The album Elis & Tom is widely considered to be a masterpiece today. Recorded by Brazilian vocalist Elis Regina and Brazilian singer-songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim for the Philips label in Los Angeles in 1974, the record is perhaps most famously known for the YouTube footage of Regina and Jobim in a vocal booth facing each other as they sing Jobim's Waters of March...
I've long wondered where that footage came from, since it clearly was just a segment from much more film shot during the recording session. It turns out the footage was captured by a team of filmmakers led by director Roberto de Oliveira, who arranged for the duo to unite for the project at MGM studios. For some reason, the original film reels sat on a shelf for 45 years until they were restored and remastered in 2018.
Now the film has been edited along with contemporary interviews to create what is easily the finest jazz documentary of the year detailing the making of the album. The documentary—Elis & Tom: It Had to Be You (Outsider Pictures)—has just been released in theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada. I had the opportunity to stream it in full over the weekend.
What makes this documentary special is its soul. Too many documentaries today follow the same tired model—live concert footage mixed with biographical material that may be illustrated or even staged by actor, and talking heads all saying virtually the same thing or nothing of consequence.
For me, a documentary works perfectly only when it becomes sheer poetry. There needs to be an engaging narrative and a point of view, and I need to feel the film. Great documentaries bring tears to my eyes or provide an enormous education. Elis & Tom: It Had to Be You accomplishes both.
The story behind the album is a complex one. By 1974, Elis Regina (pronounced Eh-LIZ REG-eena) had become a national phenomenon in Brazil, despite resisting pressure and threats from the military regime there to stop criticizing their rule and support the government.
Brought to L.A. to record an album on which Jobim would accompany her, Regina had high hopes. But despite her charm and talent, Jobim, who had become a star in the U.S. by then thanks to his popular jazz-bossa recordings for producer Creed Taylor at Verve and CTI, began to take over. Regina was surrounded by the younger musicians in her band, which caused Jobim's ego to come off the rails. He was gruff and dismissive of the album's young arranger and instrumentalists, almost causing Regina to walk out on the record.
Jobim was largely an acoustic artist and bristled at the inclusion of an electric guitar, Fender Rhodes electric piano and electric bass. But to his credit, at some point during playbacks of song tracks in the booth, he suddenly saw the light and realized the enormous new talent in the studio and how the record was becoming something very special.
The documentary remarkably and intimately details the heart and soul of Regina—her mood swings, her ups and downs, her tears, her infectious spirit and smile and uncanny ability to slip deeply into the music and become transported to a private place. We also see Jobim's genius at work, along with arranger César Camargo Mariano, who would have a romantic relationship with Regina that produced two children.
Elis & Tom: It Had to Be You is far from perfect. The history is off in places (Creed Taylor's name is never mentioned during the section on the bossa nova's rise in the U.S. nor are the seminal albums Jazz Samba and Getz/Gilberto). What's more, the translation for captions needs an English editor, we aren't told the exact moment when Jobim had his in-studio epiphany about the session, nor are we given the details of Regina's death (in 1982, she died from a combination of alcohol and cocaine at the age of 36) or whether she suffered from some form of bi-polar disorder or deparession that went untreated.
Nevertheless, the film is a must. The long-awaited footage that dominates the documentary is gripping and provides a candid view of how creative work unfolds under pressure and how leading artists must count to 10 or find ways to cope with other brilliant artists who may be more temperamental. We also find Jobim at a creative crossroads and see him accept the new modern electrified sound, despite his original misgivings.
For the film rollout in theaters, go here.
Here is the trailer...
Bonus: Here's Regina with Sacha Distel in Paris in 1970...
Here's Regina with Toots Thielemans in Sweden in 1969...
Here's Thielemans's Bluesette...
Here's Regina singing "Dois Pra Lá, Dois Pra Cá"...
