Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

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Multitalented Brazilian musician Jobim's talent was revealed to a larger world in 1959 by his and Luis Bonfa's score for the film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) in 1959. Songs such as "A Felicidade" and "Desafinado" generated the bossa nova movement of the early 1960s that inspired the likes of Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd and Miles Davis. This 1967 album features Jobim sharing vocals with Sinatra on "The Girl from Ipanema" and "How Insensitive". Three standards--"Change Partners" by Irving Berlin; "I Concentrate on You" by Cole Porter; and Robert Wright, George Forrest and Alexander Borodin's "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads"--round out the program of seven Jobim tunes. This is a lovely taste of Latin melody and rhythm from two masters of relaxed swing. Stanley Booth

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After bossa nova exploded in the U.S in the early Sixties, its primary compositional exponent, Jobim, became known as an artist of unparalleled subtlety, invention and swing. It was only a matter of time, then, before he hooked up with theAmerican who epitomised those qualities. Collaborating on this recording, Sinatra and Jobim both retained enough respect for each other to allow for a true fusion of styles, unfettered by either territorialism or obsequiousness.
Sinatra's relaxed, swinging style turned out to be a natural fit for Jobim's slinky, harmonically sophisticated compositions, and Jobim's conductor of choice Claus Ogerman and percussionist Dom-Um Romao are able to find a natural groove with the singer's unique, jazzy phrasing. Since much of Jobim's work was influenced by American music to begin with, it's not sucha shock to hear Americanised versions of "How Insensitive" and "Meditiation". Similarly, when Cole Porter's "I Concentrate On You" is lent a Brazilian beat, it sounds like somebody just thought of adding peanut butter to jelly. (Amazon.co.uk)

01. The Girl From Ipanema (Gârota di Ipanema)
02. Dindi
03. Change Partners
04. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)
05. Meditation (Meditacáo)
06. If You Never Come To Me
07. How Insensitive (Insensatez)
08. I Concentrate On You
09. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
10. Once I Loved (O amor em paz)