Jobim made his last Brazilian concert appearance -- and the penultimate one of his life -- at this warm, star-studded affair in which American jazz musicians jetted down to the Free Jazz Festival in São Paulo to pay effusive homage. The miracle is how easily the jazzers were able to capture the yearning essence of Jobim's idiom without really compromising their own distinct styles. Thus, Joe Henderson welds his trademark unpredictable flurries into the cool tenor sax bossa nova tradition, Shirley Horn does "Once I Loved" in her own inimitable manner that matches the mood of the song perfectly, Jon Hendricks' scatting fits the samba like a glove. The pianists go somewhat outside the idiom -- Herbie Hancock's modern complexity, Gonzalo Rubalcaba's technical fireworks laced with Afro-Cuban salsa -- but they stay within their orbits around the Jobim sun. The composer himself only appears on the last four tracks -- he sounds weary and ill -- yet he radiates his gentle warmth and spirit throughout the evening. by Richard S. Ginell
Tracklist:
1 Prelude 8:27
Piano – Herbie Hancock
2 Ela E Carioca 6:21
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Herbie Hancock
3 The Boy From Ipanema 2:40
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Shirley Horn
Vocals – Shirley Horn
4 Once I Loved 5:28
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Shirley Horn
Vocals – Shirley Horn
5 O Grande Amor 9:26
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Saxophone – Joe Henderson
6 No More Blues 5:21
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Vocals – Jon Hendricks
7 Agua De Beber 6:02
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Gonzalo Rubalcaba
8 A Felicidade 4:55
Piano – Herbie Hancock
Vocals – Gal Costa
9 Se Todos Fossem Iguais A Voce 5:04
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Vocals – Gal Costa
10 Luiza 3:27
Piano, vocals – Antonio Carlos Jobim
11 Wave 4:23
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Antonio Carlos Jobim, Herbie Hancock
12 Cominhos Cruzados 4:28
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Antonio Carlos Jobim
Vocals – Gal Costa
13 Finale: The Girl From Ipanema 7:54
Bass – Ron Carter
Drums – Harvey Mason
Guitar – Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim
Keyboards – Herbie Hancock
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Vocals – Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, Jon Hendricks
