Birdsong Returns to the Bossa Nova Master
Jobim's late, quiet turn back toward nature, guitar, and the Brazilian interior.
Passarim arrived in 1987, late in Antonio Carlos Jobim's career, and it reads as a deliberate step back. After years of orchestral arrangements and international polish, Jobim returned to a more intimate, acoustic sound, built around his own voice, guitar, and small ensembles. The title, a Tupi-derived word for a bird-like flight, points to that turn toward the natural world and the Brazilian interior.
The record is spare and unhurried. Paulinho Braga's percussion stays light, and Jaques Morelenbaum's cello adds warm, melancholy lines that sit beside Jobim's guitar rather than over it. The songs drift more than they swing, and the arrangements leave room for silence, which is part of their appeal. Listeners expecting the bright bossa of the early sixties may find it subdued, but the playing is precise and the melodies are as strong as ever.
Critics responded well. AllMusic reviewer Stacia Proefrock and the Los Angeles Times both gave it top marks, and the album is generally regarded as one of Jobim's most personal late works. It is not the best entry point into his catalog; start with his earlier Verve recordings and come to Passarim once you know the songs it is quietly revisiting.
Who's playing
Paulinho Bragapercussion
Jaques Morelenbaumcello
Where next?
More by Antonio Carlos Jobim
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