Celebrating an
Easy Listening Legend at 90: Mr Tony Bennett
“I love what I
do, I love to make people feel good, I don’t want to retire,” he added,
describing his 90th birthday concert as "the biggest thing I've ever done
in my life, in my whole career." [As reported by Jane Levere at this news
site: http://www.forbes.com/sites/janelevere/2016/12/20/lady-gaga-alec-baldwin-leslie-odom-jr-celebrate-tony-bennetts-90th-birthday-on-nbc-special/#2f382b048a98]
These words
uttered by Tony Bennett on the occasion of his 90th birthday concert
held on 19 December 2016 says it all about the amazing inspiration that easy
listening sounds – call it jazz, pop song, American classics or whatever that
is melodic – bring to each and every listener regardless of age.
Bennett’s
wonderfully edgy phrasing and deeply emotive intonation made virtually every
song his own even if they had originally been popularized by someone else.
Since his early hit albums I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO and I WANNA BE
AROUND became standard airplay on radio in the early 1960s, his voice had acquired
a huskier tinge across the years. Life’s sweet and bitter experiences must have
been etched in there somehow. When he sings any note today, you can literally
feel the gravity of Tony’s every heartfelt expression. His is not an ‘aged’
voice, it is inexpressibly evergreen.
In salute to
Tony Bennett’s gift of song, I offer the following photo collage of my personal
favourites of his, some reinterpreted by instrumentalists – of course!
The
highlights:
Reader’s
Digest compilations have always adored Bennett and placed him as a standard
feature in virtually all vocal easy listening compilations. MELODIES LINGER ON
from a UK RD release dating back to 1989 inserted Bennett’s renditions of ‘It
Had to be You’ and ‘Laura’. In both tracks, the orchestration was kept to a
bare minimum to avoid distracting the listener from the dramatic command of
Bennett’s vocal prowess!
The
instrumental compilation from PHILIPS features one of the best orchestral versions
of ‘I Left my Heart in San Francisco’ around played by Acker Bilk accompanied
by the Leon Young String Chorale. If you haven’t heard it, try it and it’ll
stay in your head for a very long time. Another great version not shown here is
the brass heavy symphonic rendition by Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston
Pops Orchestra – available on a Reader’s Digest compilation titled MELODIES,
MOODS AND MEMORIES released in 1991.
Finally I
close with one of my favourite later Bennett albums, HERE’S TO THE LADIES from
1995. His articulation of ‘Cloudy Morning’ and ‘Tangerine’ blew me away!
Here’s to you
Mr Bennett – happy birthday!
AC
23 December 2016
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