(Jazz / Bossa Nova) Antonio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina - Elis & Tom - 1974, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

A classic 1974 recording, ELIS AND TOM brings together the brilliant Brazilian vocalist Elis Regina and the father of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Although Elis was a guest singer on some of Jobim's Creed Taylor-produced material, this was the first and only time the pair did a full-fledged duet album. Like the Taylor albums, WAVE and TIDE, ELIS AND TOM features a full orchestra. Very much unlike the Taylor albums, the orchestral coloring is kept to a bare, sensible minimum. Regina, who many feel was the finest female Brazilian jazz singer ever, works best in a sparse environment, and Jobim wisely tailors his arrangements to her strengths. The results are a sublime song cycle of material both old and new combining to create an overwhelming mood of melancholy. This is not saudade, the happy-sad feeling endemic to most bossa nova, but a darker and even more emotionally complex mood. The beauty of Regina's singing and Jobim's songs is lapidary, but some might find the record's tone a bit much to take in a single sitting.