Antônio Carlos Jobim, music and Portuguese lyrics · Gene Lees, English lyrics · On record from 1960, on João Gilberto's O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor
Corcovado
Corcovado is a 1960 bossa nova by Antônio Carlos Jobim, named for a mountain in Rio. Players like its gentle chord motion, with a minor sixth chord and a diminished chord in the opening bars. It is also called Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars and appears on records by Getz, Miles Davis and Sinatra.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
- 1 Learn the song Stan Getz and João Gilberto, with Antônio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto✓
- 2 Hear the 1960 recording João Gilberto✓
- 3 Hear the composer Antônio Carlos Jobim✓
- 4 Hear a jazz orchestra Miles Davis with Gil Evans✓
- 5 Hear a singer and the composer together Frank Sinatra and Antônio Carlos Jobim✓
- 6 Hear a jazz singer Sarah Vaughan✓
- 7 Hear a piano trio Oscar Peterson Trio✓
- 8 Hear a recent version Diana Krall✓
How the tune works
The chorus runs 34 bars in four sections: A, B, A and a longer C of ten bars. Each A section opens on Am6 for two bars and G♯°7 for two bars, then moves through Gm7, C7sus4 and G♭7 to F6. B starts on Fm(maj7) and Fm7, then a chain of dominant chords, E7, A7, D7 and G7, leads into the next A. C begins on Fm6 and runs through Em7, Am7 and Dm7 into a second chain of dominants that ends on Dm7 and G7, ready for the next chorus.
One published lead sheet, in A minor with no key signature. The chorus is 34 bars in four sections, set out four bars to a line: A (bars 1–8), B (9–16), A (17–24) and C (25–34). The last line holds two bars.
Taken from the Jobim archive's lead sheet and piano arrangement (words by Gene Lees, arranged by Paulo Jobim). The sheet also has a 12-bar instrumental introduction and a modulating interlude that are not charted here. It adds extensions (9, ♭9, ♯9, 13, ♭13, ♯11) to many chords; this chart drops most of them and keeps sus4 and ♭9 where they change the sound. The sheet writes bar 30 as G7sus4(♭9) and F dim, and the chart reads the F chord as F°7. Other published charts open on D7/A rather than Am6 and vary the substitutions, so compare this chart with the one you play from and with the recording. The sheet has no key signature. This page hears the opening Am6 as home, with bars 5–8 moving to F; many fake books list the tune in C, which uses the same notes.
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗Eight versions in teaching order: the 1963 Getz/Gilberto session, João Gilberto's 1960 recording, Jobim's own instrumental, Miles Davis with Gil Evans, then Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, an Oscar Peterson trio and Diana Krall. Each step gives one thing to listen for and one thing to try.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Stan Getz and João Gilberto, with Antônio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto 1963
“Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)”, Getz/Gilberto
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- João Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto both sing on this track. Listen to how little Jobim's piano plays around them, and to Getz's tenor saxophone.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart slowly: Am6 for two bars, G♯°7 for two bars, then Gm7, C7sus4, G♭7 and F6 for one bar each. Add the melody on top if you know it.
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Step 2 · Hear the 1960 recording Now playing
João Gilberto 1960
O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- João Gilberto sings in a quiet, almost whispered voice. The whole track lasts about two minutes, shorter than any other version in this path.
- Try this
- Sing or play the melody once as quietly as you can while keeping a steady tempo.
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Step 3 · Hear the composer Now playing
Antônio Carlos Jobim (with Claus Ogerman's strings) 1963
The Composer of Desafinado, Plays
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- Listen for
- There is no singer. Listen for the string section that Claus Ogerman arranged, and notice how short the track is at 2:26.
- Try this
- Play the whole chart once from bar 1 to bar 34 at a steady tempo with no singer, keeping the sound as soft as you can.
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Step 4 · Hear a jazz orchestra Now playing
Miles Davis with Gil Evans and His Orchestra 1962
“Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)”, Quiet Nights
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Miles Davis plays trumpet over an orchestra that includes flutes, tuba and harp. Bongos and percussion join the bass and drums.
- Try this
- Play the last ten bars of the chart (bars 25 to 34) on their own at a slow tempo. They use different chords from the first 24 bars.
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Step 5 · Hear a singer and the composer together Now playing
Frank Sinatra and Antônio Carlos Jobim 1967
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)”, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Listen for how softly Sinatra sings. An orchestra arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman accompanies him, and Jobim is credited on the album with guitar and backing vocals.
- Try this
- Play the chart's chords and sing or hum the melody at the lowest volume you can hold steady.
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Step 6 · Hear a jazz singer Now playing
Sarah Vaughan 1964
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)”, ¡Viva! Vaughan
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- The album lineup lists flute, trombone, violin, guitar, piano, bass, drums and percussion behind Vaughan. Try to pick out which of them you can hear on this track.
- Try this
- Play bars 5 to 8 of the chart (Gm7, C7sus4, G♭7, F6) slowly, then sing or hum the melody over them.
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Step 7 · Hear a piano trio Now playing
Oscar Peterson Trio 1964
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)”, We Get Requests
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Only piano, bass and drums play here, with Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. Listen to what each of them does while Peterson plays the tune.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chart with single bass notes in your left hand and chords in your right. A smaller version: play only the bass note of each chord, one per bar.
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Step 8 · Hear a recent version Now playing
Diana Krall 2009
“Quiet Nights”, Quiet Nights
Couldn't play this one here. Try the links below.
- Listen for
- Krall sings and plays piano with guitar, bass, drums and percussion, and an orchestra arranged by Claus Ogerman plays behind them.
- Try this
- Play bars 1 to 8 of the chart, then play them again with a single bass note under each chord.
More great versions
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Cannonball Adderley with the Bossa Rio Sextet of Brazil 1962
Cannonball's Bossa Nova
Cannonball Adderley plays alto saxophone with the Bossa Rio Sextet of Brazil, which includes pianist Sérgio Mendes.
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Blossom Dearie 1964
“Quiet Nights (Corcovado)”, May I Come In?
Blossom Dearie sings and plays piano with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall, on her 1964 Capitol album May I Come In?
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Charlie Byrd 1965
Brazilian Byrd
Guitarist Charlie Byrd plays Corcovado on his 1965 Columbia album of Jobim songs, with arrangements by Tom Newsom and production by Teo Macero.
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Grant Green Quartet 1965
“Corcovado (Quiet Nights)”, I Want to Hold Your Hand
Grant Green leads a quartet with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Larry Young on organ and Elvin Jones on drums.
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Ella Fitzgerald 1981
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)”, Ella Abraça Jobim: Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald sings Jobim's songs on a Pablo album produced by Norman Granz, with arrangements and conducting by Erich Bulling.
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João Gilberto 2003
“Corcovado (Live)”, In Tokyo
João Gilberto's live album from his first Japanese concerts.