One of the giants of Brazilian music, the bossa nova innovator Antônio Carlos “Tom” Jobim helped change the lingua franca of popular music around the world. Born in Rio in 1927, the pianist made his imprint in the music scene of his hometown by channelling reference points from Brazilian choro and French impressionist classical music in his songs and arrangements. Singer-guitarist João Gilberto was the first star interpreter of Jobim’s songs, laying the blueprint for modern bossa nova in his recordings of the late ’50s. Gilberto’s recording with American saxophonist Stan Getz—1964’s Getz/Gilberto—remains one of the crucial LPs in jazz history. Featuring largely Jobim tunes—including his most enduring standard, “The Girl from Ipanema”—the album launched bossa nova as a jazz subgenre. Jobim went on to compose songs and perform on a popular album with Frank Sinatra in 1967. The ensuing decades of his life found Jobim collaborating with a litany of other international stars while building out his own rich solo discography.
