SONG OF THE DAY [#273]

'aguas de março'| antonio carlos jobim

sometimes i just need me some tom jobim. bossa nova was essentially unknown to me before the year 2000, but in the years since, i've become a HUGE fan of the genre. it's a sound that speaks to me on so many levels. i'm still a novice when it comes to bossa nova, so i'm hardly qualified to discuss it technicalities and intricacies, so i won't even try. i do know that i love minor 7th chords, and bossa nova certainly has its share. i still see chords in bossa nova music i never even knew existed--suspendeds, diminisheds, 5ths, 6ths, all all matter of nuttiness. you have to be some sort of guitar witch/wizard to play bossa nova, i think, because the chords call for require a tremendous amount of dexterity--trust me, i've tried. [and check this out -- amazing!]

but getting back to bossa nova, antonio carlos jobim, or 'tom jobim,' as he is often called, was one of the true innovators in the world of music. i don't like to fling around terms like 'visionary,' but the guy was something else. he took american jazz, married to to latin rhythms [like the samba, for example], threw in some loungy strings and took the world by storm. his signature track, though not one of my favorites, was his collaboration with joao gilberto on 'the girl from ipanema.' the movement lasted less than a decade, but it's influence remains potent. the most obvious reason, to me at least, is that the bossa nova sound is undeniably sexy and it's cool quotient is off the charts. there's hardly a week were i don't pop in some tom jobim or stan getz [a.k.a. The Sound] and lose myself in the sound. you can read more about tom jobim here and here. if just want to try an entire album, you can download a 'greatest hits' here. i genuinely hope you love it as much as i do.

there are plenty of tom jobim and stan getz around and i highly recommend you pick one up. take it from me, you'll be smitten instantly. then you'll want to buy a record player and host swanky parties and serve fruity drinks. here are just a few of so man favorites.... enjoy!

→ antonio carlos jobim: aguas de março
→ antonio carlos jobim: corcovando
→ antonio carlos jobim: só danço samba
→ antonio carlos jobim: the girl from ipanema