was of partly indigenous descent from northeastern Brazil. Brasileiro de Almeida was only 16 years old when she gave birth to Antônio Carlos Jobim at their home in Tijuca on Rua Conde de Bonfim.
When Antônio was still an infant, his parents separated and his mother moved with her children (Antônio Carlos and his sister Helena Isaura, born 23 February 1931) to
Ipanema
Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone (Rio de Janeiro), South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the populari ...
, the beachside neighborhood the composer would later celebrate in his songs. In 1935, when the elder Jobim died, Nilza married Celso da Frota Pessoa (died 2 February 1979), who would encourage his stepson's career; it was he who gave Jobim his first piano. Jobim credits his stepfather with encouraging him to pursue music. In an interview with
Roberto d'Ávila in 1981, he said, "I hated the piano, I thought it was a girly thing, I liked to play soccer...I had a great stepfather who really helped me get involved with music and convinced me that the piano was not a girly thing."
As a young man of limited means, Jobim earned his living by playing in nightclubs and bars and later as an arranger for a recording label before starting to achieve success as a composer.
Later on in the interview with Roberto d'Ávila, Jobim talks about his feelings toward his upbringing. He notes a conversation he had with a friend of his father's,
Erico Verissimo, where Verissimo said that Tom Jobim should be sombre due to the absence of his father from a young age. Jobim told d'Ávila, "I was left without a father, clinging to my mother's skirts…some
enhave 'excessive' fathers, the excessive presence of their fathers is a problem, but the absence of a father is also a problem."
Jobim continued with d'Ávila, sharing that it takes something of great influence to bring someone to dedicate their life to music. He said that "people who play the piano well are all handicapped". He mentions the health struggles of both
Sergio Mendes who had
osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis (OM) is the infectious inflammation of bone marrow. Symptoms may include pain in a specific bone with overlying redness, fever, and weakness. The feet, spine, and hips are the most commonly involved bones in adults.
The cause is ...
and
Luiz Eça who had
polio
Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
. "It takes something really strong to make you leave reality behind and begin to write songs," Jobim shared. With d'Ávila he alludes to his sadness as a young man as being the driving force that motivated him to further his pursuit in music, that he needed to be sad in order to play the piano and write. He concludes on the topic with d'Ávila that, at that point in his life (the interview having taken place in 1981) that he no longer needed to be sad to create music, that he was no longer sad as he was at the beginning of his career.
Musical influences
Jobim's musical roots were planted firmly in the work of
Pixinguinha
Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho (May 4, 1897 – February 17, 1973), better known as Pixinguinha, () was a Brazilian composer, arranger, flutist, and saxophonist born in Rio de Janeiro. He worked with Brazilian popular music and developed the '' c ...
, the legendary musician and composer who began modern Brazilian music in the 1930s. Among his teachers were Lúcia Branco and, from 1941 on,
Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, a German composer who lived in Brazil and introduced
atonal
Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...
and
twelve-tone composition in the country. Jobim's mother established a school where Jobim would begin taking lessons on the piano; this is when he would meet Koellreutter.
Jobim was also influenced by the French composers
Claude Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
and
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
, and by the Brazilian composers
Ary Barroso who has been described as Jobim's "most important musical influence". Among many themes, his lyrics talked about love, self-discovery, betrayal, joy and especially about the birds and natural wonders of Brazil, like the "
Mata Atlântica" forest, characters of Brazilian folklore and his home city of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. In a segment with the
NBC ''Today'' show in 1986, hosted by
Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley (born October 31, 1950) is an American television host and author, active in news reporting since 1972. She first became widely known as Barbara Walters's successor on the NBC morning show ''Today'', beginning at the age of ...
, Jobim spoke about his music's origins of inspiration, saying "My music comes from this environment here, you know, the rain, the sun, the trees, the birds, the fish."
Career

In the 1940s Jobim started to play piano in bars and nightclubs of Rio de Janeiro, and in the first years of the 1950s he worked as an arranger in the Continental Studio, where in April 1953 he had his first composition recorded, when the Brazilian singer Mauricy Moura recorded Jobim's composition "Incerteza", with lyrics by
Newton Mendonça.
Jobim became prominent in Brazil when he teamed up with poet and diplomat
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed "O Poetinha" ("The Little Poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrig ...
to write the music for the play ''
Orfeu da Conceição'' (1956). The most popular song from the show was "Se Todos Fossem Iguais A Você" ("If Everyone Were Like You"). Later, when the play was adapted into a film, producer
Sacha Gordine did not want to use any of the existing music from the play. Gordine asked de Moraes and Jobim for a new score for the film ''Orfeu Negro'', or ''
Black Orpheus'' (1959). Moraes was at the time away in
Montevideo
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Uruguay, working for the Itamaraty (the
Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and so he and Jobim were only able to write three songs, primarily over the telephone ("
A felicidade", "Frevo" and "O nosso amor"). This collaboration proved successful, and de Moraes went on to pen the lyrics to some of Jobim's most popular songs.
In 1958 the Brazilian singer and guitarist
João Gilberto
João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...
recorded his first album with two of Jobim's most famous songs, "Desafinado" and "Chega de Saudade". This album inaugurated the Bossa Nova movement in Brazil. The sophisticated harmonies of his songs caught the attention of jazz musicians in the United States, principally after his first performance at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
, in 1962.
A key event in making Jobim's music known in the English-speaking world was his collaboration with the American jazz saxophonist
Stan Getz
Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...
, the Brazilian singer
João Gilberto
João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...
, and Gilberto's wife at the time,
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert; March 29, 1940 – June 5, 2023) was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song " The Girl f ...
, which resulted in two albums, ''
Getz/Gilberto'' (1963) and ''
Getz/Gilberto Vol. 2'' (1964). The release of ''Getz/Gilberto'' created a bossa nova craze in the United States and subsequently internationally. Getz had previously recorded ''
Jazz Samba'' with Charlie Byrd (1962), and ''
Jazz Samba Encore!'' with
Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Floriano Bonfá (17 October 1922 – 12 January 2001) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film '' Black Orpheus''.
Biography
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was born on October 17, 1922, in Ri ...
(1964). Jobim wrote many of the songs on ''Getz/Gilberto'', which became one of the best-selling
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
albums of all time, and turned Astrud Gilberto, who sang on "Garota de Ipanema" ("
The Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" (), or "The Girl from Ipanema", is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim a ...
") and "
Corcovado
Corcovado () which means " hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park.
Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within t ...
" ("Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars"), into an international sensation. At the
Grammy Awards of 1965
The 7th Annual Grammy Awards were held on April 13, 1965, at Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1964. João Gilberto & Stan Getz won 4 awards.
Award winners
The following awards were t ...
''Getz/Gilberto'' won the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the r ...
, the
Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group and the
Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:
* In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical
* In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...
. "The Girl from Ipanema" won the
Grammy Award for Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
. Among his later hits is "Águas de Março" ("
Waters of March", 1972), for which he wrote both the Portuguese and English lyrics, and which was then translated into French by
Georges Moustaki
Georges Moustaki (born Giuseppe Mustacchi; 3 May 1934 – 23 May 2013) was an Egyptian- French singer-songwriter of Greek-Jewish origin. He wrote about 300 songs for some of the most popular singers in France, including Édith Piaf, Dalida, Fran ...
(as "Les Eaux de Mars", 1973).
In talking about his creative process when writing and creating "
Girl From Ipanema", Jobim told
Roberto d’Ávila in 1981, "It comes to me in a way, then it changes one or two times and all of the sudden, it becomes something that makes sense…it's like the profile of a woman…the profile of a woman, something very discernible, then you say: ‘hey, this is really beautiful…’ then you stare and as soon as you stare, it's gone, I mean it becomes part of the past." Jobim continues, "I mean, every time you draw something it turns into, it's something static… that portrait remains forever."
Collaboration with Elis Regina c. 1974–1982
Jobim and
Elis Regina
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...
first met in 1974 in Los Angeles, when Regina was only 29 years old and still a fresh face in the Brazilian music industry. Regina was a force to be reckoned with, being referred to as ''furacão'' ("hurricane" in English) by those who worked with and around her. The two artists came together to create the album ''
Elis & Tom'' which would unexpectedly become tremendously popular in the United States as well as across the globe. Regina and Jobim had a special creative chemistry between them that was noted by those who were present to witness the collaborative process first hand during that era in both of their careers.
Oscar Castro-Neves, a guitarist-producer who worked with Regina and Jobim on the ''Elis & Tom'' album in the mid-1970s, recalled in an article with the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' that "There was a very fine line between ‘rehearsal’ and ‘hanging out,’ ‘just talking’...it was all that seamless." Due to the nature of their work relationship, Regina and Jobim grew close and had a symbiosis that is reflected in the result of their work together.
''Aguas de Março'' represents this, with the lyrics simulating a banter of finishing each other's sentences.
Personal life
Jobim was married to Thereza Otero Hermanny on 15 October 1949 and had two children with her:
Paulo Jobim (1950–2022), an architect and musician, (father of
Daniel Jobim (born 1973) and Dora Jobim (born 1976)); and Elizabeth "Beth" Jobim (born 1957), a painter. Jobim and Thereza divorced in 1978. On 30 April 1986, he married 29-year-old photographer Ana Beatriz Lontra, with whom he had two more children: João Francisco Jobim (1979–1998) and Maria Luiza Helena Jobim (born 1987). Daniel, Paulo's son, followed his grandfather to become a pianist and composer, and performed "The Girl from Ipanema" during the
opening ceremony
An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event. of the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.
Death

In early 1994, after finishing his album ''
Antonio Brasileiro'', Jobim complained to his doctor, Roberto Hugo Costa Lima, of urinary problems. Jobim was diagnosed with
bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...
and underwent treatment, although he postponed surgery. He underwent an operation at
Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on 2 December 1994. At 7:00 EST on 8 December, while recovering from surgery, he had a
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...
caused by a
pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...
, and two hours later, another cardiac arrest, from which he died. He was survived by his children and grandchildren. His last album, ''Antonio Brasileiro'', was released posthumously, just days after his death.
His body
lay in state until given a proper burial on 20 December 1994. He is buried in the
Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.
Legacy
Jobim is widely regarded as one of the most important songwriters of the 20th century. Many of his songs are
jazz standards
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...
. American jazz singers
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
and
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
prominently featured Jobim's songs on their albums ''
Ella Abraça Jobim'' (1981) and ''
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim'' (1967), respectively. The 1996 CD ''Wave: The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook'' included performances of Jobim tunes by
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...
,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
,
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...
and
Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...
.
Jobim was an innovator in the use of sophisticated harmonic structures in popular song. Some of his melodic twists, like the melody insisting on the major seventh of the chord.
The Brazilian collaborators and interpreters of Jobim's music include
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed "O Poetinha" ("The Little Poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrig ...
,
João Gilberto
João Gilberto (born João Gilberto do Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer, and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he w ...
(often credited as a co-creator or creator of bossa nova),
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...
,
Edu Lobo,
Gal Costa
Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of Música popular brasileira, popular music. Twelve-times Bra ...
,
Elis Regina
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...
,
Sérgio Mendes
Sérgio Santos Mendes (; 11 February 1941 – 5 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician.
His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He ...
,
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert; March 29, 1940 – June 5, 2023) was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song " The Girl f ...
and
Flora Purim. Significant arrangements of Jobim's compositions were written by
Eumir Deodato,
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many vocalists at Capitol Records, including ...
, and especially the conductor/composer
Claus Ogerman.
He won a
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions.
Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include:
A
* A.C. ...
at the
54th Grammy Awards
The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted t ...
in 2012. As a posthumous homage, on 5 January 1999, the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro changed the name of Rio's
Galeão International Airport, located on
Governador Island, to bear the composer's name. Galeão Airport is explicitly mentioned in his composition "
Samba do Avião". In 2014, Jobim was posthumously inducted to the
Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2015, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' named Jobim as one of The 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time.
He was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist at the 7th Grammy Awards, where he lost to the Beatles. He won Best Latin Jazz Performance for the album titled Antonio Brasileiro at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards.
Written by
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...
, the ninth track on Oregon alternative rock band
Heatmiser
Heatmiser was an American rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in October 1991. Consisting of Elliott Smith (guitar and vocals), Neil Gust (guitar and vocals), Brandt Peterson (bass; later replaced by Sam Coomes, frontman of Quasi) and Ton ...
's 1994 album ''
Cop and Speeder'' is entitled "Antonio Carlos Jobim".
American contemporary jazz singer
Michael Franks dedicated his 1995 album ''
Abandoned Garden'' to the memory of Jobim. English singer/songwriter
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
frequently acknowledged Jobim's influence. His 1996 album ''
Older'' was dedicated to Jobim, and he recorded "
Desafinado" on ''
Red Hot + Rio
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (1996) with Astrud Gilberto.
Following a public vote, the official mascot of the
2016 Summer Paralympics
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...
in Rio de Janeiro,
Tom, was named after him.
In 2015, a
crater
A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...
on the planet
Mercury was named in his honor by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
.
Discography and compositions
::Studio albums
* 1963: ''
The Composer of Desafinado, Plays'' (
Verve)
* 1965: ''
The Wonderful World of Antônio Carlos Jobim'' (
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
)
* 1967: ''
A Certain Mr. Jobim'' (Warner Bros.)
* 1967: ''
Wave
In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
'' (
CTI/
A&M)
* 1970: ''
Stone Flower'' (CTI)
* 1970: ''
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
'' (A&M)
* 1973: ''
Jobim'' (
MCA)
* 1976: ''
Urubu'' (Warner Bros.)
* 1980: ''
Terra Brasilis'' (Warner Bros.)
* 1987: ''
Passarim'' (Verve)
* 1995: ''
Antônio Brasileiro'' (
Columbia)
* 1995: ''
Inédito'' (
Ariola
Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international ...
)
* 1997: ''Minha Alma Canta'' (Lumiar)
::Collaborations
* 1954: ''Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro'' (Continental), with
Billy Blanco
* 1956: ''
Orfeu da Conceição'' (Odeon), with
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed "O Poetinha" ("The Little Poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrig ...
* 1957: "O Pequeno Príncipe" (Festa), an audiobook, whose soundtrack Jobim composed
* 1961: ''Brasília – Sinfonia Da Alvorada'' (Columbia), with Vinicius de Moraes
* 1964: ''
Getz/Gilberto'' (Verve)
* 1964: ''
Caymmi visita Tom'' (Elenco/Polygram/
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
), with
Dorival Caymmi
* 1967: ''
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim'' (Reprise)
* 1974: ''
Elis & Tom'' (
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
), with
Elis Regina
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...
* 1977: ''Miúcha & Antônio Carlos Jobim'' (
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
), with
Miúcha
* 1979: ''Miúcha & Tom Jobim'' (
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
), with Miúcha
* 1981: ''Edu & Tom'' (
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
), with
Edu Lobo
* 1983: Gabriela (
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
), original soundtrack from the movie "Gabriela, Cravo e Canela"
References
Sources
*
*
*
De Stefano, Gildo, ''Il popolo del
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
, La vicenda e i protagonisti della storia della
musica popolare brasiliana'', preface by
Chico Buarque de Hollanda, introduction by
Gianni Minà, RAI-ERI, Rome 2005,
* De Stefano, Gildo, ''Saudade
Bossa Nova: musiche, contaminazioni e ritmi del Brasile'', preface by Chico Buarque, introduction by Gianni Minà, Logisma Editore, Florence 2017,
*
*
External links
Antônio Carlos Jobim– tribute site
– remembrance site
*
*
at The Brazilian Sound
– "Clube do Tom"
Antônio Carlos Jobim– behind the scenes of the legendary bossa nova concert at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in 1962
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jobim, Antonio Carlos
1927 births
1994 deaths
20th-century Brazilian male singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
20th-century Brazilian composers
20th-century Brazilian guitarists
20th-century Brazilian pianists
Brazilian bossa nova guitarists
Brazilian bossa nova pianists
Brazilian bossa nova singers
Brazilian jazz composers
Brazilian expatriates in the United States
Brazilian jazz guitarists
Brazilian jazz pianists
Brazilian jazz singers
Brazilian lyricists
Brazilian male guitarists
Brazilian male singer-songwriters
Brazilian singer-songwriters
Brazilian people of Portuguese descent
Brazilian record producers
CTI Records artists
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Jazz record producers
Latin American folk singers
Latin folk guitarists
Latin folk pianists
Latin jazz guitarists
Latin jazz pianists
Latin jazz singers
Latin music songwriters
Brazilian male jazz musicians
Male jazz pianists
Música Popular Brasileira guitarists
Música Popular Brasileira pianists
Música Popular Brasileira singers
Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city)
Verve Records artists
Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista
DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members
Portuguese-language singers of Brazil