Spirit of Jobim

Even if you think you don’t know what the bossa nova is, you probably do.

Chances are the melody of “The Girl From Ipanema” caught your attention at some point in your life with its lilting simplicity. And although it has been played to death in elevators and supermarkets all over the world, the song continues to sound as fresh as it did when it was released, 37 years ago.

“Ipanema” is the unofficial anthem of the bossa nova, a Brazilian musical movement that started in the late 1950s by blending the soothing beat of the samba with a cosmopolitan pop sensibility. The genre’s sonic architect was Antonio Carlos Jobim, a prolific and sophisticated composer who died in 1994.

Now, the spirit of Jobim is being kept alive thanks to the Quarteto Jobim Morelenbaum, an ensemble made up of the composer’s son and grandson on piano and guitar, together with close Jobim collaborator Jaques Morelenbaum on cello and his wife, Paula, on vocals.

The quartet makes a rare live appearance Thursday at Cal State Northridge’s Performing Arts Center.

The concert will give the group an opportunity to present material from its self-titled debut album. Not surprisingly, the record is made up mostly of timeless Jobim compositions. What’s remarkable here is the quartet’s ability to recreate the freshness and allure of the original tunes. “It’s very natural for us to play the bossa,” Jaques Morelenbaum said last week in a phone interview. “We played so many years with the master that the style comes naturally to us.”

Perhaps it is this spontaneity that has turned the record into something of a left-field hit in Brazil.

“At first, record companies in our country weren’t into it,” he said. “Nowadays, those big guys are interested in making lots of money and nothing else. Fortunately, Velas [Records] gave us a call.”

Velas is a medium-sized record company. Once the label took the plunge, people started to listen and embraced the quartet’s return to the venerable bossa.

BE THERE

Quarteto Jobim Morelenbaum plays Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center, Cal State Northridge, 1811 Nordhoff St. Tickets: $19.50-$10. Call (818) 677-2488.