A very important CD was just released in Brasil. It fulfills a period that was missing in Jobim's available discography in CDs.

The admirers of Tom Jobim will be able to follow the first steps of the composer, the arranger, and the pianist - and will also recognize the gentle and essential touch that would distinguish him among his fellows.

The male singer Mauricy Moura, with his romantic and loud voice, was the very first to record a music by Jobim, in 1953. Jobim and his pal Newton Mendonça - a pianist as well - wrote together this song named "Incerteza" (Uncertainty), which bears, above all, historic importance. Tom was 26 when it was recorded.

Newton Mendonça was a frequent partner in the early works of Tom. Some of Tom's greatest hits - such as "Desafinado" (Off Key) and "Samba de uma nota só" (One note samba) had his collaboration. The amazing thing in their work together is that the kind of participation each one had in each song never became clear. One cannot tell if Tom made the music and Mendonça the lyrics, or vice-versa. Jobim himself was asked several times to clear up that point, but he, politely, would always refuse to bring further light to the subject. It is more likely that they made music and lyrics together, each of them contributing to both.

Since the beginning of his career, Tom showed his talent as a lyricist. Also in 1953, singer Ernani Filho recorded "Pensando em você" (Thinking of you), a slow samba pretty much in the fashion of the epoch.

The CD has some of the most important titles of this first period of Jobim's work. The most significant musicians and lyricists who collaborated with Tom at the time are present. Luiz Bonfá, a guitar virtuoso and composer, wrote with Tom "A Chuva Caiu" (Rainfall), sung by Angela Maria. Billy Blanco, architect and composer, helped Tom in "Sinfonia do Rio de Janeiro" (Rio de Janeiro Symphony), a suite of ballads and sambas describing the beauties of Rio.

A highlight of the collection is Tom's first work with poet Vinicius de Moraes: "Orfeu do Carnaval" (Black Orpheus). The CD contains a few songs from the original play, performed by singer Roberto Paiva with orchestral backing. The most famous of these songs, "Se todos fossem iguais a você" (Someone to light up my life) was also first recorded at that time.

Singer Sylvia Telles had a very important role in the career of the young composer. She always had a special talent for choosing her repertoire. So, she recorded many of Tom's songs. Among these, the first one to be recorded was "Foi a noite" (It was the night), another collaboration with Newton Mendonça. The original recording was one of the titles of the Long-Play album named "Carícia" (Caress). A note in the back cover of the album mentions that Sylvia was backed by "Antonio Carlos Jobim and his orchestra". It's unlikely that Tom had his own orchestra. At that time, quite often a group of musicians put together specifically for a particular recording session was named like that. The arrangement was probably written by Tom.

But where have been so many jewels during so long time? Leon Barg, owner of the label Revivendo, that released the CD, told us that he has always collected recordings of Brazilian music. The most difficult part of the job was to fix, on the computer, problems not only from the original vinyl recordings, but also noises and clicks caused by usage and by time.

The CD is available in most of Brazilian record stores.