Antonio Carlos Jobim, music · Vinícius de Moraes, lyrics · English lyrics Norman Gimbel (Jazz 'n' Samba) · First recorded by Elza Laranjeira, October 1962
Só Danço Samba
Só Danço Samba is a 1962 by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with words by Vinícius de Moraes. It is a compact tune: 32 , a main part that plays twice, a contrasting middle and a return. Elza Laranjeira recorded it first in October 1962. Stan Getz, Milt Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald followed.
Listen in this order
The path follows the song from its first record in Brazil in 1962 to the New York sessions of 1963 and 1964, then to a live big band in 1966, a vocal group, and a Brazilian singer in 1998. Each step plays the same short tune in a different setting.
Stan Getz & João Gilberto, with Antonio Carlos Jobim1963 · Bossa nova
Antônio Carlos Jobim1963 · Bossa nova
Milt Jackson Sextet with Lillian Clark1964 · Post-bop
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington1966 · Big band
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '661966 · Bossa nova
1970s
1980s
1990sRosa Passos1998
Progress can't be saved in this browser.
Step 1 of 8 Now playing✓ Heard
Hear where it started
Elza Laranjeira · 1962
RGE single 10.469
Elza Laranjeira released the first recording of the song in October 1962, on RGE disc 10.469 with Conjunto RGE. João Gilberto and Os Cariocas had performed it in public two months earlier, in August 1962 at the Au Bon Gourmet restaurant in Copacabana.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
A Brazilian singer with a band, on the first record of the song. The take lasts about two and a half minutes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the first eight of the chart: , , for two bars, , , C6 and F7. Smaller version: loop just C6 and F7.
Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfá recorded it in New York on February 8, 1963, with Antonio Carlos Jobim in the group. Verve issued it that April on the album Jazz Samba Encore!
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Getz plays tenor saxophone, with Bonfá on guitar and Jobim on piano or guitar. The session also lists a singer, Maria Toledo, but the sources do not say which tracks she sings on.
Try it on your instrument
Play the middle section of the chart: , , for two , , , then for two bars. Smaller version: loop just Gm7, C7 and Fmaj7.
Stan Getz & João Gilberto, with Antonio Carlos Jobim · 1963 · Bossa nova
Getz/Gilberto
The album was recorded on March 18 and 19, 1963 at A&R Studios in New York and released by Verve in March 1964. On this track João Gilberto plays guitar and sings, with Stan Getz on tenor saxophone and Jobim on piano.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Three players share this track: Gilberto's voice and guitar, Getz's tenor saxophone and Jobim's piano. Follow who takes the lead at each point in the 3:35.
Try it on your instrument
Play the whole chart once, A, A, B, A. The first A ends on , the repeat ends on held for two bars, and the last A ends on F7 again. Smaller version: play only the first A.
“Só Danço Samba (Jazz Samba)”, The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
Jobim recorded his own version in New York on May 9 and 10, 1963, for his first album. Verve released it in late August 1963 under the title Só Danço Samba (Jazz Samba).
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
An instrumental, with no singing, led by the man who wrote the tune. At 2:22 it is much shorter than the Getz takes.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart at a medium pace and end the last on instead of . Smaller version: play just the last four with that ending.
Milt Jackson recorded the English-language version, titled Jazz 'n' Samba, with singer Lillian Clark in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on August 7, 1964. The YouTube listing credits Norman Gimbel as an English lyricist, and Impulse! issued it on a single and on the album of the same name.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
Lillian Clark sings, and Milt Jackson's vibraphone and Jimmy Heath's tenor saxophone are in the group. The track lasts only 2:11, so the whole form passes quickly.
Try it on your instrument
Write the chart from memory, A, A, B, A with the for each , then check it against this page. Smaller version: write just the first A.
Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra · 1966 · Big band, Bebop
“Jazz Samba (Live At The Cote d'Azur, 7/28/1966)”, Ella and Duke at the Cote d'Azur
Ella Fitzgerald sang it live with Duke Ellington's orchestra at the Côte d'Azur on July 28, 1966, under the title Jazz Samba. Verve issued the concert recordings, with Norman Granz as producer.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
At 5:51 this is the longest take on the path. Fitzgerald sings with Ellington's orchestra at a concert, so listen for the audience as well as the band.
Try it on your instrument
Play the chart twice through. Soloing over takes more practice. If you are not there yet, play the melody on the second pass and change only the rhythm.
Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 recorded the album Equinox at Sunset Sound in Hollywood between November 1966 and February 1967. A&M released it in April 1967, with singers Lani Hall and Janis Hansen.
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
Listen for
The two singers, Lani Hall and Janis Hansen, are credited on the album. The take lasts only 1:58, the shortest on the path.
Try it on your instrument
Time yourself: play the chart straight through and see how many fit in two minutes at your tempo. Smaller version: play just A, A, B, A once.
Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes write it in 1962, and Elza Laranjeira records it that October. Stan Getz and Milt Jackson record their own versions in 1963 and 1964.
1980s
Charlie Byrd plays it on his 1982 album Plays Jobim.
1990s
Rosa Passos sings it on Especial Tom Jobim, which Star Music released in 1998.
2000s
Emilie-Claire Barlow's 2005 album Like a Lover brings the song into a Latin jazz vocal setting.
More great versions
4 more, from 1963 to 1964. Tap a cover to play it here.
1960sJoão Donato1963
Os Cariocas1963 · Bossa nova
Tamba Trio1963 · Bossa nova
Clare Fischer1964 · Bossa nova
João Donato
1963
A Bossa Muito Moderna
João Donato's album A Bossa Muito Moderna, listed as 1963 on Wikipedia, includes a 2:04 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
32 barsA · A · B · A form
C major → F major → C majorkey centers
A8 bars
A8 bars
B8 bars
A8 bars
C
F
C
A runs 32 as A, A, B, A. A (bars 1 to 8) runs , , for two bars, , , then C6 and F7. The repeat of A (bars 9 to 16) is the same except that it ends on C6 held for two bars. B (bars 17 to 24) opens in with , and for two bars, then , D7 and G7 for two bars lead back to C. The last A (bars 25 to 32) repeats the first A and ends on F7, which leads into the next chorus. This follows iReal Pro's chart in C.