A Keen Eye on His ‘Very Good Years’

Frank Sinatra has been such a primal force in virtually every area of the entertainment world for so long, as well as a perpetual object of gossip column scrutiny, that his importance as a musical genius is sometimes overlooked.

“Frank Sinatra: The Very Good Years” on PBS’ “Great Performances” doesn’t quite provide a complete picture of the length and breadth of his extraordinary abilities--it would take a series of specials to do that. But as a window into the period between 1965 and 1981, it provides a marvelous perspective into the musical Sinatra at a time when his skills were well-honed, mature and supremely self-confident.

He sings many of the songs long associated with his career: “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Come Fly With Me,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Strangers in the Night” and “My Way,” among numerous others. And he sings them superbly, occasionally in combination with other performers--”The Lady Is a Tramp” with Ella Fitzgerald, “Nice n’ Easy” with Gene Kelly, “I Get a Kick Out of You” with Natalie Cole, and “The Best Is Yet to Come” with Count Basie.

The unexpected highlight of the special, however, is an exquisitely intimate duet between Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim (from 1967). Clearly connected musically, the pair (with discreet orchestral backing supporting Jobim’s guitar) apply subtle, but insistent bossa nova rhythms to a medley of tunes, including Jobim’s “Quiet Nights” and “The Girl From Ipanema” and the standards “Change Partners” and “I Concentrate on You.” It is a stunningly memorable moment, a classical visual presentation of music and persuasive evidence that good music does not require cinematic distractions to have its effect.

The performances trace to a decade and a half (Sinatra was between 50 and 65 at the time) in which all the musical elements that contributed to the evolution of his style--the smooth ballad singing of the ‘30s and ‘40s, the jaunty swing of his ‘50s recordings for Capitol, the macho strut of his early Reprise efforts--had come together into a beautifully integrated creative expression. Add to that the fact that his voice, always stunning, had become enriched with warm, complex timbres, and his interpretations, as always, defined the essence of every tune, and the result is classic American music, performed by one of its greatest masters.

Although Sinatra has not performed in public for several years, his catalog continues to generate cash flow for Reprise, the record label he founded in the ‘60s. On Wednesday, his latest album, “Lucky Numbers,” a compilation of his recordings of Las Vegas-themed songs--including “Luck Be a Lady,” “Here’s to the Losers” and “New York, New York”--was introduced, appropriately, at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

* “Frank Sinatra: The Very Good Years” airs at 8 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28.