(New York City, August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023)
Tony Bennett e Bill Evans gravaram dois dos melhores álbuns de vocais do jazz, um em 1975 e repetiram a dose em 1977.
Tenho os dois !
O primeiro, numa magnífica caixa contendo 9 cds da Fantasy. O segundo, primeiro saiu em edições simples e depois nessa edição com bonus track e alternate takes pela Rhino.
A única faixa que não tem um take alternativo e "Lucky to be Me", porque essa eles gravaram de primeira !
We have the British singer Annie Ross to thank for these milestones of vocal jazz. She recommended to Tony Bennett that he should record with Bill Evans and the suggestion took. After an initial meeting and discussion in London, an historic series of sessions proceeded on June 10-13, 1975 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. No other musicians were involved, just the pianist and singer. “It was my idea that we make it only piano, though it kind of scared me,” said Evans. “It seemed to be the best way to get that intimate communication going.”
But despite the rigorous preparation and striving for perfection that provided the bedrock for this music, simplicity really was a keynote. Mirroring the fact that it was just Bennett and Evans performing, the only other people in the studio were Helen Keane (Evans’s fiercely loyal long-time agent, here also acting as producer) and recording engineer Don Cody. The fruits of these first sessions were released on the Fantasy label simply as The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album and were so successful that a follow up was immediately on the cards.
The second album Together Again was recorded for Bennett’s own label Improv, at the Columbia Studios in San Francisco on September 27-30, 1976. Don Cody was again the recording engineer and now also the co-producer with Helen Keane.
