Mediation is a nice bossa nova. I like the tune, but it’s connected to a painful experience for me. The first time it was called on me I was playing piano with trumpet player Carl Saunders at a jam session. I didn’t know the tune at the time (or a couple others he called), and I was pretty embarrassed. I’m a big fan of Carl, and I wanted him to respect my playing. I vowed to learn a ton of standards, and the result is this website!

This tune is played most commonly in the key of C.  However, lots of recordings seem to be in many different keys (since many recordings of this tune are sung by vocalists).  I’ve decided to put the .pdf charts and play along in the key of C, despite Jobim having played it in instrumentally in Bb.  I took the chords from the Jobim version and transposed it up a whole step to the key of C.  Pat Metheny adds a few chords (F-7 to Bb7 instead of F-6, an F7 in bar 6, etc.) and there are a few variations in the chords with other versions, as is typical between recordings.

Meditation Jazz pdf

Meditation-C Instruments (.pdf)

Meditation-Bb Instruments (.pdf)

Meditation-Eb Instruments (.pdf)

Meditation-Roman Numeral chords

Meditation Jobim Play Along

Audio Recordings by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Byrd, Astrud Gilberto, and Oscar Peterson

Antonio Carlos Jobim Plays Meditation

He wrote the song, so you can’t argue with this one!

Astrud Gilberto

Astrud Gilberto Live

Oscar Peterson plays Meditation

Olivier Collette-Nice Arrangement

Pat Metheny and Mick Goodrick