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.
Janelas Abertas
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eu poderia fugir, meu amor
Eu poderia partir
Sem dizer pra onde vou
Nem se devo voltar
Sim
Eu poderia morrer de dor
E me serenizar
Ah
Eu poderia ficar sempre assim
Como uma casa sombria
Uma casa vazia
Sem luz nem calor
Mas
Quero as janelas abrir
Para que o sol possa vir iluminar nosso amor
The lyrics to Antonio Carlos Jobim's Janelas Abertas (Open Windows) invite us to explore themes of love and vulnerability. The song begins with the singer considering the possibility of running away from their emotions, of leaving everything behind without any clear destination. The lyrics have a melancholic tone, hinting at the singer's experience of pain and loss.
The second stanza takes a turn towards death, suggesting that the singer may have considered this as an escape from their suffering. The image of dying and finding serenity in death is a powerful one, and it speaks to the depths of the singer's pain.
Despite these darker themes, the song ends on a hopeful note. The singer declares their desire to open the windows, to let the light in and illuminate their love. This closing stanza is a gesture towards vulnerability, a willingness to be seen and to engage with the world in a more open and honest way. The song suggests that while pain and suffering are an inevitable part of life, there is also the possibility for healing and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Sim
Yes
Eu poderia fugir, meu amor
I could run away, my love
Eu poderia partir
I could leave
Sem dizer pra onde vou
Without saying where I'm going
Nem se devo voltar
Or if I should come back
Sim
Yes
Eu poderia morrer de dor
I could die of pain
Eu poderia morrer
I could die
E me serenizar
And serenade myself
Ah
Oh
Eu poderia ficar sempre assim
I could always stay like this
Como uma casa sombria
Like a gloomy house
Uma casa vazia
An empty house
Sem luz nem calor
Without light or warmth
Mas
But
Quero as janelas abrir
I want to open the windows
Para que o sol possa vir iluminar nosso amor
So that the sun can come and illuminate our love
Writer(s): DE MORAES, JOBIM
Contributed by Amelia W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Richard Norris
on Samba Do Soho
It's "Diadem" which is a fancy headband. Also, I believe this song was written by Jobim's son, Paolo.