Antonio Carlos Jobim

DBK Works (a division of Water Records) boasts on the cover of this box set that this is the "prime" of Antonio Carlos Jobim. The three albums here are all from the mid-'60s, beginning with Jobim and Terri Hinte's authoritative, scholarly yet passionate liner notes -- spread in three parts over the three discs and making a real case for each of the recordings here -- Wonderful World of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Love, Strings and Jobim, and A Certain Mr. Jobim. All were recorded for Warner Brothers, none of them measuring up to the spare grace of Jobim's initial American recording for Verve, Composer. Hinte's liner notes claim that the first of these was recorded under traumatic circumstances: arranger Nelson Riddle's son was recovering from a serious auto accident; and that Jobim was asked to play guitar instead of piano, and to sing. It's a good recording, but no masterpiece. It cannot be argued, however, that the songs themselves on each of these three records have been covered dozens of times by singers and musicians all over the world. Also, Love, Strings and Jobim is not a Jobim record proper, though his name has been pasted all over the cover of various reissues with different titles. He presented numerous Brazilian composers and musicians -- including Marcos Valle, Eumir Deodato, Oscar Neves, and Baden Powell among them -- on this set and their recordings. Gaya and Deodato arranged this session. He contributed only two tracks to it. All of these recordings are important, however, in that they flesh out that Verve debut and introduce songs to American audiences that were never heard before. In addition, they establish heartily Jobim's presence on the American scene. The final disc in this collection, A Certain Mr. Jobim, is the best of the bunch. It was recorded after Jobim's historic recording with Frank Sinatra. Claus Ogerman arranged the session, (the same arranger as on the Verve debut), and organist Dick Hyman was in the cast of players. The set was recorded in a scant three hours in one evening. The composer's voice is not swallowed by the instrumentation here. The set is divided between vocals and instrumentals. The vocals are all in English -- with an Anglo version of the classic "Desafinado," retitled as "Off-Key." Hardcore fans of Jobim will no doubt be grateful for these recordings being available again in the U.S., and will purchase the set without reservations. Novices may want to try one of the many compilations available first. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide