Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim was born on January 25th, 1927 in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The family moved to Ipanema—a place that inspired much of Jobim's music. He started studying the piano at 13. By 1956, he worked as a pianist and had already written music in partnership with Billy Blanco, Dolores Duran, and Newton Mendonça. It was at this time that he met Vinícius de Moraes, and their creative relationship started. "With Vinícius, I could write as much as three songs a day," said Tom Jobim.  
In the 60's, he began his international career starting with the Carnegie Hall concert. That led to the recording with Frank Sinatra. This move toward the exterior, however, made him the target of hard criticism in Brazil. They said he was making "American music," and that he had sold out. His recordings gathered dust in the stores in Brazil, while they were torn off the shelves outside. "In Brazil, success is a personal affront," complained Jobim.  

Another great source of bitterness for Jobim was the destruction of nature, particularly in Amazônia. He took his worry about the environment into the studio with "Matita Perê," "Urubu," and "Passarim." In the 80's, he regained his prestige in his homeland and was often the subject of frequent tributes.  

With his wife, Tereza, he had the children Elizabeth and Paulo, who is also a musician and father of Daniel Jobim. From his marriage to Ana Lontra, he had the children Mario Luíza Helena and João Francisco Lontra Jobim, who was killed in 1998 at 18, when he was driving a car his mother had given him as a present a week earlier.  

In '92, he was the theme of the samba school Mangueira's Carnaval performance. In '94, Tom Jobim was diagnosed with bladder cancer. In spite of surgery to remove the tumor, Jobim did not recover and died in New York on December 8th of that year. Brazil and the world had lost one of the greatest composers to ever hit the scene.