Triste is a bossa nova composition written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1966 while he was staying at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles, waiting for Frank Sinatra to return from Barbados so they could begin recording their collaborative album. Despite its title meaning "sad" in Portuguese, the piece carries an upbeat, colorful character, reflecting a Brazilian cultural nuance where the word can imply a wistful cheerfulness rather than outright sorrow. The melody is elegant and lyrical, supported by rich chromatic harmony that includes distinctive touches like diminished chord voicings and subtle reharmonizations that set it apart from typical jazz changes. Jobim wrote lyrics for the tune in both English and Portuguese. The composition first appeared on Jobim's landmark 1967 album Wave, in an instrumental arrangement by Claus Ogerman that featured trombonist Urbie Green doubling the melody alongside piano. Frank Sinatra later recorded a vocal version with Jobim for the 1971 album Sinatra and Company, introducing a notable chord substitution in the bridge. Elis Regina and Jobim revisited the tune as an intimate vocal duet on the celebrated 1974 album Elis and Tom. While not as universally known as The Girl from Ipanema, Triste has become a staple of the jazz and Latin jazz repertoire, prized by improvisers for its harmonic sophistication and by listeners for its understated beauty.
