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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

April 5, 2018 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

The Tony Bennett Quartet

I can’t say enough about what a fine group of musicians comprise this quartet. They are all supremely talented, both as individuals and as a close, tight-knit group.

They will be performing at a local jazz club in Methuen, Massachusetts on April 10, along with singer Donna Byrne. I wish I could be there. If you live in the greater Boston area, you might want to head to Methuen on the 10th.

Tony Bennett Quartet (sans Tony) bound for Jocko’s Jazz in Methuen

It’s a rare bird. A first. The Tony Bennett Quartet will play a show without Bennett. On April 10 in Methuen, they’ll take the cabaret stage at Jocko’s Jazz, a Tuesday night staple for more than a decade at The Sahara Club and Restaurant.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Donna Byrne, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones, Marshall Wood, The Tony Bennett Quartet, Tom Ranier

March 22, 2018 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Constant Craving

Today’s New York Times had a lovely interview with k.d. lang, who is currently touring with the re-release of Ingenue on its 25th anniversary. This was the album where she showed us all what a versatile singer she is.

K.D. Lang Doesn’t Have to Indulge Your Constant Cravings

The album, which she wrote with Ben Mink, then her collaborator, was specifically made, as Mr. Mink pointed out recently, to be timeless, with nods to George Gershwin and Kurt Weill, European klezmer music and a dash of contemporary “MOR” (middle of the road) pop.

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Constant Craving, k d lang

January 28, 2018 By Suzanne 2 Comments

Tony at the 2018 Grammys

Tony Bennett, looking great on the Red Carpet!

Tony Bennett on Twitter

Walking the red carpet at tonight’s #Grammys

Tony’s son, Dae Bennett, who produced Tony Bennett Celebrates 90, won the Grammy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Tony Bennett on Twitter

So thrilled that my son Dae just won a Grammy for “Tony Bennett Celebrates 90” #GRAMMYs

Congratulations to Tony and Dae!

Filed Under: About His Collaborators, About Tony Bennett Tagged With: 2018 Grammy Awards, Dae Bennett, Tony Celebrates 90

September 17, 2017 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Remembering Ralph Sharon on his Birthday

The Year of Tony Bennett is proud to remember Ralph Sharon on anniversary of his birth on September 17, 1923.

Ralph Sharon was born in London, England to an English father and an American mother, who was a professional pianist.

Mr. Sharon found success quite early in life. By the age of 20, he was playing for Ted Heath in England, all the time playing additional jazz gigs and recording for the BBC. In the early 1950s, he emigrated to New York. He worked with prominent musicians, recording albums with noted jazz musicians, including Charles Mingus, Jo Jones, and others.

Ralph Sharon is seminal figure in the early recording history of Tony Bennett. A noted jazz pianist, he encouraged Tony to explore his love of jazz at the same time the studio was attempting to guide Mr. Bennett into the role of popular singer. Sharon auditioned for Tony Bennett in 1957, as described by Mr. Bennett in his autobiography, The Good Life:

The first guy that showed up was okay, but the second guy, Ralph Sharon, just had to hit a few notes for me to know that he was the piano player for me.

At about the same time that Ralph Sharon began to play for Bennett, Columbia began to phase Mitch Miller out and Bennett began to work with other producers. Due to his enormous success, Bennett was able to stand up to the producers who wanted to keep him solely in the popular music hit factory. Tony Bennett had already recorded his first jazz album, Cloud 7, in 1955. Working with Sharon, they began to plan his next jazz album, Beat of My Heart. They assembled great percussionists to play the great standards, with exceptional arrangements by Mr. Sharon. In addition to great American drummers (including Nat Adderley, Chico Hamilton, Jo Jones, and Eddie Costa) they also brought in two important Latin American percussionists: Sabu and Candido. The album was one Tony Bennett’s finest albums to date and was well-received by jazz fans.

In 1962, Bennett and Sharon released one of my favorite albums, Tony Sings For Two. At a time when so much popular music was over-produced with enormous string sections, this album with just Ralph Sharon on piano and Tony Bennett singing was quite revolutionary. This album is quite exceptional and very beautiful. T

In 1966, Ralph Sharon and Tony Bennett parted ways. Mr. Sharon lived on the West Coast and wanted to spend less time on the road. They reunited in 1979 and continued to play with Mr. Bennett until 2002. They did wonderful work together on albums Mr. Bennett released in that period: Art of Excellence, Bennett/Berlin, Perfectly Frank, and the MTV Unplugged concert, among others.

Speaking strictly as fan of Tony Bennett, I am grateful for the collaboration between Ralph Sharon and Tony Bennett.

Ralph Sharon died on March 31, 2015 in Boulder, Colorado. He was 91 years old.

NPR did a nice story about Ralph Sharon soon after his death:

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: Happy Birthday to Ralph Sharon, Ralph Sharon

August 31, 2017 By Suzanne 2 Comments

Musical Collaborator of the Month: Ralph Sharon

The Year of Tony Bennett is proud to recognize Ralph Sharon as the musical collaborator the month for September 2017.

Ralph Sharon was born in London on September 23, 1923. He emigrated to the United States in 1954 and in 1958, became Tony Bennett’s pianist and musical director.

I’ll be sharing more about Mr. Sharon over this month. But today I’ll let Mr. Bennett speak, in his wonderful memory of Ralph in Jazz Times.

Tony Bennett Remembers Ralph Sharon – JazzTimes

Each year, in our March issue, we ask prominent musicians to pay tribute to fellow artists who have passed in the previous year. This piece appeared in the March 2016 edition of JazzTimes. As with other artists, there’s always one song that’s bigger than any other song, and for me that was “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

Filed Under: About His Collaborators, Collaborator of the Month Tagged With: Ralph Sharon

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