By Ciara Long, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although he died 23 years ago, Rio-born musical icon Antonio Carlos Jobim – popularly known as Tom Jobim – would have turned ninety years old yesterday, on January 25th.
To celebrate the anniversary of his birth, the city’s international airport, named after the musician, announced they will play an hour of his most popular musical ensembles.
The initiative by RioGaleão concessionaire of the airport will have a daily program ‘Hora do Tom’, which will be presented by the announcer Iris Lettieri, the famous voice of calls at the airport in Rio, according to a government news source.
Most famous for his song “Garota de Ipanema” (“The Girl from Ipanema”), composed in 1962 with Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes, is credited as one of the bossa nova genre’s primary creators. His Latin jazz compositions also won him critical acclaim, with his 1965 album Getz/Gilberto becoming the first jazz album to ever win the Best Album Grammy award.
‘Samba do Avião’, or ‘Airplane Samba’, is another of Jobim’s most famous homages to the city of Rio, with its lyric, “minha alma canta, vejo o Rio de Janeiro” (‘my soul sings, I see Rio de Janeiro’).
Born in Rio’s Tijuca neighborhood in 1927, Jobim was heavily influenced by different parts of the city and lyrics in many of his four hundred songs speak about nature.
The composer’s presence continues in the city, with a state of him in Arpoador and a permanent exhibition on the artist at Jardim Botânico’s Espaço Tom Jobim.