Chega de Saudade - João Gilberto

The 1959 album that defined the style. The detail to listen for is João Gilberto's right hand: a guitar pattern that suggests a whole samba percussion section while his voice floats slightly ahead of or behind the beat. On Desafinado the lyric jokes about singing out of tune while the melody leaps through difficult intervals, and Jobim's arrangements stay out of the way so you can hear voice and guitar as two independent lines.