Antônio Carlos Jobim, music · Newton Mendonça, lyrics · João Gilberto's Odeon recording, Rio de Janeiro, 1960
Meditation
Meditation, or Meditação in Portuguese, is a by Antônio Carlos Jobim, with words by Newton Mendonça. Norman Gimbel wrote English words for it, so singers and instrumentalists both record it. You can hear it from João Gilberto, Frank Sinatra and Astrud Gilberto, and from Dexter Gordon and Paul Desmond.
Listen in this order
The path starts in Rio de Janeiro with João Gilberto, then follows the song to New York and Hollywood with its composer and two singers. It ends with jazz players in Chicago, New York, Germany and a Toronto club.
João Gilberto recorded it for Odeon in Rio de Janeiro on March 28, 1960, with an orchestra conducted by Jobim. It is on his LP O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor, whose title comes from the song's Portuguese words.
Voice with orchestra
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Listen for
The whole song lasts under two minutes. João Gilberto sings in a close, quiet voice with an orchestra behind him.
Try it on your instrument
Play 1 to 8 slowly, one per bar: , C6, , , C6, C6, , . Hum the tune over them and keep your touch light and even.
Jobim recorded it at A&R Studios in New York on May 9 and 10, 1963, for The Composer of Desafinado, Plays, his first album under his own name. Claus Ogerman arranged the album.
Led by the composer
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Listen for
This track has no words, so instruments play the whole melody, and the piece lasts a little over three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody alone at a calm pace, then add the from the chart under it. Smaller version: play only the first four , twice.
Astrud Gilberto recorded it on January 27 and 28, 1965, at RCA Studios in Hollywood for her first album. Creed Taylor produced it and Marty Paich arranged it, with Jobim on guitar.
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Listen for
One light voice stays out in front for the whole track, which lasts under three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Hum the tune along with the record, then sing it again by yourself as softly and evenly as you can.
“Meditation (Meditação)”, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Frank Sinatra and Jobim recorded the album at United Western Recorders in Hollywood between January 30 and February 1, 1967. Claus Ogerman arranged it for a studio orchestra, and Reprise released it that spring.
Voice with orchestra
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Listen for
Sinatra sings at an easy pace with a studio orchestra behind him, and the track ends before three minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Sing the tune at an easy pace, then play the first 16 as from the chart, one per bar.
Dexter Gordon's quartet recorded it in New York on April 4, 1969, and Prestige released it on More Power! in 1970. At 8:29 it runs well past the earlier tracks on this page.
Tenor sax quartet
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Listen for
Gordon's tenor saxophone plays the tune, and the quartet then stays with the song for most of the 8:29.
Try it on your instrument
Playing a solo over the is advanced. Smaller version: play the tune twice and change only the rhythm of the tune the second time.
“Meditation (Live at the Bourbon Street Jazz Club, Toronto)”, Like Someone in Love
Paul Desmond's quartet played it live at the Bourbon Street club in Toronto on March 29, 1975. Telarc issued the recording in 1992 on Like Someone in Love.
Alto sax quartet · Live in a club
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Listen for
The alto saxophone and the guitar share the lead, and the track runs almost eleven minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Tap your foot with the record and count out loud for the first minute. Smaller version: count only the first 16 bars, then stop and listen.
According to the Jobim Institute's catalog, Isaura Garcia records it on an EMI-Odeon LP in 1959, a year before João Gilberto's version.
1960s
João Gilberto records it in Rio in 1960, with an orchestra conducted by Jobim. In 1967 Frank Sinatra sings it on his album with Jobim, recorded in Hollywood.
1970s
Joe Pass plays it in a guitar trio in Germany in 1970. In 1975 Paul Desmond's quartet plays it live in a Toronto club for almost eleven minutes.
1980s
Ana Caram sings it on her 1989 album Rio After Dark, with Jobim on piano and backing vocals.
2000s
Nellie McKay sings it in 2009 on a Verve album that pays tribute to Doris Day.
More great versions
3 more, from 1959 to 2009. Tap a cover to play it here.
1950sIsaura Garcia1959
1960s
1970s
1980sAna Caram with Antônio Carlos Jobim1989
1990s
2000sNellie McKay2009
Isaura Garcia
1959
“Meditação”, EMI-Odeon LP
The Jobim Institute's catalog lists Isaura Garcia's Meditação as a 1959 EMI-Odeon LP, a year before João Gilberto's version.
The tune's layout, its keys and the chord chart, for anyone who wants to play along.
Show the form and chords
How the tune works
C majorusual key
44 barsA · A · B form
C → F → Ckey centers
A16 bars
A16 bars
B12 bars
C
F
C
A runs 44 : a 16-bar part that plays twice, then a 12-bar closing part. The 16-bar part stays in . holds bars 1 and 2, and fill bars 3 and 4, and C6 returns for bars 5 and 6. and take bars 7 and 8, holds bars 9 and 10, and holds bars 11 and 12, the one darker colour. Em7 and A7♭13 come round again in bars 13 and 14, and Dm7 and close the part in bars 15 and 16. The closing part opens with for two bars and Fm6 for two, the only stretch that leaves C major. Em7, , Dm7 and G7♯5 then bring it home in bars 37 to 40. The last four bars play Em7 with A7♭13, Dm7 with , C6, and Dm7 with G7.