One note samba

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Samba de Uma Nota Só or One Note Samba is a bossa nova song by the Brazilian composer and performer Antônio Carlos Jobim from 1959. The text is by Newton Mendonça . The piece also became the jazz standard .

Structure of the song

The title refers to the melody of the piece, which is initially only played on a single note, the fifth the basic key , while the accompanying chords change. The four-bar motif is repeated, then increased by a fourth and finally played again in the original version. This sequence forms the A part of the piece. The following B part consists of a contrasting melody made up of different intervals.

Impact history

The piece is one of the best-known representatives of Bossa-Nova and contributed to its worldwide triumph. It has been played and recorded by numerous performers. Jobim himself published it in 1960 on the album O Amor, O Sorriso EA Flor, recorded with João Gilberto . It became known worldwide through the interpretation of Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd on their album Jazz Samba from 1962, which received a Grammy in 1963. and stayed in the American charts for seventy weeks, some of which was in the top spot. The best-known version with English lyrics is the version by Sérgio Mendes & Brazil 66 with the singer Lani Hall .

Further interpretations

The piece has also been recorded by Herbie Mann , Baden Powell , Laurindo Almeida , Astrud Gilberto , the Modern Jazz Quartet , Michel Legrand , Al Jarreau , John Pizzarelli , Caterina Valente , Stereolab and even Maurice André .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jobim himself later translated the title into English as One Note Samba .
  2. ↑ 1963 Grammy Awards
  3. ↑ Chris McGowan, Ricardo Pessanha Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil 1998, p. 66