Beat of My Heart
An early concept album,The Beat of My Heart(1957) features small-group arrangements built around Bennett's vocals and guest drummers on the order ofArt Blakey,Jo Jones,Chico Hamilton, andCandido. The star is his usual ebullient self here, sounding impossibly young (he's 31) to ears accustomed to his '80s and '90s work. His basic values are already in place, however, as one line makes clear: "Let there be great songs for singers to sing." This CD reissue contains six previously unreleased bonus tracks from the sessions.--Rickey Wright