When you’re known for and heralded as the person who created the bossa nova style of music then you’re definitely someone significant. Long before Brazilian music was catching on Antonio Carlos Jobim was creating lush, ornate land-scapes of the beautiful country he was from. Wave was one of those first albums from the 60s that I really connected with, an album that was as pretty as it was masterful. It’s easily his most successful album to date and the House Mouse lady has a vinyl copy of this that is the same design but in red, like this:
I’ve always wanted to grab it because it is one my favorite albums but that’d be selfish of me, no? Anyway, I just got my vinyl copy of the new Arcade Fire album so I’m probably gonna be playing that non-stop for another week – which means I had to write about this other brilliant album since it was still in my deck. Think of your traditional Brazilian bossa nova but with an orchestration that features Ron Carter as your bassist and the only wind instruments are some lovely flutes & piccolo, trombones and one French horn. Sure, there’s a ton of strings on top, too, but listening to how fresh and smooth it all sounds on “Batidinha” makes Brazil sound so majestic.
Every single song is really special; “Lamento” is his only vocal and it’s definitely terrific. While every song is based on something from his life in Brazil, “Mojave” was written with our very own Mojave Desert in mind. French horns and Jobim’s piano battle for the melody with the bellowing of the strings always rustling underneath them; the light flute on top is a delicate touch but one that signals the cold winds in the desert at night, check it here:
- Bryan
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