This recording of "Meditation" comes from Stephen Riley's 2007 album Once Upon a Dream. Composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim with Portuguese lyrics by Newton Mendonca and English lyrics by Norman Gimbel, "Meditation" is one of the cornerstone compositions of the bossa nova movement that swept through jazz in the early 1960s. Riley performs the tune in its original bossa nova feel at 134 BPM, taking one chorus of the extended 56-bar AABA form in C on tenor saxophone. The bossa nova groove provides a gentle rhythmic bed that suits Riley's unhurried, lyrical approach, and his warm tone blends naturally with the music's Brazilian-inflected harmonies. His improvisation weaves through Jobim's lush chord changes with the kind of relaxed grace that echoes the spirit of the original bossa nova recordings. Bassist John Brown follows with a full chorus of his own at 130 BPM, adding a complementary voice to the performance. The inclusion of a Jobim composition on an album otherwise dominated by the American songbook and jazz standards speaks to the breadth of Riley's musical interests and the extent to which bossa nova has become absorbed into the jazz mainstream. The performance treats the material with both respect and improvisational freedom, honoring Jobim's melodic genius while allowing room for personal expression.
