An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett
The Year of Tony Bennett wishes Lady Gaga a fantastic birthday. We hope she’s recovering well from her surgery and wish her the very best. We can hardly wait for her album with Tony and know it’s going to be a huge hit for them both.
To put us all in a great mood, here’s the video of The Lady is a Tramp. We note that this video has had well over 10 million views on YouTube. And for good reason.
I came across an article today about the recording techniques used for Duets and Duets II that I wanted to share with you.
This article is from the Sound on Sound website and discusses, in some detail, the techniques that Dae Bennett, Tony’s son and recording engineer and co-producer, used to record the duets. Click here to read the article.
Typically, Tony and his duet artist record in a studio with Tony Bennett’s Quartet (Lee Musiker, Gray Sargent, Marshall Wood and Harold Jones). Others, such as the Duets II session with Andrea Boccelli, were recorded in home studios. Once the editing had been done on these sessions, additional recording sessions were held for the big band and orchestral tracks for the songs.
The results, as we know, are several outstanding albums: Duets, Duets II and Viva Duets, all recorded using these techniques.
The article also includes a nice visual slide show with photographs of the artists as well as “backstage” shots of the recording process.
How Do You Keep The Music Playing, with music by Michel LeGrande and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, was written in 1982. Tony Bennett first recorded the song in 1986 for The Art of Excellence and has performed it ever since.
This video was made of the Duets II session with Aretha Franklin. The single tear running down his cheek at the end of this song is an extraordinary moment that reminds us what he puts into every song he sings.
Tony and kd lang have collaborated on several occasions: A Wonderful World, Playing With My Friends and both Duets albums. Here is a video of them singing–beautifully– Blue Velvet, from Duets II. Their voices match perfectly on everything they sing together.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3i2F7eKoKQ]
They also did an interview with NPR in 2002 when A Wonderful World was released. Click here to listen.
I think NPR loves Tony Bennett, as they have archived a treasure trove of interviews. Here are some of my favorites.
This story by Scott Simon, Tony Bennett’s Art of Intimacy, was played on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday on November 4, 2011 is a favorite of mine. It’s an extended interview that covers his vocal training right after the war, how he addresses singing at the age of 85, and some special words about the people he collaborated with in Duets II. Good interview, nice clips from the album, and very nicely produced. Click here to listen.
In the same time period, Tony visited the NPR studios and sang two songs, accompanied by Lee Musiker. Click here to view this small concert.
And an extended interview on World Cafe, also from Fall 2011. The discussion about the end about Tony’s relationship to painting and singing are well worth listening to. Click here to listen.
He has appeared on Marian McPartland’s wonderful Piano Jazz show. Click here to listen. This show was recorded in 2004.
And finally, an interesting story about creating a new arrangement of I Left My Heart in San Francisco with Bill Charlap in 2006. Click here to listen.
There’s more on NPR … Just navigate to www.npr.org and search for Tony Bennett. You wont’ be sorry!