The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Thursday, May 7, 2015 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash for the 1943 musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. In addition to several very fine Tony Bennett recordings, “Speak Low” has been widely recorded by jazz and popular performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

About This Version

Mr. Bennett has recorded this song several times. Today’s recording is from his unreleased (until quite recently) 1962 album On The Glory Road. The arrangement is by Ralph Sharon.

About Today

Earlier today, I was listening to Billie Holiday’s album All Or Nothing At All, where she sings “Speak Low” and I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head, which is always a good reason to choose a song as the song of the day.

Speak Low

Listen to Speak Low on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1962


“Speak Low,” as well as On The Glory Road, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Monday, March 30, 2015 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill (music) and Ogden Nash (lyrics) for the 1943 musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. In addition to several very fine Tony Bennett recordings, “Speak Low” has been widely recorded by jazz and popular performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

About This Version

Today’s version is the 2011 version from Duets II, recorded with Norah Jones. This version was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett would like to wish Norah Jones a very happy birthday. She was born on March 30, 1979 in Brooklyn, the daughter of American Sue Jones and the international sitar player Ravi Shankar. She grew up in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) and attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas (where your intrepid blogger taught part-time for a year). During her high school career, she won three DownBeat Student Music Awards: two for Best Jazz Vocalist (1996 and 1997) and one for Best Original Composition (1996). After high school, she attended the University of North Texas, which is well-known for its jazz curriculum. She left university in 1999 and moved to New York. Her first album, Come Away With Me, was released in 2002 and a major hit. In 2003, she won five Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Don’t Know Why” at the 45th Grammy Awards. She’s been singing and recording jazz ever since.

Speak Low

Listen to Speak Low on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett, Norah Jones · 2011


“Speak Low,” as well as Duets II, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Monday, March 2, 2015 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash for the 1943 musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. In addition to several very fine Tony Bennett recordings, “Speak Low” has been widely recorded by jazz and popular performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

About This Version

Today, we feature Tony Bennett’s 1989 version from Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. The arrangement is by Jorge Calandrelli and it swings very nicely, especially with the bass walking in the background. This recording, as well as the entire album, features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums, with The UK Orchestra Limited.

About Today

Today marks the 115th birthday of Kurt Weill, who composed today’s song. Weill was born on March 2, 1900 in Dessau, Germany. He was the son of a cantor. As a youth, he studied piano and began composing as a young teenager. He studied composition and music theory with Englebert Humperdinck. In the early 1920s, he began his association with Bertolt Brecht, resulting in The Threepenny Opera, with its most well-known song “Mack the Knife.”

In 1933, Weill left Nazi Germany and settled in New York with his wife, the actress Lotte Lenya. His popular works composed in America include One Touch of Venus, Lost in the Stars, Lady in the Dark and Knickerbocker Holiday.

Weill died in 1950, just a month past his 50th birthday.

Speak Low

Tony Bennett · Astoria: Portrait Of The Artist · Song · 1990


“Speak Low,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Saturday, November 1, 2014 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written in 1943 for the musical One Touch of Venus, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Ogden Nash. It is a popular jazz vocal standard; in addition to the several fine recordings by Tony Bennett, it has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne, among others.

The first line of the lyric comes from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, when Don Pedro gives young Hero some advice on courtship:

Speak low, if you speak love.

About This Version

Tony Bennett has recorded “Speak Low” several times. We have live recordings from his 1962 Carnegie Hall concert and from his 1994 MTV Unplugged concert. The first recording came in 1959 and appeared on To My Wonderful One. He recorded it again 1962 for On The Glory Road, but that album was pulled at the last minute. More recently, he recorded it in 1989 for Astoria: Portrait of the Artist and again in 2011 with Norah Jones for Duets II.

Today’s version, however, is from 1964 from When Lights Are Low. For this album, he is accompanied by the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Hal Gaylord on bass and Billy Exiner on drums. The tempo is slightly faster than other recordings he’s made and, with the light touch of Sharon on piano, it’s a real treat.

Speak Low

Listen to Speak Low on Spotify. Song · Tony Bennett · 1964


“Speak Low,” as well as the album When Lights Are Low, is available from iTunes.

And for our Saturday viewing pleasure, here is Tony Bennett’s duet with Norah Jones of today’s song, from Duets II.

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Song of the Day: Speak Low

The song of the day for Monday, February 10, 2014 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written for the 1943 musical One Touch of Venus by Kurt Weill and Ogden Nash. It was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the original production. In addition to several very fine Tony Bennett recordings, “Speak Low” has been widely recorded by jazz and popular performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

About This Version

Today’s version of “Speak Low” is from Tony Bennett’s 1990 album Astoria: Portrait of the Artist. It was orchestrated by Jorge Calandrelli and features the Ralph Sharon Trio, with Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums.

Other Bennett recordings of “Speak Low” include ones made in 1959 for To My Wonderful One, 1962 for On The Glory Road, again in 1962 for the concert at Carnegie Hall, 1964 (When Lights Are Low), 1994 (MTV Unplugged), and 2011 with Norah Jones (Duets II).

http://open.spotify.com/track/46Ff6AUwxX9OLGdDPHXGa4
“Speak Low,” as well as Astoria: Portrait of the Artist, is available from iTunes.