Tom Jobim’s bar conversations and intimacy revealed by journalist and writer Ivan Lessa

“If you talk about personal success, do you want someone more charming than Tom? Good looks, do you understand? Wow, he had nothing to complain about. Look, it makes you want to say bad things about Tom.”

The statement above is from journalist and writer Ivan Lessa (1935-2012), given shortly after learning of Tom Jobim’s death, on December 8, 1994.

The death of the musician – one of the most important in the history of Brazilian culture – completed 30 years on Sunday (8).

BBC News Brasil rescued Ivan Lessa’s emotional testimony about Tom Jobim, with whom he had a friendship of more than four decades. Ivan Lessa spoke with his colleagues Helena Carone and José Antônio Arantes, from BBC Brasil, in the studios in London.

Excerpts from this testimony were used in a BBC special program about Tom’s death that year.

“Let’s assume that at this point in the whole of Brazil there isn’t a Brazilian radio station that hasn’t been playing Tom’s songs for at least 24 hours – quite rightly so. And television, if it’s showing tapes and interviews, I think it’s great “, says Ivan Lessa.

BOHEMIAN TIMES

He says that he met Tom Jobim in the late 1940s, when the musician was still an Architecture student and performed as a pianist in “inferninhos” – bohemian bars in Rio de Janeiro in the past, mainly in the neighborhoods of Ipanema and Copacabana. In 1949, he played with Thereza Hermanny, his first wife.

Ivan recalls some of the places he remembers seeing Tom play: Tudo Azul, Clube dos Tatuís and Gardênia.

Their friendship predates Tom Jobim’s fame, and Ivan remembers afternoons in the 1950s when they drank beer, played “porrinha” and listened to American jazz records.

Tom worked at the Continental record company, transcribing music scores, but was already beginning to take his first steps in music.

“Tom’s first recorded song is “Faz Uma Semana”, a song that no one else has covered”, recalls Ivan. “Every time I met Tom, I liked to remind him of that song, and he didn’t think it was very funny, I don’t know why.”

Ivan lists Tom’s various musical partners and projects in the pre-Bossa Nova era: the song “Teresa da Praia”, made for Dick Farney and Lúcio Alves to sing together, “Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro”, made with Billy Blanco, two songs with Dolores Duran and “Foi a Noite”, with Newton Mendonça and Luís Bonfá.

Tom and Ivan shared a love: American music. Ivan says that it was in his apartment that Tom discovered much of the American music of the time – as the journalist was an avid collector of records, most of them purchased at the old Murray store.

This love of American music, however, also caused Tom problems with some Brazilian music critics at the time.

“This is where what bothered Tom his whole life comes in, which is critical saying ‘ah, but Bossa Nova is a form of jazz’ – our dear Tinhoões of life [referência ao crítico musical José Ramos Tinhorão, que escrevia artigos duros contra a Bossa Nova].

“The purists, in short. And Tom is tired of saying: ‘but music is like a bird, it’s in the air, there’s nothing that isn’t influenced [por outra coisa]’.”

In another statement that BBC News Brasil recovered this month, given in 1986, Tom Jobim himself attacks the so-called “purists”.

“What happens with the jazz business, which caused a lot of confusion, is that Americans call everything that rocks jazz,” said Jobim.

“This confused an entire generation of purist critics here in Brazil who kept saying that Pixinguinha is jazz, that João Gilberto is jazz, that Tom Jobim is jazz. It’s jazz if you call everything jazz.”

“Brazil’s purist attitude is ‘let it go’. And their attitude is ‘come to us’. So for one the attitude is positive, of the rich, of acquisition. For the other the position is: you make a beautiful thing , but the moment the American touches it, the guy says that it’s American. So it’s an eternal donation.”

For Lessa, “Tom was very concerned about criticism.” “He actually worried a little too much about the criticism. Maybe the criticism upset and upset Tom a little.”

SUCCESS ABROAD

In his 1994 statement, Ivan Lessa mourns his friend’s death – and praises the musician’s versatility.

“Tom Jobim’s death is more or less as if the two Gershwin brothers left on the same day, plus Django Reinhardt, Bill Evans, Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra and a crooner.”

“Because Tom did all of this very well. Tom was an arranger, conductor, lyricist, composer, guitarist, pianist and singer. I really like Tom singing. And ask Frank Sinatra, if he doesn’t like him singing too? Sinatra , who must understand a little about these things, liked Tom singing. There are a lot of people who don’t.”

Ivan Lessa also talks about the reputation that Tom Jobim had as a Brazilian artist who was more successful outside the country than in the national market.

“I’ve been out of Brazil for 17 years. I think that was more or less valid until a few years ago, but there was a carnival where Tom was the theme of a samba school. So, being a samba school theme, it’s consecration. He I had a record [Antonio Brasileiro, de 1994] which already had 65 thousand copies sold, moving towards 100 thousand – another Brazilian gold record. So I think this has become a myth.”

For the writer and journalist, Tom Jobim’s happiest partnership was “certainly” with the poet Vinícius de Moraes.

“Vinicius was his greatest partner in the sense of quantity of songs and in my opinion of quality there is also no place for that.”

He also remembers meeting Tom Jobim again in July 1969 in London – Ivan Lessa already working for BBC Brasil. With them was journalist Paulo Francis, who had come to the city to cover a Rolling Stones concert for Realidade magazine.

Tom had come to work on the soundtrack for the film “The World of Adventurers” – a production by Lewis Gilbert with Candice Bergen, Charles Aznavour, Olivia de Havilland, Fernando Rey and Ernest Borgnine in the cast.

The film ended up being a box office failure. But Ivan remembers that his friend was at his peak as a composer. And he remembers going out to pubs in London, where they had fun like they used to – and the composer attracted everyone with his charisma.

“Tom was hugely successful even without being recognized on the streets”, he says.

Despite his erudition and sophistication, Ivan says that Tom Jobim was known for being an approachable person with “good conversation”.

“He was a conductor, arranger, pianist, guitarist, singer, all that stuff, but he was also a big shot. He was the popular type. Tom was good at talking to people. He would tell stories and make fun of him that he had to find the equivalents of vegetables, knowing the history of cauliflower – how did cauliflower end up in Brazil”, he says.

“Sinatra needed to deploy those 16 henchmen to prevent people from approaching. And Tom was there giving soup – any annoying person who arrived could upset Tom. And he took care of it. It’s another void he leaves – a place in table [do bar] also.”

This text was originally published here.