The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Friday, August 25, 2017 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “That Old Black Magic,” was written in 1942 by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. It was first recorded that same year by Glenn Miller. It was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Tony Bennett made three recordings of the song, all in 1962. The first was for On The Glory Road, which was held back from release at the last minute. The other two are live recordings: one and Carnegie Hall in June and the other at the White House Seminar American Jazz Concert on August 28, 1962, at the invitation of President John F. Kennedy.

Jazz Times magazine announced:

One of the great lost treasures of American musical history, the Tony Bennett-Dave Brubeck White House Seminar performance came about when the artists-each already on the bill with his own ensemble-agreed to seize the moment with an impromptu set. While the Bennett-Brubeck recording of ‘That Old Black Magic’ had surfaced on the occasional compilation (Brubeck’s 1971’s out-of-print LP, Summit Sessions, and 2001’s Vocal Encounters), the rest of the Bennett and Brubeck performances-an hour’s worth of music-were a mythical lost object in the Sony Music Entertainment vaults until finally surfacing through a fortuitous discovery last December, just weeks after Brubeck’s passing on December 5, 2012 (one day shy of his 92nd birthday).

Bennett/Brubeck-The White House Sessions, Live 1962 was released in May 2013. This recording from that impromptu improv session with Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, , Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums.

That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck Trio · 2013


“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Monday, October 31, 2016 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

One of the great songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, “That Old Black Magic” was written in 1942 and first recorded by Glenn Miller. It was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Today, I’m featuring a live improvised recording of “That Old Black Magic” with Tony Bennett and the Dave Brubeck Trio, as released on Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962.

That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck Trio · 2013


“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Thursday, February 25, 2016 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

One of the great songs by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, “That Old Black Magic” was written in 1942 and first recorded by Glenn Miller. It was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “That Old Black Magic” three times in 1962. The first was a studio recording for the unreleased (until recently, that is) On The Glory Road. The other two were live performances: the first from his legendary June 1962 concert at Carnegie Hall and the second from August 1962 at the invitation of President Kennedy to honor the year’s interns. This concert featured Tony Bennett with the Ralph Sharon Trio and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Today’s recording comes from the third part of the concert: an unrehearsed improv session with Bennett, Dave Brubeck with two members of his quartet–Joe Morello on drums on Eugene Wright on bass.

To my never-ending joy, the tape of this concert was located in the Columbia vaults and was released in May 2013 as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, released just six months after Dave Brubeck’s death in December 2012.

The entire album is magical, but especially that handful of unrehearsed songs in that improv section and none more wonderful than this version of “That Old Black Magic.”

That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck Trio · 2013


“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett & Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: That Old Black Magic

The song of the day for Sunday, November 22, 2015 is “That Old Black Magic.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “That Old Black Magic,”was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer in 1942. It was first recorded by Glenn Miller in 1942; it was also used in the 1942 movie Star Spangled Rhythm. It’s been recorded many times and used in several films, including the 1956 film Bus Stop, where it was sung by Marilyn Monroe.

About This Version

Today’s version of “That Old Black Magic” is from the recently released Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, the original tapes of which were only located soon after Brubeck’s death in 2012. Tony Bennett and The Dave Brubeck Trio were invited to perform at a summer concert honoring that year’s White House interns. The first part of the album is Dave Brubeck, followed by a set from Tony Bennett and the Ralph Sharon Trio. Finally, is a sweet improv session with Bennett and the Dave Brubeck Trio, with Eugene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums. “That Old Black Magic” is from that improv set.

That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to That Old Black Magic (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck Trio · 2013


“That Old Black Magic,” as well as Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions Live 1962, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: There Will Never Be Another You

The song of the day for Thursday, May 14, 2015 is “There Will Never Be Another You.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “There Will Never Be Another You,” was written in 1942 by Harry Warren, with lyrics by Mack Gordon. It’s ironic that one of Harry Warren’s most beautiful songs was written for a Sonja Henie vehicle called Iceland, starring Miss Henie and John Payne as a U.S. Marine stationed in Iceland during World War II. The song was introduced in the movie by Joan Merrill. Amazingly, this beautiful song was not nominated for an Academy Award. No matter. The song has become a serious jazz standard and has had many fine recordings, including Bennett’s 1959 recording with Count Basie and his 1962 improvisation with Dave Brubeck at the White House Sessions. Other significant recordings include those by Lionel Hampton, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole and Sonny Rollins.

About This Version

Today’s version is from the recently released live album Bennett / Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962. Both Bennett and Brubeck were invited to perform in the summer of 1962 for that summer’s class of White House interns at the request of President John F. Kennedy. The album opens with some great numbers from the Dave Brubeck Quartet and then from Tony Bennett with the Ralph Sharon Trio. Afterwards, Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums) do some really sweet, totally unrehearsed improv, including today’s song. It’s terrific jazz.

About Today

Tonight, Tony Bennett will be appearing at Humphrey’s By The Bay in San Diego, CA. I had the great fortune to see Mr. Bennett perform in that venue almost three years ago, in what was the original year of Tony Bennett, where I got to see him perform five times in nine months and after that was compelled to start this blog.

It’s a lovely, intimate venue and a beautiful location. For those that are going, have a great time. For those of us who aren’t, I want to leave you with a bit of some live Tony Bennett. Because live Tony Bennett is as good as it gets.

There Will Never Be Another You (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962

Listen to There Will Never Be Another You (with The Dave Brubeck Trio) - Live at the Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. - August 1962 on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck Trio · 2013


“There Will Never Be Another You,” as well as , is available from iTunes.