Customer Reviews

Hot & Cool - Bennett Sings Ellington

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have enjoyed each album that Bennett has released since re-signing with Columbia. I have also noticed some vocal deterioration on the last few, especially "Bennett on Holiday". After all, the man is getting older. He remains the master, though, of how to use that voice.

Sometimes the deterioration is evident on this album, but all in all it's a great tribute to the Duke. I like the arrangements and how the songs are interpreted. With a wink and a nod, Ellington would probably agree.

This record has it all. Good singing, good arrangements, good choice of songs. It should, and probably will, be remembered at Grammy time.

Hearing this record reminds me of a review that somebody did of a Pittsburgh Sinatra concert in 1993. The writer said that Frank's voice was only 3/5 what it once was, but that he still was twice the singer anybody else was.

This album proves that Bennett is at the top of his game. Enjoy.

14 songs of Duke Ellington. We have heard them through lots of jazz vocalists. However, we can easily tell that Tony Bennett has a little bit difference than any other singers. Abundant, refined of his more than 70-year old voice. Also we ought to know this CD is the best for Tony Bennett and be proud of many musicians to help him including Wynton Marsalis, Ralph Sharon. I sincerely hope this CD is not for his last one.

This is a lovely album. Tony is one of those artists who never fails to produce great stuff. I think his "Mood Indigo" is one of the best I've heard, and I press repeat on that track so many times, it's a wonder it hasn't worn out. Never one to hog the spotlight, "Chelsea Bridge" doesn't even feature Tony at all. It's a wonderful instrumental with Wynton Marsalis on trumpet. Wynton also plays on "Mood Indigo" and "She's got it bad". Duke Ellington would indeed love this tribute. Tony can still sing as well as ever, despite what some reviewers have said. Sure, his voice has aged, but he can still sing with the best of them, and in many cases, better. I recommend this album to any Tony Bennett and/or Ellington fan.

Duke Ellington's music has lived long past himself and that alone should be a tribute but Mr. Bennett's renditions sweeten the pie. There have been other artists who've honored this fabulous music but Tony Bennett is the best signer alive and when you couple him with some of the best music ever written you certainly get an enjoyable listen! As a whole, this is terrific stuff!

I braced myself for the 2000 Grammy Awards, justifiably so: Britney Spears for Best New Artist? Christina what's her face? I was truly disappointed Macy Gray did not win. My only consolation is that Mr. Bennett won his ninth career Grammy paying tribute to a friend, as he has done on most of his past 8 albums. His torch voice is raspy with age, endearing, and as usual, it feels like he's singing just to you. Mood Indigo is a stand-out, as is I'm Just A Lucky So and So, but what I find to be the highlight, if only briefly, is the vocal on It Don't Mean A Thing ... subtle and warm. The samples of Take The A-Train blew my mind ... while others may be annoyed that the cut was not included on the album, I can only take my hat off to the person who decided to tease me and leave me wanting more.

I heartily recommend this recording, not only to Tony Bennett fans, but to anyone who likes jazz. The arrangements here are absolutely brilliant, and the musicians perform magnificently. Ralph Sharon's piano introduction to "In a Sentimental Mood" is beautiful. Clayton Cameron outdoes himself with his drum solo on "It Don't Mean a Thing . . ." I could go on and on about the brilliant performances of other musicians here, but because I fear that my praises would be wholly inadequate, I will restrain myself. As for Mr. Tony Bennett himself, some might listen to this recording and conclude that he doesn't have it anymore. I disagree. Admittedly, Tony's voice has weakened in the past few years, but his spirit is still willing, and his mind is still the mind of a musical genius. I have always thought that Tony's phrasing is as good as phrasing gets, and his phrasing here does not disappoint. So get the CD. It really is terrific.

Tony Bennett has reached a peak of musical excellence in this album that will not be easy to repeat. The Hot & Cool musical styles of Duke Ellinton's music are given new life by the brilliant musicians accompanying Mr Bennett throughout the album. This album convinces me that Tony Bennett is as good, if not a better singer now, then he was in the 60's. Highlights on the album include "Moon Indigo" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". Tony Bennett's fraising and interpretation of music has never been better. This album won a well deserved Grammy Award and will be remembered.

Who's Duke Elligton? What type of music does Tony Bennett sing? These are the kinds of questions I was asking when my parents got me this CD. Upon listening to it however, I instantly knew why my parents had made such a big deal out of it. It's Great! Caravan, Sophisticated Ladies, Mood Indigo, all great. I would tell anyone who enjoys real music to purchase this CD

I'm frankly flabbergasted to find this album listing no higher than #51 among Tony Bennett album sales on Amazon. It's one of the last "big production" albums--1999-- just before Sony/Columbia came to some realizations about the high costs of running a first-class operation and proceeded to back up the truck, dumping the Marsalises and a whole stableful of young jazz artists who had been discovered and nurtured by producer Branford as well as desisting from praiseworthy (but admittedly hugely expensive) projects such as the remastered, reissued "Ellington at Newport '56." Now the company has few if any jazz artists under contract and is all but indifferent to the "art" of America's music.

The Bennett Ellington session receives the attention to detail not to mention the production values and large scale that one might expect of an artist (actually two) deserving V.I.P. treatment. Besides Ralph Sharon's quartet, there are noteworthy guests sitting in--the ubiquitous Wynton Marsalis, the legendary Al Grey, fiddler extraordinaire Joel Smirnoff, and an impressive collection of string players along with arrangements and orchestral direction by the likes of jazz immortal Ralph Burns. The tunes are even arranged to fit into a kind of program, or Ellington travelogue, with Tony beginning the session with just enough measures of music to invite everybody aboard the "A Train." Additionally, there are short musical transitions--four to eight bars each--between tunes (to smooth out any potential bumps in the rails? Whatever, they actually sound like false starts at best, mistakes at worst) along with features exclusively for the instruments (Wynton's solo on "Chelsea Bridge" compares favorably with my recollection of Dizzy's recording of the same tune with full orchestra). And to top it off, the timeless and redoubtable Dean of all jazz critics, Nat Hentoff, provides strong liner notes with appreciative and keen insights into both Bennett and Ellington.

Still--Ellington is the most difficult of all composers for vocalists to get a handle on. Many of his tunes, in fact, were written as instrumentals, with words provided by someone else at a later date ("Never No Lament" / "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Concerto for Cootie" / "Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me," "Subtle Slough" / "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me "). Duke thought of his instrumental players (from Bubber Miley and Tricky Sam Nanton through Rex Stewart, Cootie Williams and Quentin Jackson) less as instruments than as "voices" (hence, the emphasis on mutes, plungers, and vocalized effects from his brass); conversely, he thought of the human voice as another instrument (hence, the wordless soprano voice in an early Cotton Club number like "Creole Love Call" is the predecessor of Johnny Hodges' later playing the same part). All of which is to say that Ellington's elliptical melodic intervals and difficult chromatics put vocalists to the ultimate test--as do numerous Strayhorn numbers--far more than the compositions of other songwriters.

Tony sings with energy, sensitivity, life and pizzazz, but his voice is often two-dimensional. Instead of the powerful breath support required to do full justice by richly melodic tunes like "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Sophisticated Lady," he's forced to choose between his "shouting mode" ("In a Sent-Ti-Ment-Tal Mood"!--hardly seductive as belted out in this manner) and his "sotto voce" mode (he practically whispers "Sophisticated Lady," robbing the tune of its languorous melodic quality. And on "Don't Get Around" he alternates between the two modes, but not in a manner that makes the most sense. In short, the session is somewhat over-produced, over-dramatic ("Mood Indigo" is a jarring, inappropriate switch if you know the Ellington version), over-theatrical (is it really necessary for the vocalist to proclaim, as if in the throes of agony, "I don't get around much anymore"?).

And of course there are other quibbles. Duke had no use for guitars, so why is one suddenly featured on practically every number (to permit Tony to sing softly and still be heard?) In short the recording makes me wish all the more that Duke and Sinatra had gotten together earlier and that Frank had sung a few more of Duke's tunes and with Duke's arrangements (even though, unlike some, I'm neither disappointed nor surprised that Ole Blue gave up on trying to record "Lush Life"--Although Sinatra "becomes" the song, if you listen to the Weltzscherz, jaded lyrics of "Lush Life," you'll be grateful Frank didn't go there). It's also tempting to play out, in the imagination, some of these incomparable songs as being sung by the "least controversial" of all singers (I have yet to meet anyone, from classical or jazz backgrounds, who is not totally and immediately captivated by the vocal quality of Johnny Hartman, with or without the presence of Coltrane). As for the strings, Duke made optimal use of Ray Nance's virtuosity, but there's little evidence he was impressed by the "Mantovani thing."

Nevertheless, as previously intimated, this is an album of scale, featuring two of America's indisputable musical treasures (make that geniuses), and for the most part it's thoroughly enjoyable. "Azure" works perfectly for Tony's "sotto voce" voice, and the same can be said for Tony's belting voice when it comes to "It Don't Mean a Thing." Certainly there can be no argument about whether the album succeeds in delivering on the two-part promise implicit in its alternate, or "sub," title; "Hot and Cold." The listener can assured of being fully satisfied on both counts.

I only wish there were more people to disagree with me. At least that would show that this worthy project is receiving the attention it deserves. I can think of one Bennett album that receives less attention, and for which I have a higher regard: Tony's tribute to Billie Holiday ("On Holiday"). Sharon and Bennett decide to keep it simple, pure, and minimalist, eliminating even the bass! The final result speaks for itself. It's a gem and a perpetual delight--a perfect representation of early Lady Day without sacrificing any of the qualities that make Tony Bennett such a worthy successor in a vibrant tradition of great jazz vocalists.

It's a fine album, a full hour of excellent songs, arrangements, playing and vocalizing. Has anyone Tony's age ever had three records better than "Steppin' Out" and "Perfectly Frank" and this one? You would be wise to pick this up if you like jazzy mellow vocals done by some of the smartest, (not just the oldest) pros in the business. Duke composed these 14 tunes with at least 14 different lyricists (some songs are credited to three writers) over several decades. Some are known only to real Dukophiles, but most became popular enough to be recorded by the great singers of the '40's, 50's, 60's and beyond. And if the lyrics aren't familiar, well, you've probably heard instrumental versions before if you are of adult age and have been open to a variety of musical styles. I think this is worth the dough, as are the other two CD's I named. For Tony, for the writers and singers he pays tribute to, for the tasteful and skilled players recruited, but most of all for American music history, buy the darn thing before it goes "out-of-print."