Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall June 9 1962: Complete Concert
This two-CD set adds unreleased tracks to what was already a superb representation of Tony Bennett's art, the 1962 concert catching Bennett at an early peak in his career. He was already a major exponent of the classic American songbook, and here he's both summarizing his work and branching out into then-new directions. He's equally effective as a ballad singer, including seldom-heard gems like Kurt Weill's "Lost in the Stars," and as a rousing jazz stylist, swinging effortlessly on familiar tunes like "All the Things You Are" and "Chicago." The concert includes a rendition of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," a song that had just been released at the time.--Stuart Broomer