Antonio Carlos Jobim - Stone Flower

Around the year 1970, almost everything appeared to have been said about the style of music over the past two decades, which was a mix of samba and cool jazz. Adventurous musicians such as Luis Bonfa, Baden Powell, Charly Byrd, João and Astrud Gilberto, and the saxophonist Stan Getz lent fire and sentiment to the "new trend."

First and foremost among them was Carlos Antonio Jobim, whose catchy tunes such as the ticking, shuffling song "Desafinado" and the genial "One Note Samba" were heard all over the globe.

That the man from Ipanema still had a lot to say is proved by this album, which presents Jobim's creativity at the height of his maturity. Right from the very first number, where Urbie Green on the trombone 'sings' "Tereza My Love" so purely in the top register, it is clear that the late bossa with its typical rhythm is structurally far more refined than the early hot dance numbers. The melodies are woven through, as it were, with shining gold and silver threads of rhythm, and clusters of sound are light and airy. However, here and there, the musicians let their hair down, such as in the Latin classic "Brazil."

With that magician of sound Deodato as arranger and conductor, and Rudy van Gelder as recording engineer, this LP is certainly a Bossa masterpiece. There's no more to be said!

Recording: June 1970 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, U.S.A
Production: Creed Taylor

 

Brazil

Stone Flower

God And The Devil In The Land Of The Sun

Sabia

Choro

Andorinha

Amparo

Children’s Games

Tereza My Love

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 1 person(s) rated this product.

Great album; horrible mastering. posted on 09/17/2016 5 Stars Reviewer: Rudy (at Record Collector Guide) I only discovered this album just over a dozen years ago, having already known his other two CTi albums "Wave" and "Tide" (back from CTi's years under A&M's wing). While I found "Tide" to be a throwaway (short, and repeating some of "Wave's" thematic ideas), "Stone Flower" turned out to surpass even "Wave." It is darker, a bit moodier, a bit quieter and more complex...and a rewarding listen. (Astute listeners will find the title track was copped by Santana for his Caravanserai album.) Musically the album is a keeper. But sonically, this Speaker's Corner mastering is horrible. I do not know what they used for a source tape or in the mastering chain, but the entire album is plagued with some kind of compression. (Not brick-walled compression, though.) It suffers from a lot of "pumping and pulsing" in the volume level. Which is a shame since the record itself is pressed flat and quiet. Avoid this and get the ORG pressing for a few dollars more.

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