The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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RIP Marian McPartland

The Year of Tony Bennett joins jazz fans everywhere in mourning the passing of one of the greats: Marian McPartland.

She did it all: masterful pianist, composer, entertainer, educator, author and host of the impeccable NPR program Piano Jazz. After a detour to rock music in college, Marian’s program on NPR brought me back into the fold of jazz music and I never left again. She made jazz relevant to new generations of fans with Piano Jazz; we all owe her our gratitude.

Tony Bennett and Marian McPartland

In memory of Marian, we include this link to her session with Tony Bennett on Piano Jazz.

Updated

Links to some of the many obituaries that have been written for Marian:

New York Times

National Public Radio

Los Angeles Times

Chicago Tribune 

The London Guardian

Washington Post

Voice of America

The Atlantic Monthly

 

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Song of the Day: Life is a Song

The Year of Tony Bennett is happy to celebrate the birthday of the great Count Basie, who was born this day in 1904.

The song of the day for Wednesday, August 21, 2013 is “Life is a Song.”

About This Song

“Life is a Song” was written by Fred Ahlert and Joe Young; the song was written in 1935. Other Ahlert songs include “Bye, Bye Blackbird” and “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter.”

About This Version

Today’s song is from the album Basie/Bennett, released in 1959. This album featured Tony Bennett with the Count Basie Orchestra. However, only this song and “Jeepers Creepers” featured Basie himself on piano.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2d0KVeTGh0NtRMJTyMITGY
“Life is a Song,” as well as the Basie/Bennett album, is available on iTunes.

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Song of the Day: The Good Life

The song of the day for Tuesday, August 20, 2013 is “The Good Life.”

About This Song

It is said that Sacha Distel wrote “The Good Life” after his relationship with Bridgette Bardot ended when she refused his proposal of marriage. I don’t know if this is true or not, but it’s a great story. The song was written in 1962 for the movie The Seven Capital Sins, with lyrics by Jack Reardon. The original French title was “La Belle Vie.”

About This Version

Today’s song comes from Tony Bennett’s 1963 album I Wanna Be Around. In addition to today’s iconic song, the album also contains the Johnny Mercer-Sadie Vimmerstedt song “I Wanna Be Around,” as well as many other fine songs. “The Good Life” was arranged by Marty Manning and produced by Ernie Altschuler.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MVvSNPOUd2z70vkkNCbLr
“The Good Life,” as well as the album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams

The song of the day for Monday, August 19, 2013 is “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.”

About This Song

“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” is a classic Depression-era song written by Harry Barris with lyrics by Ted Koehler and Billy Moll. The song was written in and 1931; Bing Crosby was the first person to record this song.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s 1964 album Who Can I Turn To. This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged by George Siravo and produced by Ernie Altschuler.

http://open.spotify.com/track/669cS5WKTDpyMn3A1Tg7EJ
“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” as well as the album Who Can I Turn To, is available from iTunes.