1967--British invasion taking up major radio airplay, Count Basie records an LP entirely of Beatles and James Bond music. Sinatra is recognizing the change to a certain extent, having Don Costa arrange Petula Clark songs (is this what drove Costa to start sniffing?).
But this is a GEM. He completely changed his style, not unlike when switching from Columbia to Capitol in the 50's. It just WORKS. Even Berlin's "Change Parners" is great. And, of course, arrangements by Claus Ogerman, who went on to arrange "This Masquerade" for George Benson a decade later. And Claus is still here as of this writing, working with Diana Krall.
The only downpoint: the LP times in under 40 mintues. But the remedy is to invest in the complete Jobim compilation, which includes "Desifinado"--was wondering for years how he would interpret it, heard the rumors it was recorded but sat in a vault for decades.
One last point: Bossa had been around for some years, covered by the great jazz artists (Stan Getz, for example), Quincy Jones covered it. Some bossa nova renditions got loud, disruptive and obnoxious as unknowns jumped on the bandwagon. This is what makes this recording so special, it plays to the subtle quality of bossa nova. Priceless and precious. Bravo.
Andrew Chaplowitz shares his love of bossa nova performed by "old blue eyes".
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