Frank Sinatra & Antonio Carlos [Import]

1967 was a year in which Sinatra had passed his greatest artistic achievements. Worried by the fact that he was losing a lot of ground to the Elvis and Beatles phenonemons as well as the fact that they had helped to shape a completely new popular musical landscape in the 60's which no longer held Sinatra as top of the pile, he resorted to lame, shallow imitations of the above mentioned,particularly Elvis in an attempt to stay relevant.
Big mistake! His choice of songs sometimes reached new depths of
awfulness-anyone who believes My Way to be his finest moment needs to be banished to the middle of the Pacific in a holed boat- and owning his own record company, with a distinct lack of check on his artistic decisions, didn't help either.
With this album , however, Sinatra not only harked back to the very best of the swaggering Capitol days, but discovered a new voice in himself, following in the style of Joao Gilberto's hushed, haunting, melancholy virtual-whisper.
The end-result of this album is that of the listener having to crane his/her neck to catch the beautiful, hushed vocals Sinatra presents here, backed by a band that couldn't play quietly enough for him.
Jobim's songs stand as a testament to the man's sheer genius. His gift of melody allied to his incredible harmonic sense ( You'll rarely hear chord changes so achingly gorgeous as these) stood his songs in high regard throughout the music world, and on this album you get to hear some of his finest early bossas and sambas-Corcovado,Meditation,Insensatez among others- getting a very special treatment from the gifted hands of Claus Ogermann who conjures up some wonderful arrangements to give this album such a unique atmosphere.
Sinatra responds to these arrangements in soft, highly-charged and emotive voice and he can only be praised for helping to bring this music to an audience who perhaps might not have come across it before.
Jobim provides his trademark spare,thoughtful piano playing, never one to play too many notes, always seeing how his notes can help heighten the harmonic tension and release- just listen to his piano playing in isolation for a few songs to get an insight into his fertile musical mind- he also provides a few choice vocals, although you need to be aware that his is not the finest voice in the World, it does still help to add to the atmosphere positively.
The treatment here of Berlin's 'Change Partners' just cannot be bettered, it is so sad and achingly beautiful in every way and Cole Porter must have been proud that on this album his song 'I concentate on you' just sounds so good.
This is a delicious album and some of the finest music-making Sinatra was ever involved in.As others have said it is brief, but anything else would just be filler in this instance, they leave you wanting loads more, just how a musical experinece should be!
Sinatra restores faith with this album but yet still churned out tosh afterwards, although if you love this, you must check out 'Sinatra and Company' (1970). There is no better display of where he went wrong, the first half a magical collaboration with another Brazilian wizard Eumir Deodato featuring more classic Jobim songs, the second half a dull, uninteresting collaboration with Don Costa of half-baked songs like ' I will drink the Wine'.
Sinatra was too good for nonsense like that and this here gem of an album is worth every single penny ,don't delay!

This album has long been acknowledged by Sinatra afficionados as his greatest release of the 'Reprise' years. The singer brings a soft, smoky, school-of-hard-knocks melancholy to Jobim's beautiful, love-lorn bossa-ballads, the composer a lovely, sea-fresh sensitivity to his accompaniment and arrangement of classics of the American popular songbook, many previously recorded ring-a-ding-ding-style by Sinatra ('Baubles, Bangles And Beads', 'I Concentrate On You'): the net result - a beautiful meeting of minds and spirits - is amongst the finest things in either artist's canon and a rare and enduring treat for lovers of fine music everywhere. Buy it.

I purchased this album because the U.S.-based author (and Sinatra aficionado) Pete Hamill claimed in his book "Why Sinatra Matters" that it was one of Sinatra's best. Nevertheless I was skeptical because quite often a record producer or performer will get the idea that creating a `super group' or pairing two very talented musicians will create a record that is even greater than the sum of its parts. That usually doesn't happen. The usual result is one in which each `diva' takes a turn showcasing his or her talents. "Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim" is a rare and very pleasant exception. Although not a 50-50 blend, this album really showcases Sinatra performing the great Jobim's music, the result is virtually flawless.

Sinatra & Jobim was released in the U.S. in 1967 during the height of Brasil's bossa nova invasion. Performers such as Jobim, Joao Gilberto and Astrud Gilberto, enjoyed tremendous influence on U.S. pop music and jazz. Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, Ella Fitzgerald and others all absorbed or collaborated in the bossa nova boom. This album and the later "Sinatra and Company" mark Sinatra's footprint in the bossa nova genre.

The CD opens with an excellent cover of The Girl from Ipanema with Sinatra taking verses in English and Jobim in Portuguese. As others have noted, Sinatra's voice is quiet to the point of whispering. Those used to swing era Sinatra and his other full throttle vocals may find is quiet, spare renditions different to say the least. It happens to work in the context of this and other tracks such as Dindi, Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars and Meditation. Sinatra always had a great feel for interpreting a song and I think his approach to Jobim's songs is dead solid perfect. Similarly, the three non-Jobim songs arranged by the very talented Claus Ogerman, "Change Partners", "I Concentrate on You", and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads", fit in nicely with Jobim's in terms of the mood and the music.

All in all this is an excellent CD and is one that I often turn to when I want music to whisper to me instead of shout. Highly recommended.