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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 11, 2014 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

k.d. lang Hits The Big White Way

Tonight, k.d. lang opens in the Broadway smash hit After Midnight, in the role of Special Guest Star. The Year of Tony Bennett is very proud of our fellow Portland resident on her Broadway debut and we feel sure that she’s going to knock everyone’s socks off!

Here’s a short video where she talks about being in After Midnight:

For more information about After Midnight, including ticket information, please visit the After Midnight website.

Break a leg!

News and Interviews

Toronto Star interview
Las Vegas Sun interview
New York Times article by Stephen Holden
Broadway World article with lots of great photographs, including several with Tony
New York Post review

Just saw After Midnight. One of the best musicals I've ever seen on Broadway.

— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) February 12, 2014

From Earlier- BWW TV: Watch Highlights of k.d. lang's Broadway Debut in AFTER MIDNIGHT!… http://t.co/7gRVbCiafH @AfterMidnightNY @kdlang

— broadwayworld (@broadwayworld) February 13, 2014

Filed Under: About His Collaborators Tagged With: After Midnight, k d lang

November 5, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 5, 2013 is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was written by Duke Ellington in 1931, with lyrics by Irving Mills. Ellington first recorded the song in 1932 with Ivie Anderson on vocals. It was one of the first songs that used the term “swing” to define what would become the American jazz sound for many years. This song has been widely recorded by both vocal and instrumental jazz performers.

About This Version

The Year of Tony Bennett has been in a Duke Ellington frame of mind all day, due mostly to the Broadway opening of After Midnight, a jazz revue based on the music of the Cotton Club. With a jazz orchestra hand-picked by Wynton Marsalis, a score of some of the best jazz music ever written and, apparently, some breathtaking performances, After Midnight has become an instant hit (you can read Charles Isherwood’s review from the New York Times here). k.d. lang will be featured in the production in February, 2014 as the Special Guest Star. The Year of Tony Bennett regrets the great distance between Portland, Oregon and Manhattan today; we really, really, really want to see this production. Hopefully, there will be an original cast album soon. We’ll keep you posted. You can visit the show’s website here.

After reading the scores of positive reviews of After Midnight, we have been listening to Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool all day today and chose one of our favorite songs, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Aint’ Got That Swing),” as the song of the day because it’s too true: it really don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. Duke Ellington told us so 83 years ago and it’s still true. And always will be.

http://open.spotify.com/track/29oWjqHxcY1cezZuylBYdo
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: After Midnight, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, k d lang

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