The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans (1975)
If you ever watched the Godfather trilogy, you must remembered a scene from the Godfather part III when Al Martino and Al Pacino performed together. “Hey Mike, where you going, it’s your favorite song!” “I’m just going into the kitchen to listen to some Tony Bennett records.”-Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) and Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). Today I will not write about Al Martino songs (yet) but Tony Bennett’s ones. Tony Bennett is recognized as the outstanding American singer who started his career since late 1940’s till nowadays.
Tony Bennett and Talented Jazz Pianist Bill Evans had first met in The White House’s Jazz event of 1962 during JFK’s administration. Till 1975, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album was recorded as their first collaboration. The album released in the tough time for both of them, their popularity was decreased due to trends changed.
For Bennett himself, the 1970’s was his downturn to his kind of music. The first retirement of Sinatra was in 1971 (later he returend). It was a time for Rock and Pop music.
The album concluded the Great American Songbook such as My Foolish Heart also Evans’ signature, Waltz for Debby sang by Bennett, he did good as Monica Zetterlund did in 1960’s.
“I said to Bill, ‘Listen, it will just be the two of us, you don’t bring your cronies and I won’t bring mine!’” Bennett said to Evans during the recording. In the studio there were only both of them plus Don Cody the sound engineer and Helen Keane, Evans’ manager.
The project was courageous and succeed by the critics came later in 1977, they released the second album with the similar style “Together Again” the songs of both albums were recorded with Bennett’s vocal and the sound of Evan’s piano only which supersede the veritable melody of the masters. Classic and clean indeed!
Although, Bennett is still alive legend who’s still active on his path even he will be 90 years old in upcoming August. Evans sadly passed away in 1980 from drug abuses.
The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans is recommended album for who wish to have a mood of the bar while you sip your favorite drink along with the light smoke of cigarettes for throwing back to how the old time was.