Sinatra Swings To A Bossa Nova Beat

By David Glisan

Critics often dismiss Frank Sinatra as a mere 'pop' singer and don't afford him the respect that they give to his contemporaries. He's often accused of lacking technical vocal mastery and simply a singer who reworked a 'formula' over and over again. While Sinatra certainly knew what he liked and what worked for him, to belittle his artistry as a vocalist is unfair and displays a superficial knowledge of his body of work. Perhaps the finest example of his vocal excellence is his work with Brazilian guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Jobim is considered the founding father of Bossa Nova, and certainly deserves a bulk of the credit for popularizing the genre in North America. His collaboration with Sinatra on a samba tinged album Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim was a critical and commerical success. Sinatra had the highest respect for Jobim as an artist and liked him as a friend. He would try to work out the logistics for the two to record together at several points in his career, but it never came to pass.

"Wave", written by Jobim and arranged by Eumir Deodato, is arguably the best of all of the Sinatra/Jobim collaborations. It features some great singing by Sinatra, including perhaps the lowest notes ever recorded by "The Voice". Years later, during his periods of 'retirement' it is said that Sinatra would listen to "Wave" just to hear how good he sounds hitting the bass notes.

This song originally intended as the opening track of a second volume of Sinatra/Jobim collaborations, but it was never released as such. The story that has circulated over the years is that the Sinatra/Jobim album put on the back burner so that Reprise could release the concept album "Watertown" instead. As an commercial decision, it's tough to fathom the rationale if this is the case. "Watertown" sold fewer copies than any other Sinatra release on Reprise. Another story is that Sinatra himself nixed the release because he hated the cover art which featured the 'King of Swingers' wearing a windbreaker and standing in front of a Greyhound bus. Hard to blame him for disliking that image if this version of the story is true.

"Wave" finally surfaced on "Sinatra and Company" in 1970. "Wave" also appeared on the Reprise box set and of course of the "Complete Reprise Recordings" suitcase collection.

Will Friedwald, in his definitive book on Sinatra's music "Sinatra: The Song Is You" described the singer's work with Jobim as having "flexibility and delicacy, as if they could be blown about by a soft Brazilian breeze". This sensual and sultry song, in particular, is among the finest vocal work of Sinatra's amazing career. - 23806

About the Author:

David Glisan is a journalist covering MMA and boxing as well as a noted authority on music ranging from heavy metal to jazz. He contributes to many MMA news websites and provides UFC news for mainstream sports broadcast and print media. He serves as the music and entertainment editor for The Savage Science, a website covering fight sports and heavy metal music.