Antonio Carlos Jobim, music · Vinícius de Moraes, lyrics · English words by Ray Gilbert · O Amor em Paz, 1960
Once I Loved
Jobim wrote O Amor em Paz in 1960, and Ray Gilbert later added English words. Singers, a piano trio, a vibraphonist and a tenor saxophonist have all played it. Hear it from João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto to Frank Sinatra, McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson.
Listen in this order
The path starts with João Gilberto's Brazilian record and Jobim's own instrumental, then follows the song into English with Astrud Gilberto and Frank Sinatra. It ends with a voice-and-guitar duo, a piano trio, a long vocal version and a tenor saxophone tribute to Jobim.
According to Wikipedia, Agostinho dos Santos made the first recording in 1960, and João Gilberto followed on his self-titled 1961 Odeon album. Jobim arranged the record.
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Listen for
João Gilberto sings and plays his own guitar, with no English words yet. The track lasts 2:21, so play it twice and follow the guitar under the voice the second time.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first four from the chart slowly: , , , . Hum the melody over them. If F♯°7 is new, hold Fmaj7 for the whole bar and add it later.
Astrud Gilberto opens her first album with this song, recorded in Hollywood on January 27 and 28, 1965. Ray Gilbert's English words are the ones she sings, and Jobim plays guitar on the record.
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This is the song in English, sung by Astrud Gilberto with Jobim on guitar. At 2:13 it is one of the shortest tracks on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Sing or hum the melody over 9 to 12: , , , E♭maj7. The tune moves to a new home here, so listen for the change from the bars before.
“Once I Loved (O Amor Em Paz)”, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Sinatra and Jobim recorded this album in Hollywood between January 30 and February 1, 1967, with Claus Ogerman conducting the orchestra. According to Wikipedia, which quotes critic Ted Gioia, the song was not widely known until this record.
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Sinatra sings the English words in front of an orchestra that Claus Ogerman arranged, and Jobim is credited on piano, guitar and backing vocals. The track runs 2:37 on the original album.
Try it on your instrument
Play 13 to 16 with the melody: , , , . Then play bar 16 straight into bar 1 to hear how the first ending loops back to the start.
Ella Fitzgerald and guitarist Joe Pass recorded their duo album Take Love Easy on August 28, 1973, at the MGM studio in Los Angeles, with Norman Granz producing. It came out on Pablo in 1974.
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Two musicians play: Ella Fitzgerald sings and Joe Pass plays guitar. The track lasts 2:16, so you can hear the song's whole shape with almost nothing added.
Try it on your instrument
Play it as a duo with a friend. One of you plays the of 1 to 8 on guitar while the other sings or hums the melody. A smaller version is to loop bars 1 to 4.
McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones cut it at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley on February 18 and 19, 1975, for the Milestone album Trident. Orrin Keepnews produced.
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Listen for
It runs 7:53, far longer than the sung versions. Follow how the piano, bass and drums share the song over that time.
Try it on your instrument
Play the second ending, 31 to 44, slowly: , , , , , B♭maj7, , , , , G7, , , Dm6. Improvising over these changes is a bigger step, so a smaller version is to play only the bass note of each .
“Once I Loved (O Amor en Paz)”, Close Enough for Love
Shirley Horn sings and plays piano on this track, with Charles Ables on bass and Steve Williams on drums. The album was recorded in New York on November 14 to 16, 1988, and Verve issued it in 1989.
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Shirley Horn sings and plays her own piano, with bass and drums beside her. The track lasts a full 7:00, about three times the length of the Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald tracks, which leaves room to hear how the three of them share it.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole chart slowly enough that you can sing or hum the melody while you play the . A smaller version is bars 1 to 16, the first strain with its first ending.
“Once I Loved (O Amor en Paz)”, Double Rainbow: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim
Joe Henderson made a whole album of Jobim songs in 1994, released on Verve in 1995. The band for the album includes pianists Eliane Elias and Herbie Hancock and guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves.
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Joe Henderson plays the tune on tenor saxophone, and the track runs 5:22. Two pianists and two bass players are credited across the album, so listen for who is playing behind him.
Try it on your instrument
Play the melody on your own instrument over 1 to 16 once through. To go further, improvise on bars 1 to 4 using notes from the melody, and loop them.
Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes write the song in 1960, and João Gilberto records it on a 1961 Odeon album. Astrud Gilberto sings the English words in 1965, and Frank Sinatra records it with Jobim in 1967.
1970s
In 1973 Ella Fitzgerald sings it with only Joe Pass's guitar behind her. In 1975 McCoy Tyner's trio plays it for almost eight minutes on the album Trident.
1980s
Shirley Horn records it in New York in November 1988 with her trio, singing and playing piano. Her version runs seven minutes and appears on the Verve album Close Enough for Love.
1990s
Joe Henderson plays it on tenor saxophone for his 1994 Jobim album Double Rainbow. Pianists Eliane Elias and Herbie Hancock are among the players credited on the record.
2010s
Chick Corea and Gary Burton play it as a piano and vibraphone duo on Hot House, released in September 2012.
More great versions
3 more, from 1960 to 1977. Tap a cover to play it here.
1960sAgostinho dos Santos1960
Wes Montgomery & the Wynton Kelly Trio1966
1970sMilt Jackson and the Monty Alexander Trio1977 · Soul jazz
Agostinho dos Santos
1960
“O Amor em Paz”, Original issue not found
According to Wikipedia, Agostinho dos Santos made the first recording of the song, in 1960. The linked track is a 2016 reissue, and the original release was not confirmed.
Vibraphonist Milt Jackson recorded it with the Monty Alexander Trio at Group IV Studios in Los Angeles on June 1 and 2, 1977. It came out on Pablo as part of Soul Fusion.
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
D minorusual key
44 barsA · A · B form
F major · E♭ major · D major · C major · B♭ major · D minorkeys it moves between
A16 bars
A14 bars
B14 bars · second ending
F
E♭
D
F
E♭
D
C
B♭
D m
The runs 44 in two passes. The first pass is 16 bars: an opening 14 bars, then a two-bar first ending. Bars 1 to 4 run , , and , and bars 5 to 8 run Gm7, , and , all in . , and fill bars 9 to 12 and move the tune into . and in bars 13 and 14 point to , and the first ending, and , sends you back to the top. The second time through, the same 14 bars play, and a different ending takes over at bar 31. That second ending runs Dmaj7, , , , , B♭maj7, , , , , G7, then Gm7 and A7♭9 sharing one bar, and two bars of . , the usual , settles in only at the end.