: How does the chord change from VII7 to I work in the Jobin's Meditation? I have been learning the tune Meditation by AC Jobin. In the arrangement I have been given the first five bars of the progression go C69 C69 B11 B13

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The OP's interest in this must be long gone already, but what else is there to do than think about chord progressions, with the covid-19 and all.

To my ears, the B dominant chords (B7 or B13 or what have you in your lead sheet) are doing some kind of a modal interchange, trying to make it sound like the song is temporarily going to E minor. But before going there, the movement is interrupted and it gets back to C major.

Here's a slightly dumbed-down version of the progression that shows what it could be like, if it went along the easier route. In other words, I'm trying to show what the B7 chords do not do in Jobim's song.

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As so often with this sort of question, we can note that something works, and we can stick a label on it, but explaining 'how' it works is a bit harder! Let's try though.

Think part-writing and internal melodic lines rather than chord functions. A dominates the melody through both chords, E is retained from the initial C major to become the sus4 of B7 (B11 isn't a useful label here). That's some reasons why B7sus is a possible re-harmonisation of the A melody note. B is the leading note of C major. Where better for a leading note to resolve than back to the tonic? And for a D# than back up to E?

We could also take a more pragmatic approach. Sliding down from C to B sounds good, as every country steel guitarist knows! So of course we can slide up again.

Also note the move to Em7 in bar 7. B7 is the dominant of Em. Paving the way?

Jobim liked reharmonising the note A, and he liked chromatically descending bass lines. In another of his classics, How Insensitive, he carries on downwards though, D, Db, C, B ...