The Great American Songbook: Tony Bennett

A Salute to the Golden Age of American Popular Music

Showing posts with label Tony Bennett. Show all posts

Monday, March 12, 2012

Tony Bennett tv special on PBS this week (New York tonight)

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga (PBS)

Tonight on WNET New York at 8pm is the encore performance of 'Tony Bennett: Duets II' (for the rest of the country check the listing for your local PBS station

Tony made music history with the Grammy-nominated CD Duets II when it debuted at the top of the Billboard Album charts, making Bennett the oldest vocal artist ever to achieve the number one spot. Recently nominated for three Grammys, including Best Traditional Pop Vocal, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), the critically acclaimed album followed the 85-year-old singer’s Grammy-winning 2006 Duets CD, which had, in turn, been released in honor of his 80th birthday.

Tony Bennett: Duets II, a presentation of THIRTEEN’s Great Performances, features the singer’s greatest hits, performed by Bennett and today’s biggest stars, including John Mayer, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, Norah Jones, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, Alejandro Sanz, Carrie Underwood and more.

Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

The album took more than six months to record, with each track recorded face-to-face with his singer partners in studios around the world, from LA to Nashville to London. Among the many highlights is Amy Winehouse’s last recorded track (“Body and Soul”), which was produced in London’s famous Abbey Road Studios in March. Other tracks were recorded in New York in late July: the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart classic, “The Lady Is a Tramp” withLady Gaga, and the Alan and Marilyn Bergman classic, “How Do You Keep the Music Playing,” with Aretha Franklin, and “Stranger in Paradise” with Andrea Bocelli, recorded at the singer’s Italian home (see full track listing below).

The CD received kudos from all quarters. The Wall Street Journal noted that the singer was “…constantly reaffirming his position as pop music’s greatest living patriarch,” and Associated Press observed, “Tony Bennett is as timeless as the songs he sings on ‘Duets II.’”

The musical segments are highlighted by insights on the process from the performers, making for an up-close look at one of the year’s most celebrated recordings. The sessions were filmed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe (“Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Collateral”), providing a personal, behind-the-scenes look at Bennett’s latest collaborations and his artistic approach with each song.

Entering his seventh decade as a recording artist with more than 100 albums and 15 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Bennett has earned his legendary status many times over. He remains the Columbia recording artist with the greatest longevity at the label. His 2007 primetime special, “Tony Bennett: An American Classic,” won seven Emmy Awards and was directed by Academy Award winner Rob Marshall.

He has performed for Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, Geroge H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama. He also worked with and marched alongside Martin Luther King in his 1965 civil rights march and was honored with the Martin Luther King’s Salute to Greatness Award.

In addition to performing, he is a visual artist as well, with three of his original paintings featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian, including his portraits of Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. His humanitarian efforts are renowned, and the United Nations honored him with their Humanitarian Award in 2007.

He has published three books — his autobiography, The Good Life, and two collections of his paintings, Tony Bennett: What My Heart Has Seen and Tony Bennett in the Studio: A Life of Art and Music. Bennett founded, in association with the Department of Education in New York City, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts — a public arts high school in his hometown of Astoria, Queens. With his wife, Susan, he established Exploring the Arts, a charitable organization that supports arts education in NYC public high schools. Exploring the Arts supports 14 public high schools throughout New York City.

In the fall of 2007, a documentary of Bennett’s life and career, produced by Clint Eastwood, “Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends,” aired on THIRTEEN’s American Masters on PBS.

The full song program follows:

“The Lady Is a Tramp” (Lady Gaga)
“One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” (John Mayer)
“Body and Soul” (Amy Winehouse)
“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” (Michael Bublé)
“Blue Velvet” (k.d. lang)
“How Do You Keep the Music Playing” (Aretha Franklin)
“The Girl I Love” (Sheryl Crow)
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” (Willie Nelson)
“Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)” (Queen Latifah)
“Speak Low” (Norah Jones)
“This Is All I Ask” (Josh Groban)
“Watch What Happens” (Natalie Cole)
“Stranger in Paradise” (Andrea Bocelli)
“The Way You Look Tonight” (Faith Hill)
“Yesterday I Heard the Rain” (Alejandro Sanz)
“It Had to Be You” (Carrie Underwood)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Review: Diana Krall Solo Concert disappointing

First, let me say that I've been a very enthusiastic fan of Diana Krall since the first time I saw the "Live in Paris" DVD. I've purchased all her CD's, watched her television appearances, and drove 350 miles to see her perform live at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, Vermont.

Sunday, I drove only 40 miles to the world class New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey to see Diana in her new Solo Concert. Normally she works with a jazz trio, but at the Victoria theater it was simply Diana at the piano, plus an antique horn phonograph. The concert was originally scheduled for 7pm, but on arrival the audience was informed of a thirty minute delay to 7:30pm. Diana actually appeared on stage about 15 minutes later remarking that she had a 'zipper' issue.

From our vantage point in the second row right, Diana appeared either tired or bored. She did indicate that she was short of breath after opening with Peel Me A Grape and Did You Ever See A Dream Walking, remarking that she may need to get back to the treadmill. Consequently, Diana was not in the best voice for the rest of the 90 minute program.

The real disappointment was in the program selection. Very light on classics from the time tested Great American Songbook (It's Just A Garden In The Rain, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, What'll I Do, and the Crosby novelty Don't Fence Me In) and very heavy on a group of obscure tunes 'she found in her Dad's collection of 78's'...there is a reason why these songs never became classics...they are simply pleasant at best.

She did do a nice feature on Fats Waller including Your Feets Too Big. Diana also included a composition "Home" that she had composed with her husband Elvis Costello, it was also just pleasant. To close the program she moved to a stool and appeared very ill at ease strumming a ukulele that she clearly has not mastered.

The awkwardness of the evening maybe that we were actually viewing a dress rehearsal for the Solo Concert she will do over several days at the Montreal Jazz Festival later this month. A call to her publicist for comment or clarification went unanswered.

Back to the point about song selection, we were friends with Rosemary Clooney who had a very successful jazz career during the last half of her marvelous career. Rosie said that the best advice she had ever received was from Ella Fitzgerald..."sing only the great time tested songs....they make a good singer sound great."

Tony Bennett, who was in the same theater complex on Sunday night, is quoted as follows; " I sing in Asia and I sing in Europe, and I start singing a Cole Porter song or a Gershwin (George Gershwin) song and the whole audience starts singing it with me. They are America's greatest ambassadors. We have created the greatest popular music that has ever been written and will not be topped because it's not dated. It doesn't sound old fashioned, it's not old. The corporations will say, 'That's old music'. It's not old music, it's great music and it comes out of the United States."

Here Diana is singing a standard;

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Metropolitan Opera to present Tony Bennett in a special concert

The Metropolitan Opera will present Tony Bennett in a special concert, the legendary singer's first appearance on the Met stage, on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 7 p.m.

The concert will be the first in a series of events celebrating Bennett's 85th birthday and leading up to the release of the 15-time Grammy winner's upcoming album, Duets II (RPM/Columbia Records), which is scheduled for a September 20th release. Tickets to the concert, which range from $50 to $350, will go on sale at metopera.org or (212) 362-6000 at 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 5th.

The concert will feature pop standards from the Great American Songbook, many of which Bennett has introduced and recorded to critical and popular acclaim that led to a string of greatest hits over his 60-year career. The quartet performing with Bennett is composed of pianist Lee Musiker, guitarist Gray Sargent, drummer Harold Jones, and bassist Marshall Wood.

"I've been practicing my whole life to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House," Bennett said. "It's a dream come true."

The Met has previously presented a variety of popular artists in concert, including Barbara Cook (2006), Kristin Chenoweth (2007), Sting (2010), and Andrea Bocelli (2011).

Bennett's Duets II CD, one of the most highly anticipated releases of this year, will be available on September 20th. It is a follow up to his multi-Grammy Award winning Duets: An American Classic and will be available at a variety of retailers, including the Met Opera Shop. Please visit www.tonybennett.com for more information.

About Tony Bennett

The son of a grocer and Italian-born immigrant, Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born on August 3, 1926, in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. He attended the High School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan, where he nurtured his dual passions, singing and painting. His boyhood idols included Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, both big influences on Bennett's easy, natural singing style. Bennett sang while waiting tables as a teenager then performed with military bands throughout his overseas Army duty during World War II. After the war, the GI Bill enabled him to study vocal technique at the American Theatre Wing School. The first time he sang in a nightclub was 1946 when he sat in with trombonist Tyree Glenn at the Shangri-La in Astoria.

Bennett's big break came in 1949 when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working with Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village. As he recalls, "Bob Hope came down to check out my act. He liked my singing so much that after the show he came back to see me in my dressing room and said, 'Come on kid, you're going to come to the Paramount and sing with me.' But first he told me he didn't care for my stage name (Joe Bari) and asked me what my real name was. I told him, 'My name is Anthony Dominick Benedetto,' and he said, 'We'll call you Tony Bennett.' And that's how it happened. A new Americanized name, the start of a wonderful career and a glorious adventure that has continued for sixty years."

With worldwide record sales in the millions, and dozens of platinum and gold albums to his credit, Bennett has received fifteen Grammy Awards including the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The MTV generation first took Tony Bennett to heart during his appearance with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the 1993 MTV Video Awards. He appeared on MTV Unplugged and the resulting recording of the same name garnered him the top Grammy Award for Album of the Year. "Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap," observed The New York Times, "he has demolished it. He has solidly connected with a younger crowd weaned on rock. And there have been no compromises." Bennett credits his eldest son and manager, Danny, for his success in capturing a whole new generation of listeners. His most recent CD release was the holiday recording Tony Bennett: A Swingin' Christmas Featuring the Count Basie Orchestra, which has become a yearly seasonal favorite. In 2009 he re-signed to Columbia Records, continuing his status as the artist signed for the greatest period of time in the label's history.

His initial fame came via a string of Columbia singles in the early 1950s, including such chart-toppers as "Because of You," "Rags To Riches" and a cover of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart." He has placed two-dozen songs in the Top 40, including "I Wanna Be Around," "The Good Life," "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" and his signature hit, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," which earned him two Grammy Awards. Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums chart in the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and into the new millennium. He introduced a multitude of songs into the Great American Songbook that have since become pop music standards. He has toured the world to sold out audiences, winning rave reviews whenever he performs. Bennett re-signed with Columbia Records in 1986 and released the critically acclaimed The Art Of Excellence. Since his show-stopping performance of "When Do the Bells Ring for Me," from his Astoria album, at the 1991 Grammy Awards, he has been awarded Grammys for Steppin' Out, Perfectly Frank, MTV Unplugged, Playin' with My Friends, The Art of Romance and Duets: An American Classic. In celebration of his unparalleled contributions to popular music, Columbia/Legacy assembled Forty Years: The Artistry Of Tony Bennett. The four-CD boxed set, released in 1991, chronicled the singer's stellar recording career and documents his growth as an artist inspiring Time magazine to call the collection "... the essence of why CD boxed sets are a blessing." Recently, thanks to Bennett's remarkable career longevity, the set has been updated and expanded, with the title changed from Forty Years to Fifty Years.

He became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2005, and was named an NEA Jazz Master in January of 2006 and was also named the recipient of Billboard magazine's elite Century Award, in honor of his outstanding contributions to music. A supporter of charitable efforts throughout his career, Tony was honored by the United Nations receiving their Humanitarian Award in 2007 and has raised millions of dollars for the American Cancer Society and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. With his wife Susan, he established Exploring the Arts to support and fund arts education in NYC public schools and founded in 2001 the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a NYC public arts high school with a state of the art facility in his hometown of Astoria, Queens.

Along with an extraordinary career in music, Bennett is a prolific and critically acclaimed artist and painter whose work has been seen all over the world, including three paintings that are currently in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Bennett has also authored three books: What My Heart Has Seen, a beautifully bound edition of his paintings published in 1996; The Good Life, his heartfelt autobiography released in 1998; and Tony Bennett In the Studio, a sumptuous salute to his dual career as singer and painter, published in 2007. He has been the subject of both a filmed biography produced by Clint Eastwood and a major television special, Tony Bennett: An American Classic, which aired on NBC in autumn 2006 and won seven Emmy Awards making it the most honored television program at the 2007 Emmy Awards ceremony.

SOURCE RPM/Columbia Records