Description
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim 1967
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim by 1967, bossa nova had become quite popular within jazz and traditional pop audiences, yet Frank Sinatra hadn’t attempted any Brazil-influenced material. Sinatra decided to record a full-fledged bossa nova album with the genre’s leading composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Arranged by Claus Ogermanand featuring Jobim on guitar and backing vocals, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim concentrated on Jobim’s originals, adding three American classics — “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” “Change Partners,” and “I Concentrate on You” — that were rearranged to suit bossa nova conventions. The result was a subdued, quiet album that used the Latin rhythms as a foundation, not as a focal point. Supported by a relaxed, sympathetic arrangement of muted brass, simmering percussion, soft strings, and Jobim’s lilting guitar, Sinatra turns in an especially noteworthy performance; he has never sounded so subtle, underplaying every line he delivers and showcasing vocal techniques that he never had displayed before. Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim doesn’t reveal its pleasures immediately; the album is too textured and understated to be fully appreciated within one listen. After a few plays, the album begins to slowly work its way underneath a listener’s skin, and it emerges as one of his most rewarding albums of the ’60s.
Track listing:
1 “The Girl from Ipanema” (Antônio Carlos Jobim, Norman Gimbel, Vinícius de Moraes) – 3:00
2 “Dindi” (Ray Gilbert, Jobim, Aloysio de Oliveria) – 3:25
3 “Change Partners” (Irving Berlin) – 2:40
4 “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)” (Jobim, Gene Lees) – 2:45
5 “Meditation (Meditação)” (Jobim, Gimbel, Newton Mendonça) – 2:51
6 “If You Never Come to Me (Inútil Paisagem)” (Jobim, Gilbert, de Oliveira) – 2:10
7 “How Insensitive (Insensatez)” (Jobim, Gimbel, de Moraes) – 3:15
8 “I Concentrate on You” (Cole Porter) – 2:32
9 “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” (Robert C. Wright, George Forrest, Alexander Borodin) – 2:32
10 “Once I Loved (O Amor em Paz)” (Jobim, Gilbert, de Moraes) – 2:3
