Two Musical Giants Left Us On December 8: Lennon & Jobim

December 8 marks the death anniversaries of two of the late 20th century's most influential musical figures: John Lennon, who died in 1980, and Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim, who passed away in 1994. In both cases, their songs were the soundtracks for generations who lived during days when it seemed as though anything were possible and a great leap forward was about to occur. The songs of the Beatles and Jobim remain remarkably popular decades after the respective heydays of the Fab Four and bossa nova, and their musical legacies will endure into the distant future.

Lennon and McCartney reinvented rock and pop, with the help of George Martin and George Harrison, and became mythic figures, objects of intense scrutiny by the press and closely identified with the cultural revolution sweeping North America and the U.K. in the 1960s. Meanwhile, in the other hemisphere, Jobim created some of the most sophisticated pop music the world has ever heard, stunning for its harmonic richness and deceptive simplicity. Along with singer-guitarist João Gilberto, Tom transmuted the venerable samba into light and breezy bossa nova, which was closely identified with a booming, optimistic, progressive Brazil of the early '60s. Alas, the country was thrown off track in 1964 when a military coup toppled Brazil's democratically elected government.

Jobim was primarily a songwriter, although he also released many of his own albums, appearing as a singer and pianist. Tom blew Brazil's mind in 1958 with his song "Chega de Saudade" (with lyrics by poet Vinícius de Moraes), released as a single by João Gilberto. It had Gilberto's catchy new bossa beat on guitar, an innovative distillation of samba's rhythmic complexity, and the singer's smooth, subdued vocals. Jobim contributed the song's beautiful melody and unconventional harmonies, a result of Tom's genius and study of composers like Villa-Lobos, Debussy and Ravel. Critics attacked the song, calling it off-key, but others were entranced. Almost every young Brazilian musician in that era remembers exactly where they were when they first heard "Chega de Saudade." It is considered the first bossa-nova single and profoundly altered the course of Brazilian music.

Four months later, Gilberto released Jobim's "Desafinado," an ironic response to the critics that upped the ante. The song's unusual melody included a "tritone" interval (an augmented fourth), which many listeners found hard to accept in a pop song. Jobim's harmonies are integrated into our musical consciousness now, but at the time they were highly unusual and even shocking. The next year, 1959, Jobim became world famous with the release of the French-Brazilian film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), which had many of his songs on the soundtrack and won the Cannes Film Festival grand prize and an Academy Award for best foreign film.

Three years later, in 1962, the Beatles became well-known in the U.K. and bossa nova took off in North America. Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd released Jazz Samba, which was full of Jobim tunes, including "Desafinado." That performance made the Billboard Top 20 chart for pop singles and won a Grammy for Getz. The album hit number one on the Billboard pop chart, remarkable for an instrumental jazz record. It stayed there a total of 70 weeks. In 1964, as the bossa craze was waning in the United States, Getz teamed with João Gilberto and his wife Astrud for Getz/Gilberto. That album yielded the now iconic Jobim song "The Girl From Ipanema," won three Grammys, and stalled at no. 2 on the charts (it was a year when the Beatles were storming the American charts). Those albums and the recordings of Jobim songs by other jazz and pop musicians triggered a global exposure of Brazilian music and musicians.

Of course, Jobim's work transcended the "bossa nova" label, just as the Beatles transcended "pop music." Tom could write a samba or bossa song, explore other Brazilian styles, or compose an orchestral piece. His great 1976 album Urubu was a meeting of all of the above. Jobim wrote many songs that have become standards in international jazz and popular music repertoires. A few include "Água de Beber," "Corcovado," "Só Danço Samba," "Insensatez," "Dindi," "Wave," "Samba de Uma Nota Só, "Meditação," "Ela É Carioca," and "Tristeza." His work has been so frequently recorded that it is hard to find a jazz great of the last four decades who didn't record a Jobim tune.

Jobim's greatest composition was arguably "Águas de Março" (Waters of March), first recorded in 1972, which jazz critic Leonard Feather called one of the ten most beautiful songs of the century. It is a sublime samba with erudite harmonic refinements and wonderfully crafted lyrics about the mysteries of life and death. Jobim biographer Sergio Cabral writes that producer-arranger Claus Ogerman was so impressed by the composition that he told Tom, "Your walking in the streets of New York with this music under your arm makes me think of what it must have been like in 1910 when Stravinsky was walking in Geneva carrying The Rite of Spring."

Lennon and McCartney worked closely together as songwriters, if as more of a team in the beginning and more as "sounding boards" towards the end. Jobim composed most of his music himself, except for some collaborations with musicians like Newton Mendonça. The lyrics for his songs, which are far better in Portuguese than in English, were usually written by Vinícius de Moraes and others.

For my book The Brazilian Sound, I interviewed the late Charlie Byrd, who commented, "I think Jobim is the most significant writer of popular music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is one hell of a songwriter, and he has written in all kinds of styles. His songs have beautiful lyrical lines and he has rhythmically and harmonically constructed them like a fine watchmaker."

One could say that Jobim and Lennon both created music of hope, although John had his edgy tunes as well and Tom could write music that was quite sad and slow. But on the whole their songs inspire and put us in a better mood. They seem to bring out the best in people, to hint at what could be. Many people said they were depressed but didn't commit suicide because of Beatles songs; many also said that about Jobim's music.

Long live the legacies of Tom and John. We'll miss them but their music will be lifting the world's spirits for a long, long time.

Comments

[3fingerbrown]

Two things from me:
I was surprised that a detailed discussion of Jobim's work didn't mention Sinatra. The Jobim/Sinatra recordings were a big part of the Brazilian master's crossover to mainstream America. I first got hip to Jobim listening to my father's vinyl copy of the first Sinatra/Jobim album, and it remains one of my all-time favorites. A sophisticated, delicate, nearly flawless record--perhaps the best non-rock pop album of the mid-60s.

I was amused by the sentence beginning, "Lennon and McCartney reinvented rock and pop, with the help of George Martin and George Harrison...", as though Ringo never existed. I'm a Beatles fan who's always considered George, not Ringo, to be the most expendable member of the group. He was a good but not great songwriter, a lousy singer, and not much of a public personality. Even as a lead guitarist, his primary function in the group, he was no great shakes. Geoff Emerick's book tells how George would struggle to get through a simple 8-bar solo. By the Beatles' later years, Paul and John were playing the solos themselves on many of their songs. Even on George's big moment, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," Eric Clapton was brought in to play a proper guitar solo.
Rest his soul, but I'm not sure George was more help than the beloved Ringo was to L&M as they "reinvented rock and pop."

[lanceomatic]

As long as we're talking about December 8, I am aware that this one was the third anniversary of the murder of guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott, formerly of Pantera, then of Damageplan. He was killed seconds after Damageplan started their set by some deranged case, who also killed three other people, until he was killed by a policeman. It was not only a horror for the crowd, but unimaginable for the drummer, his brother, Vinnie Paul. Dimebag was one of metal's premier musicians. Maybe metal isn't considrered by snooty snobs, but it still resonates with this 56-year-old.

[JScott]

And ya just know they played each other's music.

[auramac]

Jobim was truly great, but no, not on the same level as Lennon, in my mind. McCartney, Dylan, Brian Wilson are still alive and I'd rate them all a bit beyond Jobim. That doesn't take anything away from him, though- there've been so many greats, and how do you compare Armstrongs to Elvises and Hank Williams and the Chuck Berrys and Miles Davis.. When it comes to discussing and rating music, "arguably" is a word that justifiably comes up quite often...

[Snakeback]

Jobim and Lennon were both revolutionaries in music. Musicians still play their songs all the time, beginners to learn, and masters because the songs are so rich that you never outgrow them. And audiences are always touched when they hear the work of these composers, even decades after their passing.

The mark of great composers is that their songs continue flowering and inspiring even after they themselves have passed.

Rio has Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport.

Heathrow should be renamed John Lennon Airport.

We should honor or great composers like that. Politicians don't deserve to have airports named after them. Who came up with that lousy idea? Or even worse is naming a sports stadium after a corporation ---(PUKE)---.

Why don't we honor those who have contributed to our culture?

[JustImagine]

Thank you Chris for giving me the opportunity to say that yes we all know that time has gone by but the feeling of that time and place back in December 8, 1980 is just like it happened today.

If ever we needed the words of John in this crazy world we need them now.

Your article is the only one that I came across for John. I'm sure that I was just not looking in the right places because I would not like to think that he is being forgotton.

My thought's were with his Wife Yoko and his two son's.

Once again Thank You Chris..............

As Always a "Fan" named diane

[WHATEVER7]

Thank you for reminding me. Jobim and Bach...probably the two greatest composers ever!

[loril]

Thank you for exposing more readers to the delights of Jobim. I am a belated fan (although I remember the Girl from Ipanema quite well from early childhood). I have not met too many people who are aware of his wonderful talent. I was listening to some of his music only last week, but was not aware that it was the anniversary of his death.

I knew nothing about Jobim's life and death. How sadly coincidental that he and John Lennon died on the same day of the year. I certainly recall the day John was killed. I was already a junior high school student and, again, a johnny-come-lately fan. But, obviously, Lennon's stature has affected every generation that came after him.

Thank you for the tribute to both men.

[Thorn]

Am I the only one here who doesn't quite see Jobim and the bossa nova being at the same level as John Lennon?

[Nommo]

Did anyone notice the passing of Max Roach this year? Speaking of giants and all.

[bethinCary]

Miss him, still love him.
His music is very powerful.

[Desiderata]

Didn't Edie Gorme blame everything on the Bossa Nova?

[StephenSmoliar]

Chris, you probably ought to give a nod to Karlheinz Stockhausen, who passed away yesterday and had a profound influence on that "reinvention," which you attribute to Lennon and McCartney. The best of us know how to stand on the shoulders of giants. Lennon knew how to pick his giants well (as did Frank Zappa).

[chery]

Oh .... see, it's really difficult to impress on anyone just how delicious our music was in the 60's! It wasn't limited to rock alone, but rather such a wonderous buffett of every sound imaginable! It was the most magical of times for creative energy! Thank you for this reminder!