Following the recent reissue of Jose Mauro's Obnoxius, Far Out offer up another gem in the treasure trove of the Quartin Records catalog, Victor Assis Brasil Plays Jobim, originally released in 1970. Over the course of the '60s, Roberto Quartin released more than 20 albums in Brazil on his label Forma by artists like Eumir Deodato, Quarteto Em Cy, Baden Powell, and Vinicius De Moraës. Selling the rights to Polygram in 1969, Quartin struck out for pastures new at the dawn of the '70s with the launch of his self-titled label. Significant works and high-water marks for Brazilian music overall followed in that decade's first year, with Victor Assis Brasil Plays Antonio Carlos Jobim and the aforementioned Obnoxious. These singular classics in Brazilian music, difficult to categorize, yet compellingly haunting, have for too long gone unheard.
Unlike Jose Mauro, whose biography is almost completely shrouded in mystery, Victor Assis Brasil's tragically short life is a better known story. He passed away aged just 35, but by this point his status was already cemented as one of Brazil's top players. Gifted his first saxophone by his aunt at the age of 14, his debut LP was recorded just four years later, alongside some mercurial greats of Brazilian jazz, Tenorio Jr and Edson Lôbo. Following the release of his first two albums, Victor was granted a place to study at Berklee College of Music, and it was during this period he recorded Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim (aka Victor Assis Brasil Plays Antonio Carlos Jobim) upon returning to Brazil in the summer of 1970.
At a time in Brazil when the smooth n' easy groove of the bossa beat no longer reflected the inflamed politics of a nation under military dictatorship, Victor Assis Brasil morphed Antonio Carlos Jobim's soothing originals into raw, deep jazz cuts, with the help of Brazilian legends Edison Lôbo, Helio Delmiro and Edison Machado. The album's influences spans both American continents, finding a meeting point for Latin jazz and North American post-bop, with Quartin's perfectionist approach to sound, elevating the already incandescent music to divine new heights. The album has been remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl with liner notes by Antonio Carlos Jobim.