| Product Summary | | UPC: 00888072301771 | | Release Date: 11/7/2006 | | Buy.com Sku: 203327154 | | Item#: M39LEH | Format:  CD |
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(P) 1975 Fantasy, Inc.
(C) 1975 Fantasy, Inc.
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Tony Bennett (vocals); Bill Evans (piano). | | Recorded at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California from June 10-13, 1975. Originally released on Fantasy (9489). | | Digitally remastered by Alan Yoshida using XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc) technology (Ocean Way/JVC Mastering). | | Personnel: Tony Bennett (vocals); Bill Evans (piano); Tony Bennett; Bill Evans . | | Audio Mixer: Stephen Hart . | | Audio Remasterer: George Horn. | | Liner Note Author: Will Friedwald. | | Recording information: Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA (06/10/1975-06/13/1975). | | Photographers: Phil Bray; Tommy Vano. | | In 1975, Tony Bennett was not known for small-scale, cabaret-style sonic settings. Nor was jazz innovator Bill Evans known for working with "pop" singers. As this landmark collaboration (so satisfying it prompted a successor) proved, the pair were eminently compatible. Both possessed an unparalleled sensitivity and an ability to scale dynamic extremes from subtlety to bravura. Bennett sings with unprecedented delicacy and intimacy over Evans's technicolor arrangements. The latter's piano textures are complex, elegant and endlessly shifting as they accompany Bennett's tender ministrations on a program of mostly standards. So definitive is the singer's work here that Bennett neophytes could safely begin their exploration with this album. | | Having completed his relatively brief sojourn with MGM/Verve in 1973, Tony Bennett was in the midst of forming his own label, Improv Records, when he made a deal with jazz pianist Bill Evans to cut two LPs, this one for Evans' label, Fantasy Records, with another to follow on Improv. The singer and his collaborator ("accompanist" does not adequately describe Evans' contribution, and in any case he received co-billing) got together in a recording studio over four days in June 1975 with no one other than the producer, Helen Keane, and an engineer present, and quickly recorded one of the best albums of either's career. For Bennett, it was a dream project; for years (decades, actually), he had been balancing the demands of commerciality with his own inclinations toward jazz and affection for the songs of Broadway masters and of the Great American Songbook. Left to himself with a jazz partner, he naturally gravitated toward both interests. There were songs here that he had already recorded, but never in so unadorned, and yet fully realized a fashion. Evans was an excellent accompanist, using his steady left hand to keep his singer centered, but ready, whenever the vocals were finished, to go off into his characteristically lyrical playing. Bennett could seem a bit earthbound when he came back in (he still wasn't really a jazz singer), but his obvious enthusiasm for the project, coupled with his mastery of phrasing in songs he understood perfectly made him an equal in the partnership. As far as the major-label record business was concerned, the 46-year-old singer might have been over the hill and indulging himself, but in fact he was in his prime and finally able to pursue his ambitions unfettered, and that would prove itself a major boost to his career over time. For the moment, he'd made an excellent jazz-pop hybrid in which both musicians were shown off to advantage. [The album was reissued with five bonus tracks.] ~ William Ruhlmann | | Having completed his relatively brief sojourn with MGM/Verve with 1973's Listen Easy, Tony Bennett was in the midst of forming his own label, Improv Records, when he made a deal with jazz pianist Bill Evans to cut two LPs, this one for Evans' label, Fantasy Records, with another to follow on Improv. The singer and his collaborator ("accompanist" does not adequately describe Evans' contribution, and in any case he received co-billing) got together in a recording studio over four days in June 1975 with no one other than the producer, Helen Keane and an engineer present, and quickly recorded one of the best albums of either's career. For Bennett, it was a dream project; for years (decades, actually), he had been balancing the demands of commerciality with his own inclinations toward jazz and affection for the songs of Broadway masters and of the Great American Songbook. Left to himself with a jazz partner, he naturally gravitated toward both interests. There were songs here that he had already recorded, but never in so unadorned and yet fully realized a fashion. Evans was an excellent accompanist, using his steady left hand to keep his singer centered, but ready, whenever the vocals were finished, to go off into his characteristically lyrical playing. Bennett could seem a bit earthbound when he came back in (he still wasn't really a jazz singer), but his obvious enthusiasm for the project, coupled with his mastery of phrasing in songs he understood perfectly made him an equal in the partnership. As far as the major-label record business was concerned, the 46-year-old singer might have been over the hill and indulging himself, but in fact he was in his prime and finally able to pursue his ambitions unfettered, and that would prove itself a major boost to his career over time. For the moment, he'd made an excellent jazz-pop hybrid in which both musicians were shown off to advantage. [The five alternate takes included as bonus tracks on the 2006 reissue of the album are, not surprisingly, more interesting for Evans' different improvisations than for anything else. But they also demonstrate that he and Bennett tried different approaches to the tunes. The album's lead-off track, "Young and Foolish," begins with both Bennett and Evans on the refrain, but the alternate take starts with Evans alone, followed by Bennett singing the song's introductory verse instead; the version runs a minute longer. The alternate take of "The Touch of Your Lips," on the other hand, is at a faster tempo and a minute shorter. None of the alternate takes actually improves on the originally released ones, but they show how well considered the album was.] ~ William Ruhlmann |
Producer: Helen Keane; Cheryl Pawelski (Reissue) |
Engineer: Don Cody; Don Cody |
| | Artist Overview | | One of the finest voices of 20th century American pop, Tony Bennett began his career in the '50s, under the watchful eye of producer Mitch Miller, recording huge hits such as "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and "Because of You." In 1958, his album BASIE SWINGS-BENNETT SINGS was a precursor to later jazz-based work. That same year, "Firefly" was Bennett's last US Top 40 entry until 1962, when he made a major comeback with the Grammy-winning "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." In '93 and '94 he was awarded Grammys for his albums PERFECTLY FRANK and STEPPIN' OUT. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works | | Basie Swings, Bennett Sings ~ Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Basie, Count | | Cole, Nat | | Cole, Nat "King" | | Crosby, Bing | | Goulet, Robert | | Jones, Jack | | Jones, Jack (Vocal) | | Duets ~ Sinatra, Frank | | Sinatra, Frank | | Sinatra, Frank | | Duets: An American Classic ~ Sinatra, Frank | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ Smooth Jazz All Stars | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ The Smooth Jazz All Stars | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | A Smooth Jazz Tribute: Tony Bennett ~ Various Artists |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 11/07/2006 | | Original Release Date : 1975 | | Catalog ID : 30177 | | Label : Fantasy (distributor) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : AAD | | UPC : 00888072301771 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Down Beat (9/90)
- 3 Stars - Good - "..Evans' only stint I've heard him accompanying a singer...Evans is subdued but firmly pulling the beat, soloing briefly and winningly."Record Collector (magazine)
(p.88)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "The combination of Bennett's majestic croon with Evans' lush, romantic piano accompaniment results in a feast for the ears." |
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