Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Even if it wasn't the album that started the bossa nova craze, Getz/Gilberto was definitely one of its crowning achievements. As far as bossa nova is concerned, this was the album that brought Brazil and America together. While Jazz Samba was primarily American musicians playing Brazilian music, Getz/Gilberto was the album that brought both worlds together. It brought Brazil's greatest performer of bossa in João Gilberto and its greatest composer in Antônio Carlos Jobim. While the majority of the album is penned by Jobim and contains such well-known classics as "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Desafinado," the roots of bossa nova are celebrated as well in the track "Para Machucar Meu Coração," penned by Ary Barroso who most famously wrote "Brazil." The same could be said for the track "Doralice" penned by Laurindo Almeida, a Brazilian guitarist whose career began in the late 1940s with Stan Kenton. When many people talk about bossa nova, they often don't realize that it comes from this great Brazilian tradition that goes back to samba at Carnaval to classical composers like Villa-Lobos. While this album celebrates the roots of bossa nova, it also premieres some of its finest material. "Desafinado" is a personal favorite that which translates as "off-key" and speaks of a young man who can't please the ears of a woman he loves because his voice is often off key. "Desafinado" is one of Jobim's most well-known songs, but hands-down "The Girl from Ipanema" is the most well-known song of Jobim or bossa nova. "Vivo Sonhando" is a personal favorite for the way that it hops around chords while the melody repeats an F# and resolves to a D. If you analyze "Vivo Sonhando" or other bossa nova charts, you will realize that the harmony is very forward thinking. Gmaj7 to Ebmaj7 is a strange resolution when the song is in G. However, when you realize bossa nova is really chromatic and you factor in chromaticism to your chordal analysis it doesn't seem so strange. It's hard to say if this album is the best album of all the people involved, but it surely is at the highpoint of their careers and commercial success.

Antônio Carlos Jobim - Stone Flower (1970)

While not the most well known Jobim album per se, Stone Flower definitely takes many more risks than previous efforts like 1967's Wave. While it has the same laid back feel with close harmonies, Stone Flower often entertains the ear by taking chord progressions and lush orchestrations that Wave had to the next level. One chief reason for the change in sound and conception is that the orchestrations are done by Eumir Deodato, rather than Claus Ogerman in Wave. Tracks like "Amparo " or "God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun" have unusual instrumentations and rhythmic content that proves that the album is more than just simply latin, or specifically bossa nova. With this album, Jobim was no longer "riding off of the coattails" of the bossa nova craze of the early-to-mid 1960s. While many consider write Jobim off and classify him as a "Brazilian" or "Latin" composer, Jobim's embrace of jazz is practically second to no one in Latin music. Some music critics today may argue that Jobim's music is not jazz. It doesn't swing, but just listen to "Tereza My Love" or "Sabia" and deny jazz as an influence to Jobim's music. Many times, critics like to attach genres to labels in order to easily classify and create a sort of technical jargon. Often times, though, there is the problematic artist that just doesn't "fit" in a genre. Sure there are Latin elements in Jobim's music like the eternal presence of the danzon rhythm, but I don't think many Latin artists have the talented personnel nor mature conception of jazz that Jobim utilizes on his albums. Like many Jobim albums, he is often behind the keys and lends his voice to the tracks "Sabia" and "Brazil." A rarity for a Jobim album, there is a cover of the Ary Barroso's famous tune "Brazil." On this reissued version, there is a alternate take of Brazil which is much more staccato and includes some orchestration, in which regard the original take is the complete opposite.

Antônio Carlos Jobim - Wave (1967)

Bossa nova is probably one of my favorite styles that has origins outside of the continental United States. Bossa nova really came into its own in the early 1960s when jazz artists such as Stan Getz and Charlie Bird started to do collaborations among themselves and Brazilian musicians. It is a significant style in that up to that time the primary source of jazz standards was the Great American Songbook or musicals. With a whole new source of music bossa nova gained popularity relatively quickly. The bossa nova styke is normally accredited to João Gilberto and Jobim and Gilberto's "Bim Bom" is largely considered the first bossa nova tune. The arrangements on this particular album were all done by Claus Ogerman and mostly feature full orchestra. This is interesting because one can hear how Jobim's music is applied to a larger instrumentation which is atypical to bossa nova. Jobim was different from many Brazilian composers in that he includes jazz instruments. The guitar has always been the medium of Brazilian composers, yet Jobim wrote for a larger array of instruments. What is great about Jobim as a composer is that in addition to writing, he also played guitar and piano. In fact, on this very recording he is the pianist. Some famous tracks on this album are "Wave" and "Triste." A personal favorite of mine is the track "Look to the Sky," which perfectly displays the wonderful tone of trombonist Urbie Green.