Antonio Carlos Jobim

Antônio Carlos Jobim, also known as Tom Jobim, was the quiet revolutionary behind bossa nova. Born in Tijuca on 25 January 1927, the composer, pianist, guitarist, arranger and singer took the sway of samba, cooled it down with the hushed sophistication of cool jazz, and helped invent a whole new genre in the 1960s. The music sounds effortless, all soft guitar, gentle rhythm and melodies that drift in like a sea breeze, but underneath it the harmonies are rich and restless.

His most famous tune, "The Girl from Ipanema", has been recorded more than 240 times by other artists, and his own version turns up on The Composer of Desafinado, Plays, his 1963 album for Verve. The next year the Getz/Gilberto album, packed with his songs, became the first jazz record to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, and its recording of "The Girl from Ipanema" was named Record of the Year. He was nominated for Best New Artist in 1965, and he made a 1967 album with Frank Sinatra that was up for Album of the Year.

Many of his compositions have become jazz and pop standards. Jobim died on 8 December 1994, and in 2012 the Grammys gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.