Tony Bennett & k d lang Article

[Mark Fox]

Harrington: Tony Bennett, k.d. lang still making beautiful music together

By Jim Harrington
Oakland Tribune












Tony Bennett and k.d. lang will headline the San Francisco Symphony's Black and White Ball on...

·

A QUITE unexpected — but vastly satisfying — musical bond was formed in the early 1990s.

It came when legendary New York City crooner Tony Bennett, the elder statesman of the Great American Songbook, met Canadian songbird k.d. lang, then a hot country-music newcomer with two Grammy Awards to her credit. They were separated by 35 years in age, as well as by two vastly different fan bases, but were united through a passion for music.

Both also had tremendous voices, which ended up mixing nicely on the stage and in the recording studio (see 2002's "A Wonderful World"). Since their first duet — which came on Bennett's Grammy-winning 1994 live album, "MTV Unplugged"

— the pair have been frequent collaborators.

Bennett, the 83-year-old singer best known for the anthem "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," and lang, 48, are only scheduled to perform one concert together this year. That'll be Saturday at the San Francisco Symphony's Black & White Ball. To help publicize their appearance, Bennett and lang agreed to do a joint phone interview — the first one they've done.

Lang called in first from her home in Los Angeles. Bennett, at his apartment in Manhattan, phoned just a bit later.

Jim Harrington: While we wait for Tony to join the party, tell me about your recent trip to Australia. Did you see any see any wombats while Down Under?

Lang: No. I didn't see any wombats.





I was just in Melbourne, so I didn't see any wombats.

J.H.: If you were in Melbourne — quite the culinary hotbed — you must have had some incredible food.

Lang: I sure did. And I had even better coffee. Melbourne has the best coffee in the world.

J.H.: I'll have to remember that. Speaking of remembering, what are your earliest memories in regard to Tony Bennett?

Lang: I was just aware of him from being a fan of music and a fan of vocalists. I met Tony backstage at the Grammys in 1992, I think, and he then asked me to sing on his "MTV Unplugged." When we sang together, it just clicked immediately. We just became good friends and we've had very good luck singing together.

(Bennett joins the call.)

Lang: Uh, oh. I better stop talking about him. There he is! (Laughs)

Tony Bennett: Hello?

Lang: Hi, Tony, it's k.d.

T.B.: Hey, k.d.!

J.H.: And, less impressively, it's Jim Harrington. I'm previewing your appearance at the Black & White Ball in San Francisco. I guess you know a little something about that city.

T.B.: Yeah, I think I know a little about it. (Laughs.) I love it. I travel all over the world and everybody in every country in the world dreams of coming to the United States just to see that one city.

J.H.: Tony, you've performed with so many different and talented singers over the years. I'm wondering what it is about k.d. that keeps drawing you back for more.

T.B.: Well, I'm afraid of sounding conceited, but I have good ears. I can tell if someone has got it, or hasn't got it. If I was a producer, I'd be making a fortune. If there is one wrong note in a symphony — if one musician is playing the wrong note, out of 109 men — I could hear it. And k.d. has a gift. She's just a very beautiful, natural singer, and there aren't many of them around. Every note (of hers) has great feeling and honesty. I can't ask for a more pleasant thing to listen to than to listen to k.d. sing.

J.H.: And, k.d., I'm guessing that performing alongside one of the true masters of American song has been an invaluable learning experience for you.

Lang: Having the proximity to Tony onstage, physically — and then also emotionally, through our friendship — is like an almost immeasurable enriching effect. It's like an education that you couldn't even dream of attaining in your lifetime. To be mentored by Tony, it's the kind of thing that is irreplaceable.

J.H.: When I first heard about you, k.d., it was from mostly younger listeners and country music fans. These days, however, you seem to have a much broader audience. Do you credit some of that to your collaborations with Tony?

Lang: Oh, absolutely. My work with Tony has allowed me to tap into a bunch of listeners that appreciate jazz and the fine vocal prowess that Tony has. It's wonderful to be able to access those kinds of people, who have such a fine appreciation for singers.

J.H.: Tony, how have you benefitted from your association with lang?

T.B.: It's about k.d. as a person; k.d. is real. She's a magnificent human being. She sings so beautifully. And her heart is as big and as beautiful as her voice.

J.H.: Speaking of real, that's exactly how your relationship always comes across. These days, there's usually some producer/puppet-master running the show, figuring out what two random stars should sing together on some TV program. Yet, the two of you seem to perform together because you genuinely enjoy it.

T.B.: That's it.

Lang: We love the music and we love to sing and we love each other, so it's pretty easy.

Read Jim Harrington's Concert Blog at http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/category/concerts/.

PREVIEW

· WHAT: San Francisco Symphony's Black & White Ball, featuring Tony Bennett, k.d. lang and others

· WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday

· WHERE: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., S.F.

· TICKETS: $200-$325;
415-864-6000, http://www.sf

[Marian]

Hi Mark, thanks for adding this. I see you haven't quite got the hang of copy and paste down to a fine art yet though, you need to check through it and remove reference to photos, advertisements etc.

[Mark Fox]

I think I've 'edited'it now-marks out of ten,please?

[Marian]

That's fine Mark, I'll give you 9!!!

[Mark Fox]

Thanks,Marian,more than I expected.

[Marian]

Top marks next time?!!