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.
Soneto De Separação
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Silencioso e branco como a bruma
E das bocas unidas fez-se a espuma
E das mãos espalmadas fez-se o espanto
De repente da calma fez-se o vento
Que dos olhos desfez a última chama
E da paixão fez-se o pressentimento
De repente não mais que de repente
Fez-se de triste o que se fez amante
E de sozinho o que se fez contente
Fez-se do amigo próximo, distante
Fez-se da vida uma aventura errante
De repente, não mais que de repente
The lyrics of "Soneto de Separacão" by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina capture the sudden and unexpected nature of separation and its profound impact on emotions and relationships. The opening lines describe a transition from laughter to tears, where the tears are silent and as white as fog. The coming together of two mouths turns into froth, and the openness of hands becomes astonishment. This suggests a swift and dramatic shift from joy to sadness, from unity to separation.
The next stanza continues to underscore the abruptness of the change. The calmness is transformed into a strong wind that extinguishes the last flame in the eyes. Passion is replaced by a premonition, and a still moment becomes a drama. The lyrics emphasize the speed and intensity with which emotions can transform, leaving the listener with a sense of shock and uncertainty.
The final stanza reflects on the consequences of such a sudden separation. What was once a lover becomes sad, and what was once contentment becomes loneliness. Even a close friend becomes distant, and life becomes an unpredictable adventure. The repetition of "De repente, não mais que de repente" (Suddenly, no more than suddenly) emphasizes that these changes transpire without warning and reshape one's entire existence.
Line by Line Meaning
De repente do riso fez-se o pranto
Suddenly, laughter turned into tears
Silencioso e branco como a bruma
Quiet and white like the mist
E das bocas unidas fez-se a espuma
And from joined mouths, foam was formed
E das mãos espalmadas fez-se o espanto
And from open palms, astonishment was born
De repente da calma fez-se o vento
Suddenly, calm turned into wind
Que dos olhos desfez a última chama
Which extinguished the last flame from our eyes
E da paixão fez-se o pressentimento
And from passion, a premonition was formed
E do momento imóvel fez-se o drama
And from a still moment, a drama unfolded
De repente não mais que de repente
Suddenly, just like that
Fez-se de triste o que se fez amante
Sadness became what was once love
E de sozinho o que se fez contente
And loneliness replaced happiness
Fez-se do amigo próximo, distante
Close friends became distant
Fez-se da vida uma aventura errante
Life turned into a wandering adventure
De repente, não mais que de repente
Suddenly, just like that
Lyrics © CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Antonio Carlos Brasileiro De A Jobim, Marcus Vinicius Da Cruz De M. Moraes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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.