Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder to team up

[brownie]

From Billboard.com

BENNETT PLOTTING JAZZ ALBUM WITH WONDER

Gary Graff, Detroit

Following their Grammy Award-winning duet earlier this year, Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder are hatching plans for a full-scale album collaboration.

Bennett tells Billboard.com that he and Wonder are "just now sketching out" plans for the album, with no firm timetable yet for the recording. "I know he wants to do a jazz album," Bennett says. "I'm interested in that myself."

The pair's Grammy, for best pop collaboration with vocals, came for their rendition of "For Once in My Life" from Bennett's "Duets: An American Classic," which also took home the best traditional pop vocal album trophy. Bennett says that Wonder is "my favorite guy. He's so deep, and he's such a creative artists at all time. We enjoyed ('For Once in My Life') so much and we enjoyed being with each other, it seems natural to do more together."

Bennett has no shortage of other projects coming as he waits to work with Wonder, however. He's the subject of an upcoming episode of PBS' American Masters series; "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends," which was executive produced by Clint Eastwood, debuts on Sept. 12 and features interviews as well as performance footage, including some culled from the 2005 Monterey Jazz Festival.

On Sept. 25 he releases "Tony Bennett Sings the Ultimate American Songbook, Vol. 1," a 15-song compilation of personal favorites that includes a duet with k.d. lang on "Moonglow." On Oct. 1 he'll publish "Tony Bennett in the Studio -- A Life of Music and Art" which includes more than 200 of his paintings, a preface by former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and a foreword by author Mitch Albom. And the 2006 NBC special, "Tony Bennett: An American Classic," is nominated for eight Emmy Awards, which will be presented on Sept. 16.

"I have this unusual attitude that you just keep learning and keep studying," Bennett says of being the hardest working 81-year-old in show business. "I don't have to do it, but I have to do it, if you know what I mean. I don't care to retire at all, and (the work) keeps you young. You have something to live for, and I still have so much to learn."

[GA Russell]

We'll see. My favorite Stevie Wonder is the mid-70s period with songs like Master Blaster and I Wish (if that's what the song is called). I can't imagine Bennett singing something like that.

And if Wonder just joins in on typical Bennett fare, I can't see it appealing to anyone except Stevie Wonder completists.

Maybe the best hope is to allow Bennett to do most of the singing, and let Wonder play jazz on the harmonica.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

i dont believe its come up before, so just so u guys know where chewy stands on this:

Tony Bennett is a complete fraud and a total phony. I hated him back in the 60s and I hate him even more today. The only reason he gets so much respect and makes so many TV apperances is beacuse all his peers are dead and theres no one else to do the job. He is no legend IMO. When he dies I am going to have a giant party. I'm sure at least some of my fellow Organissimo board members will share in my complete disregard for the vocal stylings of tony bennett, no? In the world of jazz, Tony Bennett makes Kenny G look like Curtis Amy

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

let me change my analogy:

In the world of jazz, Tony Bennett makes NAJEE look like RICHIE KAMUCA

[Christiern]

Two non-jazz singers--both past their prime--teaming up for a "jazz" album? One shudders at the thought.

[Stereojack]

yawn.

I'm with Chewy - Bennett is a bore, although from all I've heard, he's a nice guy, so I don't wish him dead, just retired.

[Dan Gould]

Chris A. has hit it on the head; given Aric's age I seriously doubt that he hated Bennett in the 60s as he wasn't yet a gleam in Daddy's eye, and as far as singing the American Songbook goes, you can do worse than Tony Bennett (Merv Griffin) and better (I don't know ... maybe David Soul?).

[JSngry]

Stevie Wonder should just go ahead and write whatever looney/wacky/oddball shit he wants, great (yes he still can), bad (ditto), or indifferent (mega-bulky ditto) & just turn the shit over to DJ Spinna to make it sound right. Anybody who's hear Spinna's remix of "My Love Is On Fire" (yes, it's a "white label") is gonna know exactly what I mean...

Tony Bennett should just go ahead and...keep on having a nice life and staying out of mine. Win-win, that one is.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Little Stevie Wonder will always have my greatest love for "Fingertips" pts 1 & 2, his first single. For why? On part 2, as Stevie is being led back on stage, the pianist (I seem to remember it was) was quite audible and shouting "What key? What Key?!"

And someone pushed it through the Motown quality control system! Wow!

Nothing he's done since then gets me as much.

Bennett? Gordon Bennett! (You Americans won't get that. Tough.)

MG

[Big Al]

I love Tony Bennett, guess I'm in the minority on this opinion. But why so much hatred for the man? You'd think he was Michael Buble the way y'all are vilifying him around here.

BUT..... I wish he would retire from the music biz again. He's starting to dip into Rod Stewart territory now. All these duets albums are starting to look like his idol Sinatra right before he passed. (Although to be fair, I truly enjoyed his album with k.d. lang)

Is it asking too much for him to make another album with just a piano or piano-trio? Does everything now have to be overproduced? With any luck, this project with Wonder is just Bennett singing and Wonder playing the piano, cuz the man has some serious chops. I'd buy that in a second. If it's the same over-produced glop that has been coming out the last few years, well then..... never mind.

It's sad, because few singers move me like Bennett.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Big Al

[Larry Kart]

I believe that while Concord issued those fine Kamuca recordings, the rights to them belonged to Kamuca, not the label, and thus are in the hands of his estate. Who is in charge there, I don't know, but assuming that someone who knows what's up is, I would guess that if the right party approached that person or entity with a reasonable offer, something could be worked out. On the other hand, what are the odds that some person or entity who knows what's up is in charge? Likewise with the location and condition of the tapes.

About Bennett -- while I'm not crazy about any of the recordings he's made after his "revival" (or whatever you want to call it), are you familiar with the two Rodgers & Hart albums he made for his own label (later reissued on Concord) with Ruby Braff? The version of "Lover" there is amazing IMO. As for Tony being or not being a nice guy, based on several personal encounters (one of them in which both he and I were under considerable stress), if he isn't a very nice, I would say preternaturally empathetic, guy, he's one of the greatest actors/con-men in the history of the planet. (If it's the latter, I've never met anyone else who's close to that good -- or that bad. I will stipulate, though, that he might be capable of behaving rather differently toward women/girlfriends.)

And Bennett's obliged to do what in and about the streets of Queens, based upon the fact that he grew up there how many decades ago? If he showed up there today, he'd probably be jeered at or worse, with Clem in the vanguard.

[Christiern]

Our resident Kofsky wannabe is wrong again. Tony Bennett is one of the nicest people I have met in this business and I have never heard anyone who encountered him utter a disparaging word. As for Bennett having any kind of obligation to repair the streets of Queen, that's ludicrous.

[mr jazz]

A great artist if for nothing else than his work (most of it) with Bill Evans. I'm glad I've seen him twice in concert as you walk away knowing you've seen a legend.

[JSngry]

I give him props for touring with Harold Land in the early-early 1980s, and for "doing what he does" really really well.

I just don't connect with his work, that's all. Sinatra, yeah. Hell yeah. Dick Haymes, yeah, in a robotrippin' kinda way (and no, I did not know what that was until a few days ago. But now I do, so hey). Even Andy Williams, yeah, actually, sometimes. But Bennett usually hits me like a really tasty/highly skilled Steve Lawrence, and I am just not interested in a really tasty/highly skilled Steve Lawrence in spite of being appreciative of the craftwork of it all.

I wish Stevie Wonder would make an album w/Take 6, that's what I wish.

[catesta]

No problems here with Tony Bennett. He's no Sinatra, but he is what he is and I can't help but dig a lot of his recordings.

When my mother's family first hit U.S. soil it wasn't long before they ended up in Astoria. People of that generation sharing a similar heritage had much love for TB, so you can blame my mother for it rubbing off on me.

It's understandable if today's Astoria doesn't connect with him or vice versa.

As for this "team up", neither of these two guys are jazz singers and I'd rather not see anymore projects like this. The K.D. Lang thing was a terrible mess, as are most of them.

I've never met the man personally, but those I know that have (ma included) swear the dude is genuine.

[Larry Kart]

hey Mr Upper West Side, i'm no more a fan of Kofsky than... gentlemen who meet Tony Bennett in a ** professional ** capacity & think means jack fucking shit. spare us the happy horseshit about fake left pleasantries & tell us something real... or is that too much a s-t-r-e-t-c-h? that's OK too but oh

he's a great guy! he's a great guy! he's a great guy! he's a great guy!

Q: what the hell is so goddamn great about him? his tailor? his hair?

Astoria sez Fuck Tony Bennett (edc's seen the graffiti.)

Of course, any encounter between a professional entertainer (or a professional anything) and a journalist (thus another professional of sorts) is governed to some extent by the professional roles of each party. But the one particular encounter I had with Bennett that I'm thinking of -- and given Clem's he ain't worth "jack fucking shit" attitude toward the man, I think that telling that story here would be way "too much [of] a

s-t-r-e-t-c-h" -- found Bennett behaving in what seemed to me to be a remarkably selfless, kind, thoughtful manner. Also, the nature of the incident was more or less private and had nothing to do with "showbiz cordiality," unless you stretch that concept into the fourth dimension. You'll have to trust me on this, but at age 65, and having spent some 25 of those years yacking with, bumping into, and writing about showbiz "celebrities" of many sorts, I think I can be trusted. Also, unless you're naive, dim-witted, or very inexperienced, there are no great mysteries when it comes to who's real and who isn't, especially (oddly enough) in show business.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Larry Kart

[JSngry]

Anybody who's hear Spinna's remix of "My Love Is On Fire" (yes, it's a "white label")

edc explains: i came up with the big bands; jazz, pop-- call it what you will. i dreamed of helen forrest & connie boswell, lee wiley & helen humes. later in her life-- about the same time Sly was w/Doris Day-- i had an affair with Jeri Southern. one time Peggy Lee watched. Dick Haymes was Caruso to me. truth be told, however-- & we always-- always-- knew it--

Tony Bennett has no soul!

Dino used to say it all the time; Frank, in a misplaced gesture of equanimity, bullshitted otherwise; it was not true. not even the junk could git Tony that which schlock manner & good grooming can not buy: guts, baby.

maybe ya'll had different experiences with Tony than i did; people are complex sometimes & can wear many masks. Who knew what lay behind seemingly effortless graces of Dick Haymes or Ricky Nelson, Jo Stafford or Phil Everyly?

Brian Wilson ended up in sandbox; Tony Bennett made shitty-- & I mean really really shitty, sterile, insipid-- records that neither Mitch Miller on side nor Wil Friedwald on the other could justify, tho' both would spend much effort trying.

"he was a nice guy." Big Buwana White Man's Burden "Liberal"-- as long as it doesn't cost him anything but a dry cleaning bill & maybe a few thousand bones for rubber chicken & backseat handjob from his assistant. Hillary doesn't know-- or care-- shit about music-- but she loves Tony-- everyone does. "He's a nice guy." Meanwhile... how's it going in Iraq, Tony? it's easy to be a "nice guy" from Beverly Hills or your $1 million ++ co-op too, not that everyone is but "good manners" alone don't matter anymore, & troofully, never shoulda counted for all they did either.

now, if he DID throw the GREAT Harold Land a few bones, a good deed noted; seems the least he can do too but i'll admit it's sumpin'. (Like Tom Waits & Teddy Edwards, tho' Tom's got A LOT more going on besides.)

Return to Tony Bennett's Queenss (With Charles Kuralt)

Duly noted, but I'm not sure what that has to do with a DJ Spinna remix of a Stevie Wonder record...

[Christiern]

I'm glad I don't have this guy's hostility affliction.

[JSngry]

white label!!

Ahhhh....I see.

Never mind then.

But by all means check out Spinna's trick on that song. He takes 20 years off it, and in the best possible way.

[Larry Kart]

We've got two different sets of ears (but then we already knew that), because I just listened to side one of Bennett's two-disc Carnegie Hall concert album from 1962, which includes (in addition to your pal "Just In Time") an IMO sublime version of "All The Things You Are."

[fent99]

Gotta love this board and the things it throws up...

Stevie and Tony?

Can't disagree with the descent for both of these folks and maybe they have plenty in common, happy to coast it out to the end.

More of a shame for Stevie?

Neither deserve too much derision though, who cares if their best work is behind them. Plenty of folks that's true about and what they left that has quality is fine by me.

Plenty other folks making fine music to listen to

[mikeweil]

Two non-jazz singers--both past their prime--teaming up for a "jazz" album? One shudders at the thought.

One can't say it in fewer words ...

Strange: I wouldn't walk out that much on Bennett like most here do - I have only very few of his albums, 1 or 2, and like them - there's something about this board concerning highly subjective opinions about singers.

As for Wonder, I liked his albums back in the 1970's, but they don't say as much to me now, and I think, like Christiern, that he is far beyond his prime.

There have been countless pop singers in recent years suddenly discovering their lifelong connection to jazz. I don't buy it, as they didn't have the guts to pay their dues with jazz.

I'm glad I don't have to buy or listen to this one.

[Harold_Z]

I'm with Catesta on this one.

How could you NOT like Tony Bennett? GEEZ!

Or Stevie for that matter.

What a bunch of jazz snobs!

[Christiern]

I like Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder (have, in fact, reviewed both most favorably in the past), but neither comes close to performing as well as they once did.

Bennett's knack for repaving roads has also slipped in recent years.

[Harold_Z]

I like Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder (have, in fact, reviewed both most favorably in the past), but neither comes close to performing as well as they once did.

Bennett's knack for repaving roads has also slipped in recent years.

True. For Stevie I think the pressure to get a contemporary hit may influence him to write and sing things that he would otherwise forego, but those lps and songs from the 70s put him in the exceptional category for me.

Tony is just getting up there in age and all the associated problems manifest themselves, but if he digs performing...why not?

Also they don't make asphalt like they used to.