Jazz trumpeter Jeff Lofton answered ten questions for us two weeks ago. Now, this local virtuoso, who's often compared to Miles Davis, will be presenting a tribute to the Brazilian bossa nova composer, singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist, Antonio Carlos Jobim (January 25, 1927 - December 8, 1994). The tribute will happen this upcoming Saturday, Aug. 27 at the Cactus Cafe. The venue is not new for Lofton: his latest record, "Chasing the Voodoo Down," was recorded live at the Cactus Cafe in May of this year. That album, which Lofton recorded with his side project The Jeff Lofton Electric Thang, has been garnering praise since its release. Back in March, Lofton won Best Jazz Band at the '10-'11 Austin Music Awards.

Lofton has turned his attention to Jobim's work and the result will surely be enjoyable. Many of Jobim's pieces as a composer have become jazz standards, recorded by a variety of artists including Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Working with legendary musicians such as saxophonist Stan Getz and singer/songwriter Astrud Gilberto, Jobim produced albums that started the United States bossa nova craze in the 1960s. At the 1965 Grammy Awards, the album "Getz/Gilberto" won Album of the Year, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group and Best Engineered Ablum, Non-Classical. That same year, what could be called Jobim's best-known piece, "The Girl from Ipanema," won Record of the Year.  

The chance to see an Austin virtuoso interpreting beloved classics in an iconic venue is something not to be missed. The doors to The Cactus Cafe will open at 8:00 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and you can get them here or at the door.

Image courtesy of Jeff Lofton