Frank Sinatra is often dismissed as a mere ‘pop’ singer and critically diminished relative to his contemporaries. He’s often accused of being formulaic and repetitive and not afforded the proper respect for his vocal talent. While Sinatra certainly knew what worked for him, and what kind of songs and arrangements he liked, the assertion that he didn’t have the vocal ‘chops’ is patently unfair. Perhaps the finest example of his vocal excellence is his work with Brazilian guitarist Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Jobim is often credited with popularizing Bossa Nova music outside of Brazil. He worked with Sinatra on an album of samba tinged standards entitled Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The work was a critical and commercial success, and Sinatra would hold Jobim in very high regard for the rest of his life. Sinatra had the highest respect for Jobim as an artist and liked him as a friend. Sinatra would often introduce his performances of Jobim songs live by remembering his Brazilian colleague in very fond terms or expressing the hope that the two men could work together in the future.

“Wave”, written by Jobim and arranged by Eumir Deodato, is perhaps the finest of their collective work. It features some magnificent technical singing by Sinatra, including what are the lowest notes ever recorded by “The Chairman of the Board”. For the rest of his life Sinatra enjoyed listening to ‘Wave just to hear how good he sounds hitting the bass notes.

This song was to have been a featured track on a second collection of Sinatra/Jobim collaborations, but for some inexplicable reason it was never released as such.One story is that Sinatra himself nixed the release because he didn’t like the cover art. The photographer that insisted on posting Sinatra in front of a Greyhound bus mayhave been responsible for depriving the world of a second collection of Sinatra with a bossa nova twist.

“Wave”, along with the majority of the songs intended for the “Sinatra/Jobim” album finally surfaced on “Sinatra and Company” in 1970. The “b” side is some of Sinatra’s ill-fated attempts to cover popular songs of the day (“Close To You”, It’s Not Easy Being Green”, “Leaving On A Jet Plane”). These are recordings that even the most rabid Sinatra fans consider among his most forgettable work, and a stark contrast to the masterful collaboration with Jobim on the album’s “A” side. “Wave” also appeared on the Reprise box set and of course of the “Complete Reprise Recordings” suitcase collection.

Will Friedwald, in his book on Sinatra’s music “Sinatra: The Song Is You” described the songs from the Sinatra/Jobim sessions as having “flexibility and delicacy, as if they could be blown about by a soft Brazilian breeze”. They remain among the most listenable and romantic work of Sinatra’s epic career, as well as representing perhaps his finest vocal effort.