Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (January 25, 1927 – December 8, … Read Full Bio ↴Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (January 25, 1927 – December 8, 1994), also known as Tom Jobim, was a Brazilian composer, pianist, songwriter, arranger and singer. Widely considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim internationalized bossa nova and, with the help of important American artists, merged it with jazz in the 1960s to create a new sound with remarkable popular success. As such he is sometimes known as the "father of bossa nova".

He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within Brazil and internationally.

In 1965 his album Getz/Gilberto was the first jazz album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also won for Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The album's single "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"), one of the most recorded songs of all time, won the Record of the Year. Jobim has left many songs that are now included in jazz and pop standard repertoires. The song "Garota de Ipanema" has been recorded over 240 times by other artists. His 1967 album with Frank Sinatra, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, was nominated for Album of the Year in 1968.

Antônio Carlos Jobim was born in the middle-class district of Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Jorge de Oliveira Jobim (São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, April 23, 1889 – July 19, 1935), was a writer, diplomat, professor and journalist. He came from a prominent family, being the great nephew of José Martins da Cruz Jobim, senator, privy councillor and physician of Emperor Dom Pedro II. While studying medicine in Europe, José Martins added Jobim to his last name, paying homage to the village where his family came from in Portugal, the parish of Santa Cruz de Jovim, Porto. His mother, Nilza Brasileiro de Almeida (c. 1910 – November 17, 1989), was of Indigenous Brazilian descent from Northeastern Brazil.

When Antônio was still an infant, his parents separated and his mother moved with her children (Antônio Carlos and his sister Helena Isaura, born February 23, 1931) to Ipanema, the beachside neighborhood the composer would later celebrate in his songs. In 1935, when the elder Jobim died, Nilza married Celso da Frota Pessoa (died February 2, 1979), who would encourage his stepson's career. He was the one who gave Jobim his first piano. As a young man of limited means, Jobim earned his living by playing in nightclubs and bars and later as an arranger for a recording label, before starting to achieve success as a composer.

Jobim's musical roots were planted firmly in the work of Pixinguinha, the legendary musician and composer who began modern Brazilian music in the 1930s. Among his teachers were Lúcia Branco and, from 1941 on, Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, a German composer who lived in Brazil and introduced atonal and twelve-tone composition in the country. Jobim was also influenced by the French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and by the Brazilian composers Heitor Villa-Lobos and Ary Barroso. The bossa nova guitar style in Jobim's music has become firmly entrenched in jazz culture. Among many themes, his lyrics talked about love, self-discovery, betrayal, joy and especially about the birds and natural wonders of Brazil, like the "Mata Atlântica" forest, characters of Brazilian folklore and his home city of Rio de Janeiro.

In early 1994, after finishing his album Antonio Brasileiro, Jobim complained to his doctor, Roberto Hugo Costa Lima, of urinary problems. He underwent an operation at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on December 2, 1994. On December 8, while recovering from surgery, he had a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism, and two hours later another cardiac arrest, from which he died. He was survived by his children and grandchildren. His last album, Antonio Brasileiro, was released posthumously three days after his death.

His body lay in state until given a proper burial on December 20, 1994. He is buried in the Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.

Fotografia
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics

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Eu, você, nós dois
Aqui neste terraço a beira-mar
O Sol já vai caindo e o seu olhar
Parece acompanhar a cor do mar

Você tem de ir embora
A tarde cai
Em cores se desfaz

Escureceu

O Sol caiu no mar
E aquela luz
Lá em baixo se acendeu
Você e eu

Eu, você, nós dois
Sozinhos neste bar a meia-luz
E uma grande Lua saiu do mar
Parece que este bar já vai fechar

E há sempre uma canção
Para contar
Aquela velha história
De um desejo

Que todas as canções
Tem pra contar
E veio aquele beijo
Aquele beijo

E há sempre uma canção
Para contar
Aquela velha história
De um desejo

Que todas as canções
Tem pra contar

E veio aquele beijo
Aquele beijo

Overall Meaning

The song "Fotografia" by Antônio Carlos Jobim is a romantic ballad about two people enjoying a beautiful evening on a terrace overlooking the ocean. As the sun sets and the colors of the sky reflect onto the sea, the singer feels a closeness to their companion, who is leaving soon. The imagery of the sunset and the changing colors of the sky evoke a sense of melancholy and nostalgia, while the notion of two people being alone together in a public space suggests a quiet intimacy.

In the second verse, the scene shifts to a bar where the two are still together, but now in a more dimly lit and intimate setting. The appearance of a full moon rising from the ocean and the suggestion that the bar is closing creates a sense of urgency and transience. The idea of a song always being able to tell the story of desire and the reference to a kiss reinforces the theme of romance and fleeting moments of connection.

Overall, "Fotografia" uses vivid imagery and a subtle, understated melody to evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia for moments of closeness and connection with another person.

Line by Line Meaning

Eu, você, nós dois
The singer and the person he is addressing, spending time together on a terrace by the sea.

Aqui neste terraço a beira-mar
They are sitting on a terrace that overlooks the sea.

O Sol já vai caindo e o seu olhar
As the sun sets, the person's gaze seems to follow the color of the sea.

Parece acompanhar a cor do mar
It appears as though the person's gaze is matching the color of the sea.

Você tem de ir embora
The person must leave.

A tarde cai
The late afternoon turns into evening.

Em cores se desfaz
The colors of the sunset fade away.

Escureceu
It has become dark outside.

O Sol caiu no mar
The sun has set and disappeared into the sea.

E aquela luz
And that light,

Lá em baixo se acendeu
Down below, it has been turned on.