Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour is an excellent collection of jazz bossanova recordings by one of the leaders of the bossanova sound. Jobim's solo and accompaniment with vocalist Astrud Gilberto and legendary saxophonist, Stan Getz, offers a melodic and sensuous effect to his lush Brazilian sound. The cd's crispsness makes the recordings timeless, but not without a thought of 1960s cocktail sounding nostalgia (dependent on your age, these are tunes you heard your father play on the good ol' hi-fi system). The songs make you imagine you're on a beach with the palm trees gently swaying back and forth, or simply lounging on the patio listening to tracks, such as the all too familiar, "The Girl From Impanema," my favorite version of "Meditation," or the delicious hipster trappings of "Desfinado" with Getz's exceptional sax solo.

Finest Hour will not disappoint those listeners looking for the quiet jazz sounds that whisper in your ear or simply let you relax. So, grab yourself a copy, and while you're at it, mix a cocktail or two and add one of those little umbrellas.

This compilation here is a not-very-imaginative rehash of previously released material. The reason I gave it one star is not cause it['s bad], but because ALL of the songs here one can get in more attractive/comprehensive packages, such as: "Getz/Gilberto" (a masterpiece), "Composer of Desafinado Plays" (a cool record) or "The Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook" compilation from Verve, which is really cool. So there! If you are really interested in Antonio Brasileiro, skip this one and go for the real deal.

For those beginning to explore the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Bossa Nova in general, 'Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour' is a nice first album. The classic versions of "Girl From Ipanema", "Corcovado" and "Desafinado" with Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto are included with this compilation, but the best material on this CD are the tracks from Jobim's 1963 'The Composer of Desafinado, Plays' album, which are beautiful instrumental versions of his best-known compositions, complete with Claus Ogerman's lush orchestra. Some might think that these particular tracks sound like "Elevator Music", but listen carefully and you'll find a depth of emotion and beauty in Jobim's spare, haunting piano playing and sideman Jimmy Cleveland's trombone solos that will change your preconceptions about lush orchestral music.

One Warning: 'Antonio Carlos Jobim's Finest Hour' has a mislabeled track, "O Morro Nao Tem Vez (AKA Favela)" is actually "Amor Em Paz ("Once I Loved"). Both tracks are from the "The Composer of Desafinado, Plays" album. The latter is the more popular song, but "O Morro Nao Tem Vez" is one of the most underrated songs Jobim ever wrote and a masterpiece in its own right. The remainder of the songs on 'Finest Hour' come from Jobim's other albums dating from the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These tracks do not have the same wondrous beauty as those earlier, 1960s-era cuts, (hence the four star rating) but are still worth your undidvided attention.

JOBIM struck once again the strings in my heart with this album. Listen to his natural melodic voice in "Looks Like December" and his orquestration in "Passarim". Clearly one can acknowledge his brilliance in writing great ballads and music. ANTHONY CARLOS JOBIM is talented and will always be an inspiration for musicians all over the world. Great musicians will forever be in our life and memory.

I am a big Bossa Nova fan, so the quality of this CD was no surprise. I have to say though, that the collection offers the best of Jobim. The music is slow, lazy and full of feeling.

One of the biggest advanatges--the majority of the lyrics are in Portugese, which for me leaves the melody and voice be the driving power behind the songs.

Excellent!