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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

December 24, 2022 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: A Child Is Born

The song of the day for Sunday, December 25, 2022, the 12th day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “A Child Is Born.”

About This Song

“A Child Is Born” was written in 1969 by Thad Jones, with lyrics by Alec Wilder. Thad Jones, whose younger brother, Elvin, was a noted jazz drummer. Thad Jones was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra starting in 1954. He left the orchestra in 1963 to pursue a career as an arranger and studio trumpet player and later moved to Denmark. “A Child Is Born” is his best-known composition; the wonderful lyrics are by Alec Wilder.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “A Child Is Born” in September 1976 for their second album, Together Again, released in 1977 on Bennett’s Improv Label.

“A Child Is Born,” as well as Together Again is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day, The 12 Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas Tagged With: Alec Wilder, Bill Evans, Thad Jones, Together Again, Tony Bennett

January 29, 2022 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Album of the Week: Basie Swings, Bennett Sings

The album of the week starting on January 30, 2022, is Basie Swings, Bennett Sings.

Album Facts

Release Date 1959
Label Roulette
Producer Teddy Reig
Vocals Tony Bennett
Piano Count Basie, Ralph Sharon
Arrangements Ralph Sharon
Trumpet Thad Jones, Snooky Young, Wendell Culley, Joe Newman
Trombone Benny Powell, Henry Coker, Al Grey
Alto Saxophone Marshall Royal, Frank Weiss
Tenor Saxophone Frank Foster, Billy Mitchell
Baritone Saxophone Charlie Fowlkes
Guitar Freddie Green
Bass Eddie Jones
Drums Sonny Payne

After the relative success of Cloud 7 and The Beat of My Heart, Tony Bennett began to work on his dream of performing with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, whom he viewed as the greatest bandleaders of all time. He was able to work out a deal with Basie to record two albums: one live album on Columbia (details to follow ) and a studio album for Roulette, Basie’s label. This brought up a fight with Bennett’s current producer Mitch Miller, who felt Roulette would tarnish Bennett’s reputation.

Tony Bennett remembers those recordings in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Although I’d talked with him on the telephone I didn’t meet Count Basie until our rehearsals began. It was an amazing experience, the fulfillment of a dream, and I’ll never forget it. We hit it off right away, as though we always knew and understood each other. At one point Basie turned to his band, pointed at me, and said, “Anything this man wants, he gets!” I was floored.

Critic Richard S. Ginell wrote:

The Roulette half of the two Bennett/Basie sessions is a band singer’s paradise, with the Basie band caught at a robust and swinging peak and Bennett never sounding happier or looser in front of a microphone. The Count himself, alas, appears on piano only on two numbers (“Life Is a Song” and “Jeepers Creepers”), while Bennett’s perennial pianist Ralph Sharon takes over on the remaining ten tracks and does all the charts. Yet Sharon writes idiomatically for the Count’s style, whether on frantic rave-ups like “With Plenty of Money and You” and “Strike Up the Band” or relaxed swingers like “Chicago.” Though not a jazz singer per se, the flavor of jazz is everywhere in Bennett’s voice, which in those days soared like a trumpet. The 1990 CD included an atmospheric unissued Neal Hefti ballad “After Supper,” but even this bonus track does little to extend the skimpy playing time (about 31 minutes) of what is still a great, desirable snapshot from American showbiz of the late 1950s.

Listen to Basie Swings, Bennett Sings

You can also listen to Basie Swings, Bennett Sings on

  • Apple Music
  • Amazon Music player
  • Qobuz
  • YouTube Music
  • Pandora

 

Filed Under: Album of the Week Tagged With: Al Grey, Basie Swings / Bennett Sings, Benny Powell, Billy Mitchell, Charlie Fowlkes, Count Basie, Count Basie and His Orchestra, Eddie Jones, Frank Foster, Frank Weiss, Freddie Green, Henry Coker, Joe Newman, Marshall Royal, Ralph Sharon, Snooky Young, Sonny Payne, Teddy Reig, Thad Jones, Tony Bennett, Wendell Culley

December 24, 2021 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: A Child Is Born

The song of the day for Saturday, December 25, 2021, the twelfth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, is “A Child Is Born.”

About This Song

“A Child Is Born” was written in 1969 by Thad Jones, who played trumpet with The Count Basie Orchestra, and Alec Wilder. Jones, whose younger brother, Elvin, was a noted jazz drummer. He left the orchestra in 1963 to pursue a career as an arranger and studio trumpet player and later moved to Denmark. “A Child Is Born” is his best-known composition; the wonderful lyrics are by Alec Wilder.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “A Child Is Born” in 1976 for their second album, Together Again, released in 1968.

“A Child Is Born,” as well as Together Again is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day, The 12 Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas Tagged With: Alec Wilder, Bill Evans, Thad Jones, Together Again, Tony Bennett

December 24, 2020 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: A Child Is Born

On Christmas Day, the 12th day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, the song of the day for Friday, December 25, 2020, is “A Child Is Born.”

About This Song

“A Child Is Born” was written by Thad Jones, whose younger brother, Elvin, was a noted jazz drummer. Thad Jones was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra starting in 1954. He left the orchestra in 1963 to pursue a career as an arranger and studio trumpet player and later moved to Denmark. “A Child Is Born” is his best-known composition; the wonderful lyrics are by Alec Wilder.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “A Child Is Born” in 1976 for their second album: Together Again, released in 1977.

A Child Is Born - Remastered 2003

Listen to A Child Is Born - Remastered 2003 on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1977.

“A Child Is Born,” as well as Together Again, is available from Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day, The 12 Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas Tagged With: Alec Wilder, Bill Evans, Thad Jones, Tony Bennett

December 24, 2018 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: A Child Is Born

The song of the day for Tuesday, December 25, 2018, is “A Child Is Born.”
Today is the twelfth day of The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas.

About This Song

“A Child Is Born” was written in 1969 by Thad Jones, whose younger brother, Elvin, was a noted jazz drummer. Thad Jones was a member of the Count Basie Orchestra starting in 1954. He left the orchestra in 1963 to pursue a career as an arranger and studio trumpet player and later moved to Denmark. “A Child Is Born” is his best-known composition; the wonderful lyrics are by Alec Wilder.

About This Version

Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded “A Child Is Born” in 1976 for their second album: Together Again. This is one of the alternate versions of “A Child Is Born,” specifically alternate take 7 and only appears on The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings.

A Child Is Born (alternate take 7) – alternate

A Child Is Born (alternate take 7) – alternate, a song by Tony Bennett, Bill Evans on Spotify


“A Child Is Born,” as well as The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Alex Wilder, Bill Evans, Thad Jones, The Complete Tony Bennett Bill Evans Recordings, The Twelve Days of a Tony Bennett Christmas, Together Again, Tony Bennett

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