Tony Bennett is still at it

After the sudden demise of three music legends one after the other — Natalie Cole, David Bowie and Eagle Glen Frey — it feels so good to find out that Tony Bennett is turning a sexy, spry, still singing 90-year-old this year. Bennett was born Anthony Benedetto to an Italian-immigrant family in New York on Aug. 2, 1926. He had his first big hit Because of You in 1951 when he was 25 years old. He is still at it. In fact, he is one of today’s most active artists in the music trade.

Now, Bennett did not get to this ripe age leading a careful, sheltered existence. This guy took risks and had come dangerously close to the brink several times. Poverty had him working at the age of 13. He experienced door-to-door fighting and was among those who liberated concentration camps in Germany during World War II. He battled drug addiction, the really heavy stuff and bankruptcy. He was almost homeless. 

But look at him now. Thanks to the support of friends and family, he has become the oldest artist to chart in Billboard. He has won 18 Grammy trophies and other notable awards like the Kennedy Center honors. He has made 70 albums and sold 50 million records. Why, he even managed to bridge the gap with the Gen-Xers with an award-winning TV special and album for MTV, Tony Bennett MTV Unplugged. Would you believe? He even headlined the Glastonbury Festival singing his jazzy, romantic ballads. The audience loved him.

And it is even more heartwarming to find out that Bennett has recorded and released a new album. This is Bennett and Bill Charlap in The Silver Lining The Songs Of Jerome Kern. This is his follow-up to the award-winning Cheek To Cheek, his delightful album of duets of standards with Lady Gaga that resulted in an additional Grammy, a successful tour and video release. Done in a quieter mood, The Silver Lining, like most of what Bennett does, is such a joy to listen to.

Jerome Kern is one of the legendary figures in American music. His songs are among the greatest in the American songbook that Bennett loves to sing. He is generally regarded as the composer who bridged the gap between the operetta and American musical theater. His greatest work is Showboat, which has songs like Old Man River, Can’t Help Loving That Man Of Mine, Make Believe, Why Do I Love You and others. This masterwork paved the way for the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Stephen Sondheim and others.

Kern is also credited with having created the structure of the pop ballad as we know it today. This was made possible by his classical training in music coupled with his willingness to explore newer rhythms like jazz and the blues. This gave him the ability to create beautiful songs that are easy on the ears and to which listeners could instantly relate to. Kern died in 1945 but his songs live on. Do you know of any bride who will not want to be serenaded with The Way You Look Tonight? That is by Kern, also All The Things You Are, A Fine Romance, I’ve Told Every Little Star and others.

Bennett sings the music of Kern in the new album. Not only that, this recording also features Charlap, one of the esteemed jazz pianists of today. That means that Bennett has now returned to his beloved jazz. This one is similar to those albums he did with the late pianist Bill Evans some years ago. This is the real thing, not just jazzy stuff. 

The performances here are the sort wherein a singer and accompanist have to be not only in the same wavelength but totally in sync. They have to anticipate each other’s every move down to the way they breathe. Bennett and Charlap do this perfectly in every cut. Charlap and his trio do fantastic playing and this is not bad for a 90-year-old guy. But then we already know that Bennett is just remarkable, a modern wonder.

Before I forget, the cover of the CD features a sketch of Kern done by Bennett. This guy is also an acclaimed painter whose works hang in prestigious venues all over the world. Did I not say that he is remarkable?

The Silver Lining includes All The Things You Are, Pick Yourself Up, The Last Time I Saw Paris, I Won’t Dance, Long Ago And Far Away, Dearly Beloved, The Song Is You, They Didn’t Believe Me, I’m Old Fashioned, The Way You Look Tonight, Yesterdays, Make Believe, Nobody Else But Me and Look For The Silver Lining.