Search - Antonio Carlos Jobim :: Urubu

Jobim's underestimated masterpiece

Alex B. | Sao Paulo, Brazil | 02/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, this is Jobim's masterpiece and a largely underestimated album. It is much more sophisticated than his albums usually identified with bossa nova, recorded in the early 60's. It reveals a composer that goes well beyond catchy melodies such as The Girl from Ipanema. I particularly love the instrumental tracks (Saudade do Brasil stands out), but I also find Lígia and Correnteza great songs. Special attention must be paid to Claus Ogerman's arrangements. In short, I think this album is mandatory for those interested in Brazilian music in general and Jobim's legacy in particular."

Excellent later Jobim release...more Impressionism than Boss

Matthew Sutton | washington dc | 08/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Urubu is very, very good. On this Jobim, already well established as a song writer, moved into composition for orchestral arrangements. That said, its not coincidentally a tribute to compatriot Heitor Villa-Lobos, an early twentieth century composer influenced by vernacular musical traditions as well as a concept album embracing the legends and folklore of his native Brazil.



All the tasteful restraint, superb arrangements, and subtle sense of melodicism associated with Jobim are showcased wonderfully here. If anything this is an excellent example of his maturation as an artist...the refinement he brought to the samba of Dorival Caymmi when looked at through a jazz-trained lens is here distilled further into the purely symphonic. Lots of lush strings and indigenous Brazilian instrumentation, an aversion to brass, and a delicate, Impressionistic, sensibility. This isn't, and never was intended to be, a jazz album. If you're looking for something that sounds like Stan Getz, this isn't it. If anything it might best be listened to as a soundtrack to a nonexistent movie.



If you're a fan of Wave, Stone Flower, and enjoy his distinctive voice and phrasing (yeah, he sings a great deal here)--and also like Debussy or Ravel--chances are you'll really like this."

Too marvelous for words

cmartins | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 06/13/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And yet, I'm not short of them... To begin with, is it "jazz"? Well, are Ellington and Gershwin "jazz"? Geez. Never mind; it's Jobim, and so it's *music* - beautiful music, and as such part of The Great Whole [expletive] Multiverse Songbook. Those who mistakenly identify Jobim with the muzak schmaltz "bossa nova" has been corrupted into in the US have no idea how gifted and versatile a songwriter and musician Jobim was, nor do they even begin to have a clue where his musical roots lie. Think Debussy and Ravel. Consider that among his masters and mentors were, among others, Villa Lobos and Radames Gnatalli. And that he began eking out a (rather meager) living, in the early Fities, as an *arranger*. There was always in Jobim's work a rich sense of composition, in the broadest sense, which shines through in this album, together with Matita Pere arguably the most accomplished Jobim / Claus Ogerman collaborations (and we're forever indebted to Creed Taylor for first bringing the two together). In the original LP (as in Matita Pere), side one comprised "regular" songs, while on side two Jobim gave free vent to his "symphonic" persona - and both enchanted and enthralled the listener to a point where flipping the record was a Hobson's choice of sorts. With the CD, you are spared the choice, and are allowed to experience how the last chords in Angela segue seamlessly into the opening bars of Saudade do Brazil (the English spelling of Brasil a deliberate irony). Still, try putting this CD on shuffle mode; no matter in what order the tracks play, it's one continuous flow of, again, music beautiful. And, give him his due: only Tom could write elogiacally about the Cathartidae... (Note: This review was originally posted on December 2003 wrt the former reissue.)"