That's a good theory also. There could have been some trading going on there, in order to keep peace (legally) with A&M.The record business usually revolves around how many albums a label is owed.
The Tamba 4 comes a bit earlier in the numbering (3021 vs. 3025, 3026, 3027), though, which makes me wonder if something else kept it shelved. I like it quite a bit, although I kind of wonder if it was shelved for other reasons beyond labels negotiating an exit. (Could A&M have felt it wasn't commercial enough? Did Luiz Eça feel it strayed too far from the Tamba Trio/4 concept? Did Creed Taylor feel it was weak? We'll never know.) Yet if A&M was holding onto it for a later release before learning of Creed Taylor's departure plans, it too could have been held up for that reason.
Tide came later in the numbering (3031) and the sessions were split between the A&M album and CTi's Stone Flower. (The brevity and relative quality of Tide to Stone Flower makes it seem like contract fulfillment to me; the title song, even, is like a parody of "Wave" and I can't think of any other recording of that tune. And, much as I hate to say it, much of the A&M album has forgettable melodies, something I'd rarely say about Jobim's work.)
Benson's I Got A Woman did come out in the 80s with the CTi imprint if I'm not mistaken, as the title track was on one of the samplers of that reissue series.
But yeah, overall, I feel as though all of these later albums were tied up in some sort of negotiation or maneuvering as Creed Taylor exited A&M.
Stonebone actually follows that format--a sign of things to come, perhaps? Stanley Turrentine's Sugar, which I have been playing as of late, only has three tracks. Salt Song only has five. The couple of Freddie Hubbard albums I have are similarly short, although First LIght has two longer and three shorter tracks.And, if you look at the releases on the new CTi, it's a lot of long cuts and four tracks per LP, so I don't think commercialism was the concern. In fact, until Deodato broke big, A&M/CTi was a much more commercial-leaning label than the standalone CTi.