This is one of my favorite clips of 
Frank Sinatra.
With a cigarette in hand, he sings almost offhandedly, ever so cooly, with only his voice betraying the depth of feeling behind these songs of love, loss and of course, longing. With Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s fingers playing magic on the guitar, it was, really, the perfect pair.
From the site:
[From a] 1967 TV Show. A favorite is “Change Partners“, [a]n Irving Berlin 1938 song introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the movie, Carefree RKO 1938. “I Concentrate On You” composed by Cole Porter – introduced by Douglas MacPhail – for the 1940 movie “The Broadway Melody of 1940.” [Also] “Girl from Ipanema“, words and music by Jobim, DeMoraes and Gimbel 1963.
Popularized in the US by Astrud Gilberto and the Stan Getz Quartet in 1964.
Must you dance every dance with the same fortunate man?
You have danced with him since the music began.
Won’t you change partners and dance with me?
Must you dance quite so close with your lips touching his face?
Can’t you see I’m longing to be in his place?
Won’t you change partners and dance with me?
– Change Partners
You can find all these songs here:
Francis Albert Sinatra
& Antonio Carlos Jobim
Track listing:
1. The Girl From Ipanema
2. Dindi
3. Change Partners
4. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
5. Meditation
6. If You Never Come To Me
7. How Insensitive
8. I Concentrate On You
9. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
10. Once I Loved
From Leonard Fleisig:
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.
Café Jazz 