Here's To The Ladies

by Tony Bennett

Product Description:

Personnel includes: Tony Bennett (vocals); Jorge Calandrelli, Bill Holman (conductor); Ralph Sharon (piano); Lew Soloff (trumpet); Douglas Richeson (bass); Clayton Cameron (drums).

Recorded at Clinton Studios, New York.

HERE'S TO THE LADIES won a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

Tony Bennett's mixture of jazz and pop, of hard swing and suave song stylings, is without equal--save for those of his friend and admirer, Frank Sinatra. HERE'S TO THE LADIES ranks among the strongest of the singer's recorded works of the '90s because it delineates the degree to which Bennett has cultivated his art, while fleshing out his sense of history--not to mention the debt he obviously feels to the eighteen songbirds who inspired this recital. It also illustrates Bennett's impeccable taste in popular songs, sidemen and orchestrations. Pianist Ralph Sharon is his spiritual right hand man, while recent addition Clayton Cameron--Sammy Davis' longtime rhythm ace, and a brilliant brush virtuoso (check out "I Got Rhythm")--carries on a long tradition of tasty, hard swinging drummers who've enlivened Bennett's music since the '50s.

Bennett and Sinatra are masters of the theatrical gesture, both possessing the unique ability to transform a song into a highly personal soliloquy. But while Sinatra favors a smooth, legato style of phrasing, Bennett's instrument has a more grainy quality, with a broad, expressive vibrato. As he demonstrates on a brassy version of "People," a sultry rendition of Peggy Lee's "I'm In Love Again," and a tippling interpretation of Judy Garland's signature tune, Harold Arlen's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," it's the difference between a slide trombone and a tenor saxophone.

With a disc comprised of wall-to-wall landmarks, it's hard to zero in on only a handful of highlights. On "Poor Butterfly," "Tenderly" and "God Bless The Child," Bennett achieves a cool sense of intimacy, finding heretofore undiscovered depths in these familiar chestnuts. Meanwhile, "Down In The Depths," "Honeysuckle Rose" and "I Got Rhythm" highlight Bennett's keen sense of swing, and his uncommon storytelling abilities.