Permanent exhibition "Tom Jobim: Solo Albums"

O Antonio Carlos Jobim Institute, located in Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, opens the doors to the exhibition Tom Jobim: Solo Albums. The exhibition, dedicated to one of the greatest icons of Brazilian music, offers a detailed view of the 12 LPs that marked the maestro's solo career, recorded between 1963 and 1994, from the first album, The Composer of Desafinado Plays, to Antonio Brazilian, passing through milestones such as wave, Matita Pere, urubu and others.

The exhibition, which promises to be an immersive experience, invites visitors to explore Tom Jobim's artistic career through documents, photos, recordings, scores and personal objects belonging to the Institute's collection. The concept for the exhibition emerged in 2020, during the pandemic, from a series of virtual interviews between Paulo Jobim, the maestro's son who recently passed away, and Aluísio Didier, the exhibition's curator and friend of Tom's, who took over as director of the institute that same year. These conversations, held via Zoom, revealed previously unseen details about the composer's creative process and have now been transformed into documentaries that reveal the process behind each album, offering an intimate and personal perspective on Jobim's musical legacy. The videos of the conversations were edited by filmmaker Cayo Oliveira, also the exhibition's producer, and will be shown for the first time.

Didier's curation illuminates important moments in the composer's career, such as his meeting with Vinícius de Moraes, which resulted in timeless Bossa Nova classics, and his collaboration with João Gilberto on the LP Chega de saudade.

Tom Jobim: Solo Albums is a tribute to an artist who not only transcended borders, but who continues to influence generations of musicians and fans around the world. The exhibition not only celebrates the maestro’s solo work, but also invites the public to revisit and rediscover the depth and beauty of his music.

Unusual stories

In the exhibition, unusual stories about the maestro will entertain visitors. Among them, two quite iconic ones, remembered by Paulo Jobim and Didier in the documentaries.

Author of several songs named after women, Tom was approached by a researcher with a book project about the songs and their inspiring muses: Luiza, character played by Vera Fischer in the soap opera Brilhante; Gabriela, character played by Jorge Amado; Maria Luiza's samba, the youngest daughter, among others.

However, the researcher also asks about the “muse” Carla who inspired the song of the same name. Tom is surprised and asks: “Which Carla?” The researcher insists: “Well, the one from the 50s song, “Carla, my love”, the boy answers. It turns out that the song was called “Cala, my love”.

“The researcher had already met the woman who had been the source of inspiration,” Paulinho jokes, in one of the chats with Didier.

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Musicians are always asked by critics or fans for new things, new music, an update of their art, a dialogue with influences, new technologies. With Tom, always faithful to the “old” acoustic piano or guitar, it was no different. On the album Tide, we can hear him on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, a classic today, but at the time, a different sound, a step ahead of acoustic instruments. At the time, people asked themselves: “What happened, Tom giving in to a more pop sound?” Yes and no. If the result was great on the track “Takatanga”, the fact was due to a glass of whiskey spilled inside the acoustic piano in the studio, which made the instrument unusable for recording. “Jobim, with no other option, accepts to take a risk on the Fender Rhodes and seems to have liked it, because on the next LP, Stone flower, repeats the experience on several tracks”, says Didier.

Service
Exhibition | Tom Jobim: Solo Albums
From October 09th (permanent exhibition)
Daily (except Wednesday), from 9am to 17pm