Guest post by Nathan Arizona
Ironically, Frank Sinatra was at his most sensitive when he joined Antonio Carlos Jobim on Jobim’s song “How Insensitive.” He needed to be. Jobim was a founder of bossa nova and the one most associated with it. The lilting, melodic, jazzy music called for a light, breezy style. Frank was well known for his brash ring-a-ding style and emotionally turbulent private life
He made it work, of course. He was Frank Sinatra. Besides, he could always tone it down for his barroom ballads.
“I haven’t sung this soft since I had the laryngitis,” he said of the 1967 Jobim session. And he knew the right pace for bossa nova. “Don’t let it run away, fellas, with the tempo,” he told the musicians. “Just keep it down. Let it settle down.”
Bossa nova took Brazil by storm in the early ‘60s and proceeded to do the same in U.S. jazz and pop music. American jazz players began to incorporate the style into their own. Many Brazilian musicians came here to capitalize on their surprising fame, including Jobim, whose centennial year is now being celebrated. They often paired with American performers. Frank Sinatra knew which way the wind blew.
“How Insensitive” (“Insensatez”), which Jobim wrote in 1963, appeared on the album “Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim.” It earned a Grammy nomination for best album and reached No. 19 on the Billboard album chart. The Portuguese lyrics are by poet (and diplomat!) Vinícius de Moraes. He wrote lyrics for many early bossa nova songs and is considered one of its founders. The lush orchestration is by Claus Ogerman, a key figure on many bossa nova recordings in the U.S.
Jobim also wrote the music for “The Girl From Ipanema” with lyrics by Moraes – “tall and tan and young and lovely, the girl from Ipanema goes walking…” It was the best-known bossa nova song and became a jazz and pop standard. It’s not easy to imagine Frank Sinatra lazing in the sand on a sunny Rio beach. But he was at home in the studio saying he was.
