Frank Sinatra - A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim (1969)

For the second of his 1960s television specials, Frank Sinatra organized the show around the loose theme of "rhythm," and chose for his exploration two artists of impeccable credentials: the scat stylings and jazz-influenced delivery of Ella Fitzgerald and the quiet Latin groove of Brazilian bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim. The program combines beautiful ballads ("Ol' Man River," "Put Your Dreams Away") with brassy up-tempo tunes ("Day In, Day Out," "Get Me to the Church on Time"), though one medley includes some forgivable but hardly memorable attempts at contemporary pop, mixing snatches of "How High the Moon" with "Up, Up and Away," "Don't Cry Joe" with "Ode to Billy Joe." The show slows for a relaxed medley with Jobim, who accompanies a lounging, cigarette-smoking Sinatra with guitar and whispering backing vocals while the Voice drops his volume to an intimate conversational tone for "Change Partners," "I Concentrate on You," and Jobim's own "The Girl from Ipanema." Ella duets with Sinatra on two medleys (contributing a fabulous scat rendition of "Stomping at the Savoy"), solos on "Body and Soul," "It's All Right with Me" and "Don't Be That Way," and finally the two burn up the program with one final duet, a high octane, show-stopping performance of "The Lady Is a Tramp," with Nelson Riddle's orchestra driving the brass to keep up. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim

What more can I say. The greatest with two more of the greatest. Must see. January 18, 2008

Frank with a lot of help from his friends

There are a lot of reviews here already, and they cover a lot of ground, so i'll stick to my highlights. First of all, this video catches Frank in complete control of his whole way of singing. Considering he was in his fifties, his voice is in excellent shape, and his phrasing, and in particular his sense of swing are at a level no other pop singer could touch. The way he sings the opener, "Day In, Day Out" never fails to give me goosebumps - he swings so hard! Some other highlights are "Change Partners" (particularly in the last section where he works the same note up and down in octaves), and "At Long Last Love" (the end of the first section, where he absolutely belts out the words "is what I feel the real mccoy"). Secondly, the guest are equally brilliant. For me, Ella's highlights are in the final section - her scatting through "Stompin' At The Savoy", and her masterpiece version of "Don't Be That Way". The section with Jobim is the perfect change of pace, although it's too short (I would have liked an entire chorus of "I Concentrate On You", not the half chorus presented). And lastly, maybe you have to be musician to really appreciate this, but the bass player on this video is the great Ray Brown (Ella's ex husband), and he really drives the music. He plays the intro to "Get Me To The Church On Time" (off camera - the guy on camera is miming, and not very well), and has some great moments on "What Now My Love" and "At Long Last Love", among many others. In my opinion, all these factors make this DVD an indispensable part of the Sinatra legacy January 12, 2008

Numero Uno

What else is there to say? The greatest entertainer of the 20th Century if not all time? He could act with the best, dance with the best and sing with the best. My father (who passed away) was friends with the late Jilly Rizzo( a close friend of Sinatra's) and once rented a 3rd floor apartment which was located above Jilly's Bar on 52nd Street in Manhattan to my dad. Jilly had rented the apartment to my dad (who was an attorney and knew Jilly from the "old" neigborhood in Brooklyn), for $200 a month in 1964. Bill St. Clair, a WWII buddy of my fathers (from the aircorps)from Boston lived in the apartment when he was appearing at Jilly's as a piano player and singer. My father and mother used the apartment when they were out on the town and Bill was on the road. Another friend of my father once told me that Sinatra knew my father by his first name and that if you were in the same room with Sinatra, he was just another guy in the room and didn't want to be treated any differently. Sinatra had always been very polite and gracious. Sinatra never forgot where he came from in terms of his humble beginnings. Fame didn't go to his head like it has done for so many lesser talents. Sinatra singing with Jobim and Ella is Classic. True talent like theirs does not exist anymore, at least I don't see it. This DVD is a must buy for any Sinatra fan. Sinatra was the Best! September 6, 2007

Perfect, but are you aware of the "real" story?

This show with Frank and Ella was simply a perfect and historic one. I cannot emphasize the greatness of this show. Ths music was amazingly well done. Frank Sinatra was in his prime, and he is such a calm, cool, and collected type of performer. He is naturally suave and just too damn cool. His voice is great.

Ella's supreme vocal talent and technique, in my opinion, is what elevated this show to what it is and always will be. Ella performed on this show because Frank made a nasty comment about Ella in a Life Magazine article marking his 50th birthday. Ella appearing on the show was Frank's way of apologizing for hurting her. The horrible comment was that Ella and Julie Garland were technically two of the worst singers!

In all truthfulness, Frank has always loved Ella, but even in all Frank's monumental accomplishments, he was a little jealous of Ella's hard edged creativity, and the imprint she had made and was making on music. Ella wasn't called "The First Lady of Song" for nothing. She was more than a perfect scatting jazz artist. She was also an all-American singer with perfect tone, perfect pitch, creative in her improvisations, and her singing style could not be touched by anyone. Ella was Frank's only real match on American popular music. And the fact she was black makes her achievement even more amazing, thanks to Norman Granz.

Jobim was also wonderful in this show. He is a composer who truly was blessed by God. All those wonderful Bossa Novas, and beautiful Brazilian songs he created elevates him as an all time great. All these artists still influence musicians and singers today! This entire show was just dazzling, especially the performances with Ella.

I bet there are so many fascinating, and disturbing untold stories behind such historical moments. January 24, 2007

Excellent

Now I know why you could not fall in love with Frank....He's the greatest!
This whole DVD is the Best ever...We need more DVD's like this one......Ana January 19, 2007

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