Customer Reviews

Wave

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first bought WAVE on vinyl, shortly it was released, already being a fan of Jobim. I played the grooves off of it. Now, I have it in CD. It's doubtful anyone in the world has played and listened to this album more than I have over the years. The appeal is threefold: First, Jobim's music is relentlessly upbeat and mood elevating. There is a happiness and joy which never fails to make your outlook on life better. Second, the music is relaxing. It cuts through tension and removes the stress and aggravation of everyday living. Third, it's rhythmic. Brazilian beats are recognized as the most expressive and soul-moving in the world. If these rhythms don't get your body subtly moving, you'll need life supports! If you don't know Jobim or haven't listened to Brazilian Bossa Nova, start here! Jobim is the undisputed, heavyweight champion of the genre and THIS album is at the absolute top of his work. Do NOT miss it!

Years ago, A&M records re-issued some of the old CTI recordings under their Audio Masters Plus series. When I heard that A&M had re-issued the Jobim recordings "Tide" and "Wave", I ran down to my nearest record store and bought a copy of each. And when the CD version of "Wave" was released a few years later, I bought a copy of that too.

Call me obsessive-compulsive if you will but I just can't get enough of great music. And without a doubt, I must say Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Tide" and "Wave" albums are true masterpieces.

In listening to the vinyl and CD versions of "Wave", there is little, if any, discernable difference in audio quality. The CD version is every bit as good as the vinyl version; either way, listening to this album is a real treat.

Side one is my favorite as all the tunes are smooth and soothing to the soul. The title track, "The Red Blouse" and "Look to the Sky" are among my favorites. Then again, side two has some real gems like "Mojave" and "Lamento".

Anyone who loves jazz, easy listening, Bossa Nova or just good music, will enjoy this album. Get it while you can and while you're at it, pick up a copy of "Tide" too. You won't regret it!

The best recommendation for this CD can be told in the fact that, while on a long car trip, I packed a nice selection of CDs to listen to, but this was the one that played during the entire journey! Creed Taylor, who produced this disc, was a producer of jazz for Verve in the 60s, and his name is synonymous with excellence in jazz. In the late 60s, early 70s, CTI, his label, came to be, and he also gave A&M Records his name in releasing some exquisite jazz discs. This disc is gorgeous, and certainly bears the stamp of never getting boring. And, Creed Taylor issued about 10 discs for A&M that, like this one, have exotic, spectacular covers (photographs), which once were available for framing. But I can only say, with some authority, that if you are looking for a disc for dinner music, to set a romantic evening, or for a cool getway journey by car, you can't go wrong with "Wave". It has a sequel, "Tide", equally beautiful, but "Wave" is better.
Madge Bruner Hazen

This is Jobim's finest album, although Stone Flower and Tide are certainly worth checking out. The songwriting on this album is sublime, the arrangements are brilliant and the execution is flawless. The melodies are minimal, yet strikingly elegant: they are small but very effective, impressionistic tone poems, each exquisite in its own right.

There doesn't seem to be a single misplaced or extraneous note on this entire album--it is as close to perfection as anything I've heard. Wave is really a beautifully crafted album in every detail. I can't praise this album enough. Listen to this.

This CD is a classic, no doubt about it. It's a release that I would have to recommend to anyone that's a fan of Bossa Nova and Antonio Carlos Jobim's music. To many, Wave is like the essence of Bossa Nova and a cornerstone in the genre. Simply put, you haven't heard all there is to hear of Bossa Nova if you haven't heard this.

I love this CD - I can put it in no matter the time of day and unwind and relax. It has soothing orchestration, gentle touches of life and the musicianship is stellar, of course, and it's very romantic. It's almost like there's a song for each season of the year and once the music plays, you're taken to another place. Of all the Antonio Carlos Jobim releases, this is certainly an essential - along with Elis and Tom. So many artists have redone works here and it's safe to say that very very few of them capture the magic that the versions here do - with the notable exception of Elis Regina's "Triste" IMO.

Definitely PICK THIS UP! It's worth every penny. But be warned if you're a bit new to Bossa Nova, this isn't so much about Astrud Gilberto, Stan Getz or Joao Gilberto so the versions here are very different from theirs. And if you do pick this up and like it, certainly check out Getz/Gilberto, Elis & Tom, Astrud Gilberto and of course Joao Gilberto and work by Joyce. Oh yeah, and check out "Tide", by Antonio Carlos Jobim too. Enjoy!

Although bossa nova was already known to the world with albums like Jazz Samba and Getz/Gilberto, this album (recorded in 1967 at Rudy Van Gelder's studio) helped establish Antonio Carlos Jobim himself as a known name. While Jazz Samba and Getz/Gilberto approach bossa nova with a smaller group, Wave has more of an emphasis on orchestration of stringed instruments, which is arranged beautifully by Claus Ogerman. However, instruments such as piano, bass, drums, and other percussion are still present.

Wave features instrumental versions of 10 Jobim originals, and each one is saturated with Brazilian bossa nova rhythms. Most of the songs on here are not jazz standards like "Girl From Ipanema" is. In fact, the only songs I would say are jazz standards are "Triste," "Wave" and maybe "Look to the Sky." So, this stands as a great introduction to the music of Jobim. It ao serves quite well as an introduction to bossa nova, as this was the first bossa nova album I ever listened to. I have been hooked on the genre ever since.

I would recommend this album to anyone wanting to investigate bossa nova because you'll get to hear some very famous songs with a very authentic bossa nova sound. But, you also get to hear very obscure Jobim songs such as "Captain Bacardi," "Mojave," "Dialogo," and "Antigua." I believe the obscure songs are more of a standout than the standards because they really translate the instrumental bossa nova sound wonderfully. I think if you want to know the genre better, then this is one of the first albums you should get.

As a consumer, I appreciate Jobim's genius as a creator of wonderful music and great albums. In fact, this is the most romantic instrumental album I know of, great for setting a mood, heck, some of it just plain sounds like languid sex ("Dialogo"). As a musician, I am simply in awe of Jobim's unique blend of earthiness and sophistication--the melodies, the connection to nature, the "primitive" rhythms--combined with chords and chord progressions of the highest complexity. The chords to his songs are absolutely jazz to the extreme, and yet it is all grounded by the Brazilian natural world. Jobim was a musical genius, and the main thing he brings to the world of music was....beauty. I had the pleasure of hearing a band play that consisted of Jobim's son and grandson and his cello player from when he played gigs, along with an exquisite female vocalist. They did his songs justice. The music world is a better place because of Jobim.

From CLAUS OGERMAN by Gene Lees: "But he became best known and respected for a series of albums with Jobim. These amounted to far more than arrangements of the Jobim songs. This was a remarkable collaboration whose precedent, really, is that between Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and it's hard to know where Jobim ends and Claus begins ... Tommy [LiPuma] is awed by the way Claus writes unison string lines that are somehow perfect. It sounds like a simple thing--after all, the violins are playing the same lines. But there is always something eerily beautiful about those lines."

"Eerily beautiful" is an exact description of the crescendoing strings at the end of LOOK TO THE SKY. And at the very end you hear a brief piano passage played by Jobim himself.

I got turned on to "Wave" after hearing one of Jobim's earlier albums and this one is a masterpiece. I find myself constantly playing it. My favorite tracks are "The Red Blouse", "Wave" and "Captain Bacardi". Anyone who loves the Bossa Nova/Brazilian Jazz sound, this album is a must have. Antonio Carlos Jobim was a genius

As for the Amazon editor reviewer, I cannot imagine what kind of dead soul would say that these arrangements approach stale cheese. I pity people who cannot find their feelings under the weight of their infotainmentized pseudo-intellect. It's a gorgous piece of work, Ogerman's orchestrations and all, and if it approaches kitsch, well, that would only be true for minds who grew up having second-hand lives and experiences from growing up on TV and 'simulated living' - that pitiful Tarantino crowd of arrmchair weasel critics. It's true that Jobim had some less than stellar albums, but this was not one of them. Stick that up your Sunporch Cha-Cha-Cha.