Born to a Brazilian-Jewish mother and a gentile father in Rio de Janeiro,[1] his stage name means "Mandolin Jacob", after the instrument he played.

A perfectionist, Jacob was able to achieve from his band Época de Ouro the highest levels of quality.

In addition to his virtuoso playing, he is famous for his many choro compositions, more than 103 tunes,[2] which range from the lyrical melodies of "Noites Cariocas" ("Carioca Nights"), Receita de Samba and "Dôce de Coco" to the aggressively jazzy "Assanhado", which is reminiscent of bebop.

Bandolim died of a heart attack, when coming back from spending the day with Pixinguinha, planning a recording project to benefit his friend.

His son Sérgio Bittencourt (1941 - 1979) composed the hit song Naquela Mesa as a tribute to his father.