The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album
Mel Torme dismissed Tony Bennett's skills as a jazz singer, and in mining the Great American Songbook, Bennett certainly has drawn more from bel canto style than scat. But as this remarkable 1975 duo album with the great jazz pianist Bill Evans demonstrates, Bennett was (and is) supremely comfortable with jazz and jazz players. Pouring himself into tunes including "My Foolish Heart" and "The Touch of Your Lips," but without the theatrical and pop-operatic flourishes that define and enrich his later work, he delivers what may be his most powerfully direct performance on record. His bold emotion and Evans’ refined but forceful lyricism make for an excellent fit (the album includes Evans's classic "Waltz for Debby," with lyrics by Gene Lees). The new expanded edition ofThe Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Albumboasts four valuable alternate takes that reveal the jazz improviser's art was far from lost on Bennett. The artists re-teamed a year later to fine, if less startling, effect on "Together Again."--Lloyd Sachs