Hi Steven, You don't know me - and I don't really know you, but I’ve been enjoying your Jazz Profiles blogspot for some time now. The unison flute/scat line on "One Note Samba" was introduced when Jobim recorded the tune with Herbie Mann and became a fixture in later performances (it is also heard on Sinatra's 1969 version) while "Ipanema," with its bracing orchestration and key change, is a particularly generous take of a war-horse that Jobim often tweaked in later performances by interpolating "Take The 'A' Train." Both are sung in Portuguese, and both hold the lyrics in reserve. His scat lines are more expansive on "One Note Samba" and "The Girl From lpanema" two of the better performances of these familiar tunes. The solo piano track here, "Estrada Do Sol," shows us both his vulnerability and his strength, and works some subtle jazz harmonies into the turnaround, while his half-chorus of piano on "Triste" finds him swinging in a typically subtle manner. His preference for underplaying as a pianist led many to dismiss his instrumental work, which could be quite compelling. The program also gives Jobim the opportunity to display his performing skills. Jobim can break our hearts with three notes, as he does in " Marina," then mend them with the high intelligence of his forms and the faultlessness of his craft. Just listen to the instrumental " Marina," where the introduction, poised for happiness, is followed by a piano theme of glowing melancholy. ("He dressed up the familiar interval of a sixth," Fischer explained, "with a major seventh below and a third in between.") Musicians could identify numerous other examples, yet such extensive analysis might detract from the deep feeling that Jobim evokes so consistently, and that is impossible to teach. I once heard Clare Fischer, in a lecture to conservatory students on how to make tired musical effects interesting, cite Jobim's "Meditations" as a primary example. As a rule, though, Jobim worked with simple materials, employing subtle modulations to create profound effects. Sinatra recorded but did not release "Desafinado," intimidated perhaps by the sophistication of its harmonic scheme and Sinatra should have taken a pass on "Wave" - Jobim does, presenting it here as an instrumental - since the melody traverses an expanse that only Sarah Vaughan and precious few others could successfully navigate. Jobim the composer presented fewer problems, although he could stymie even the greatest singers. "0 Homem' is brief but turbulent, featuring passionate low string melodies and a final heroic summation. Ogerman's ability to suggest an accordion in his blend of instruments (just before the echoing pattern and the second theme in the strings) is especially noteworthy. Waltz tempo also figures in "Arquitetura De Morar," a piece constructed in segments featuring discrete combinations of woodwinds and strings. It features an oboe theme that seems to echo the preceding track, as well as a dramatic crescendo for violin and piano. "Valse" is by Jobim's son Paulo, an architect and a painter as well as a musician. There is a moment of jubilation from the flute before the theme is repeated (by voices, with brass support the third time around) then the melodic axis is spun, and the performance moves through development to a recapitulation in smaller orchestral units. ![]() ![]() ![]() ‘Saudade Do Brasil', traces a descending pattern with its melody, which Ogerman gives to the strings after cellos and English horn set the introduction. They reveal the composer's more serious side, and are treated with the appropriate respect in Ogerman's orchestrations. The instrumental tracks are far from the carefree interludes that appear in Jobim's other Warner Bros.
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