Jobim is Bossa godfather

With regard to "No Smoking at the Michael Franks Show" (The Jakarta Post Sept. 2, 1994) I feel compelled to make the following comments.

It is disappointing to see Antonio-Carlos Jobim peremptorily referred to as "a Latin-American guitarist", an epithet which does great injustice to this important figure. As a composer/arranger/guitarist/pianist Jobim must be regarded as the Godfather of the entire Bossa Nova genre as it emerged from Brazil in the 1960s. His original compositions and unique contributions to Brazilian music and Western music in general have made him one of the most influential trendsetters in music of the last decades.

It is also surprising to see Dave Koz being viewed as a jazz musician. For some reason it seems to be fashionable today to stick the label "jazz" on all sorts of music and musicians. Dave Koz, however, has nothing to do with any kind of jazz at all.

Another note: "Vincent's ear" clearly demonstrates Franks' admiration for Vincent van Gogh (who in a rage slashed his own ear), not Paul Gauguin.

Bert de Kort

Jakarta