The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Wave

The song of the day for Friday, April 11, 2014 is “Wave.”

About This Song

“Wave” was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1967 and was released as an instrumental that same year on the album Wave. Jobim wrote the English lyrics as well. It has many fine recordings, including those by Frank Sinatra with Jobim, Ella Fitzgerald, Sérgio Mendes and Joao Gilberto.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Wave” is from Bennett’s 1970 album Tony Bennett’s “Something”. It was arranged by Peter Matz, produced by Teo Macero and engineered by the great Frank Laico. Bennett writes in his autobiography The Good Life:

The album was released in October 1970. For the cover, I chose a shot of me cradling infant Joanna in my arms. It’s the best album cover I ever saw.

http://open.spotify.com/track/28RYuPyg5tkCFTvVNl4vOA
“Wave,” as well as the album Tony Bennett’s “Something”, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

The song of the day for Wednesday, March 19, 2014 is “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars.”

About This Song

“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” (“Corcovado” in the original Portuguese) was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1960. Gene Lees wrote the English lyric. This is one of the better known bossa nova songs and has been widely recorded by artists including Blossom Dearie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall, Doris Day and Miles Davis among many others.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” in 1963 for his album I Wanna Be Around. It was arranged and conducted by Marty Manning and produced by Ernie Altschuler. It’s a lovely recording and I hope you enjoy it as much I do.

http://open.spotify.com/track/79MANBUYixOGlFgoZnVTqw
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” as well as the remastered album I Wanna Be Around, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)

The song of the day for Friday, January 3, 2014 is “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars.”

About This Song

Today’s song, known as “Corcovado” in the original Portuguese, was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1960. Corcovado refers to the mountain of the same name located in Rio de Janeiro. The English lyric, as sung here, was written by Gene Lees. The song is one of the early bossa nova songs that became popular world-wide in the early 1960s. Wikipedia has an excellent overview article about bossa nova that you may be interested in.

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded this song in 1962 for his (wonderful) album I Wanna Be Around … Today’s version, however, is from the recently-released Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964. Both versions are excellent, but today we are in the mood for a live performance.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4wGUxzZmeNqWxBFLZvWYyk
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” as well as the album Live At The Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

The song of the day for Thursday, October 24, 2013 is “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars.”

About This Song

Known in the original Portuguese as “Corcovado,” “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” was written in 1960 by Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1960. The English lyrics, which were added later, are by Gene Lees. This song was an early bossa nova hit and is now considered a jazz standard. It has been widely recorded, by artists including João Gilberto, Miles Davis, Charlie Byrd, Frank Sinatra and Diana Krall, who used it as the title song for her 1990 album Quiet Nights.

About This Version

Today’s song is from Tony Bennett’s Live at the Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964, released this month on iTunes. Tony Bennett slides in this slow-tempo song after a fast number and the song shines even more for that placement. It’s a quiet, sensitive and very genuine and honest performance of this beautiful song. I’m a big fan of Bennett singing bossa nova and this song is an excellent example of why I do. I also love the shout-out to the orchestra.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4wGUxzZmeNqWxBFLZvWYyk
“Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” as well as Live At The Sahara: Las Vegas, 1964 is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: How Insensitive

The song of the day for Friday, October 18, 2013 is “How Insensitive.”

About This Song

Known as “Insensatez” in the original Portuguese, “How Insensitive” was written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1963, with original lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. The English lyrics are by Norman Gimbel. “How Insensitive” is one the earliest and best-known bossa nova songs from Brazil.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “How Insensitive” in 1965 for his album If I Ruled The World: Tony Bennett Songs For The Jet Set. The album, which features a photograph of Rio de Janiero on the cover, contains two Jobim songs, the other “Samba Do Avião” or “Song of the Jet,” opens the album.

http://open.spotify.com/track/4MBtFhEOGkP23PDWO44b0I
“How Insensitive,” as well as the album If I Ruled The World: Tony Bennett Songs For The Jet Set,” is available from iTunes and Amazon.