The Best "Jazz Concert Recital" Album Ever, and One of Bennett's Best
Written: Jul 03 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A tremendous recital by the consummate jazz-recital singing and piano duo of all time
Cons: Too short (but there's a sequel)
The Bottom Line: All fans of great singing should buy this. There is no better non-classical concert recital available.
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| rcorn's Full Review: The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album [Remaster] by To... |
The idea for this album is unusual. Bill Evans, possibly the most lyrical jazz pianist ever, had never been an accompanist to an American jazz singer, prior to this album date of 1975. And a pianist playing with just a singer doesn't sound like a jazz concert; it sounds like a recital.
Tony Bennett had been very popular in the '50's and early '60's; but hadn't been in very much of the public eye since "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" in about 1963. And many people didn't even think of Tony Bennett as a jazz singer.
Helen Keane, the producer of this album, knew better. Bennett had put out a series of great albums in the '50's, especially the one with Stan Getz, that proved that he could sing jazz. (If you're at all interested, purchase the re-release of them, entitled Tony Bennett's "Jazz", and you'll hear what I mean. It's also tremendous, BTW) And by 1975, the best jazz singer out there who could do a "piano recital" really was Tony Bennett. Bennett was a trained concert singer, and was not into the scat and vocalese of other lions like Mark Murphy or Mel Torme. 10-20 years prior, probably Sinatra would have been the best to sing with Evans; but at that point, Sinatra was past his prime, and Bennett really wasn't.
What a gamble, and a what a result! This album is a classic. It's a "must have", really for any fan of singing, regardless of genre.
Tony Bennett sings these by-and-large obscure standards in phrases. He doesn't sing notes; he tells stories. And he burnishes the phrases with emotion. You can hear the regret of "Young and Foolish"; the whimsical regret of Bernstein's "Some Other Time"; the tongue-in-cheek intimacy of "When in Rome"; the wise, cautionary tone of "My Foolish Heart"; the uberall confidence of "We'll Be Together Again"; and the awe only a father can feel in watching his precious 4-year-old daughter play by herself in Evans' own "Waltz for Debby."
Whether Evans inspired Bennett, or Bennett inspired Evans, is difficult to determine. But both capture the same interpretation in their music-making. They are in synch throughout. I've read that the magic of this album is that you don't know who is accompanying whom at times. Concur.
And my personal favorite on this is the last cut, Mancini's "Days of Wine and Roses." Both are so perfectly unsentimental on this. I'll tell you, if they ever do a remake of the Jack Lemmon-Lee Remick movie, this absolutely should be its theme song!
In the hands and voice of lesser musicians, this album would have been dreadfully dull and embarrassing. In the hands and voice of Bill Evans and Tony Bennett, it's a classic. My only complaint is that the album is too short; but they recorded a bunch of tunes and did a "sequel album", released much later. These 9 tunes appropriately made the cut. Buy it, and I really think you'll agree.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: Cleaning the House
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Epinions.com ID:
rcorn
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Location: Reno, Nv USA
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Criminal appellate attorney/opera and jazz singer who writes reviews of jazz singers (usually)
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