Happy birthday, Tom Jobim!

He would have been 97 today

Today Tom Jobim, one of the greatest composers ever, would have turned 97 years old. Some years ago, on that same date, we celebrated his birthday in Seattle with a concert honoring his music at The Triple Door. In addition to my Quinteto (Ben Thomas on vibraphone and bandoneon, Chuck Deardorf on bass, Mark Ivester on drums and Jeff Busch on percussion) we had two very special guests: Romero Lubambo on guitar and Maúcha Adnet on vocals. After only one rehearsal we played a wide variety of music by Jobim with my arrangements to a full house. We were not aware that the concert was being recorded, and eventually that recording became an album released on Adventure Music. I am sharing here one of the tracks, my arrangement of the beautiful waltz Chovendo na Roseira, which features a berimbau solo by Jeff Busch:

If you like this music, you can get the full album on my website here.

Andy Connell wrote the liner notes, and here’s an excerpt:

The richness and complexity of Jobim’s creativity is on full display in this live set from Jovino Santos Neto and his quintet, with special guests Romero Lubambo of Trio da Paz and vocalist Maucha Adnet (who spent 10 years as a member of Jobim’s Banda Nova). Jobim’s beautiful harmonies often present a challenging vehicle for improvisation, but you would never know it from the freedom these musicians demonstrate here.

Happy birthday, Tom!

Jovino