Personnel: Ant?nio Carlos Jobim (guitar, piano, celesta, harpsichord); Lewis Eley, Julius Held, Leo Kruczek, Joseph Malignaggi, Louis Stone, Louis Haber, Bernard Eichen, Raoul Poliakin, Gene Orloff, Irving Spice, Paul Gershman, Emanuel Green, Harry Lookofsky (violin); Abe Kessler, Charles McCracken , Harvey Shapiro , George Ricci (cello); Raymond Beckenstein, Jerome Richardson, Romeo Penque (flute, piccolo); Joseph Singer (French horn); Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green (trombone); Domun Roma, Claudio Gion, Bobby Rosengarden (drums, percussion); Dom Um Romao, Claudio Slon (drums).
Liner Note Authors: Norman Gimbel; George Frazier.
Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (05/22/1967-06/15/1967).
Photographer: Pete Turner .
Arranger: Claus Ogerman.
Perhaps Antonio Carlos Jobim's best-known album, 1967's WAVE was Jobim's first release for his longtime producer Creed Taylor's special CTI imprint at A&M Records. In fact, it was only the label's second release--after Wes Montgomery's A DAY IN THE LIFE--and WAVE went a long way towards establishing both the sound and even the look of the fledging label. Playing guitar, piano and harpsichord on these 10 original instrumentals, Jobim is backed by a small combo and Claus Ogerman's usually tasteful but occasionally overbearing strings. The tracks are brief--over half are under three minutes--introducing a theme, coloring it with a few brief solos and a lot of solid ensemble playing, and then fading. The overall mood is mellow without being sleepy, and as a whole, WAVE is a soothing, almost intoxicating delight. While it's probably not Jobim's best album, it's certainly one of his most offhandedly entertaining.
