[DOC] Antonio Carlos Jobim: An Illuminated Man by Helena Jobim in Arts-Photography

Review

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. Jobims Garden of GraceBy DARIO BORIMAntonio Carlos (Tom) Jobim died 17 years ago in a New York City hospital. It is high time we learned more about a priceless legacy to the music and music-lovers of the world. Poet and novelist Helena Jobims book makes his personal. intellectual. and professional history come alive in a compelling story. It is. likewise. an illuminating document for researchers in the fields of music. literature. art. philosophy. and popular culture.As if it were not for the vast. intimate. and revealing set of photographs. the engaging elegance and unique structure of the prose. or even the enlightening description of creative processes and partnerships of a true twentieth-centurys genius. one single element adds much to Helena Jobims endearing biography of her brother: a portrait of Tom Jobims emotional world. We learn that some of his greatest anguish (but not resentment). for example. resulted from his own image in the Brazilian press: too often distorted and misunderstood. The harshest attacks on him arguably came from prejudiced critics who. rather unfairly and unwisely. regarded his music as imitation of foreign sounds. Helena Jobims moving and enchanting book explores the human dimension of a life dedicated to music that never surrendered to national borders. Quoting Pablo Picasso (and he loved quoting artists and poets) the maestro once explained that out of that anguish. his own "cube of darkness." he was "born again" on a daily basis (163).Jobims exceptional talent as songwriter follows a tradition in Brazilian music since Chiquinha Gonzaga 150 years ago: sometimes to bridge over and sometimes to do away with the illusive divide between erudite and popular culture. including music and poetry. Toward that goal he was certainly lucky and clever enough to chose and to be chosen to work with giants of either end. classical or popular. whose art has also spanned all over that open field of borderless creation.The author of "Waters of March" actually read. questioned. and recreated the world he lived in not only through mesmerizing melody. but also through down-to-earth poetry. Helena Jobim does justice to her brothers poetic voice in many dazzling instances. It all starts on a high note of low spirits by a singular composer whose ecological concerns made him a bit gloomier every day. It is indeed too sad that he had to leave us prematurely. at the peak of his career. but before writing another 500 tunes of inexplicable grace. Tom could have added to one of those unwritten tunes his own verses which stand as epigraph in An Illuminated Man: "Every time a tree is cut down here on Earth. I believe it will grow again somewhere else. in another world. So. when I die. it is to this place that I want to go. where forests live in peace."10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim - a master...a geniusBy a reader in the U.S."Tom". or "Tomas" as he was affectionately known to his intimates. embodied a wealth of contra...indicators (not dictions. as he was extremely well spoken and erudite) even up until his death when a doctor stated. "He appeared to be a strong man but he was actually fragile." He was a genius in almost every sense of the word - quick to dismiss his own importance. yet craving understanding from both public and critics alike - sometimes moody. and at other times gregarious to an extreme (as with New York taxi drivers) - he was always concerned; concerned as only an empathetic man can be about the things that moved him deeply. One of those things was music. and the arrangement of music specifically - the harmonies...in fact I found it extremely telling that Jobim would use the harmonies to get to the melody. much as I also found it telling that Jobim was naturally left handed. but (like myself) had been forced to write right handed. No matter. he simply adapted. His other passion was the environment. and his writing. musical and otherwise. betrayed an almost cynical sense of where Humanity was heading with the destruction of the Planet. His quote about "another world" where each tree that fell in this one was headed (like himself) for another where it would stand is a testament to his sense of the futile destiny of this one. An interesting read from start to finish. I was somewhat struck by synchronicities throughout with my own path - the interest in Casteneda. the bi-dexterity. and finally. the last piece of music on his piano when he died "There Will Never Be Another You". This was the piece I chose to do in a samba-style. with Jimmy Ponder. as a duet on Jimmys CD "Somebodys Child" from 2007. I thought I had chosen it at "random". It is a bit disconcerting to be the first reviewer of this other than the translator. yet here I am. Robert Lamm deserves a lot of credit also (good work. Mr. Chops!) Thoroughly enjoyable and educational.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Antonio Carlos Jobims biographyBy LorAntonio Carlos Jobim is my all time favorite composer and I have followed his carreer ever since I heard Desafinado when I was 13 years old. I am now 66. I was very happy to see that his sisters book had been translated into English. because I was very eager to read it. The book arrived before due date and was "new" although I bought it "used" - in very excellentcondition. I have started reading it and I enjoy every page. Very well written. easy to read. very happy with my book.