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Tony Bennett: Singers
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Tony Bennett is a survivor. Today he stands tall as the one major survivor of an earlier era of pop music and singing – the man whom Frank Sinatra once proclaimed "the best singer in the business."
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Tony Bennett ... built up the quality and reputation of his nightclub act; in this he was following the path of Sinatra and other top jazz and standards singers of this era. In June 1962 Bennett staged a highly-promoted concert performance at Carnegie Hall, using a stellar lineup of musicians including Al Cohn, Kenny Burrell, and Candido, as well as the Ralph Sharon Trio. It was a big success, and further cemented Bennett's reputation as a star both at home and abroad.
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As a young man with a mission, Tony did everything from sing as a waiter to perform with the American Forces Network orchestra. In 1949, he got his first break when singer Pearl Bailey (left) asked him to open for her in Greenwich Village. She ... invited comedian Bob Hope to the show.
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Bennett is not and never was a jazz singer.... He does not improvise. But he likes to perform with jazz musicians, and he knows how to turn a phrase with a jazz rhythm. His pianist and musical director since the Fifties has been Ralph Sharon, a musician who came out of jazz, and Bennett’s influences include legendary jazz pianist Art Tatum (from whom he picked up ideas on phrasing and breathing), and singers Mildred Bailey (for her relaxed delivery), Billie Holiday, and Sinatra.
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By age 10, Bennett found his niche for performing. He sang at the opening of the Triborough Bridge and went on to attend New York's High School of Industrial Art. But at 16 he dropped out of school to help support his family, and it was then that he decided to make a living as a professional singer.
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About the only way to even mildly shake the unflappable 76-year-old Bennett is to ask about his youngest daughter, Antonia. An aspiring jazz singer, Antonia is hoping to break into the business that made, and nearly broke, her father. He's proud of her, of course. And he's optimistic about her career. And because he's both pop icon and concerned pop, he worries.
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