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A&M was counting on Jobim to pull in some big bucks with this release, so they didn’t spare any expense in the making of this album which explains why it has such a beautiful sound as well as nice packaging too. ’Tide’ comes in a big fat gatefold LP with great photography both inside and out, all you have to do is hold this bulky piece of glossy cardboard and look at the cover art and you can tell they were serious about this one.
Although they were counting on a commercial hit, there is nothing trite or simple about this music. The arrangements and production are flawless throughout, and this is one of the nicest recordings of a jazz orchestra I’ve ever heard. The sound on here is lush and full, more like an exotica or easy listening record than a jazz record, but the music is pure modern bossa nova and Latin jazz. Although the sound is lush, the playing gets heated sometimes in the manner of early 70s fusion, especially when Hermato Pascoal pushes the band with an aggressive flute solo on ‘Tema Jazz’. The song writing is adventurous as well, for an example listen to the second melody on ‘Wave’ that goes through bizarre modulations and syncopations that almost sound 12-tone. Jobim experiments with the rhythms too, often leaving the relaxed cool of the bossa nova for more heated Latin hybrids with samba and salsa influences. All throughout the album he and his band are incredibly tight and their rhythms are always precise and clean.
This is a great album, snappy upbeat bossa novas and Latin jazz played with a cool orchestra that is mixed with a full reverb sound that matches the hip exotica records of the day, highly recommended.