Bill Evans and Tony Bennett, masters of their respective crafts, make for an interesting pairing. The extroverted Bennett has a booming voice and an outgoing style, while Evans’s piano playing is noted for its reflective lyricism. The two musicians liked each other’s work, and in the mid-‘70s they recorded two LPs, The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album and Together Again. 2009’s The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings includes those two albums, a couple of bonus tracks, and twenty alternate takes. Both singer and pianist share the spotlight. The opener, “Young and Foolish,” a song from the ‘50s musical, Plain and Fancy, immediately establishes the high quality of the collaboration. Bennett will break your heart with this wistful look back at youth, and Evans’s sensitive touch is equally affecting. There are several standouts, including two tracks — the devastating “The Two Lonely People” and the subtle, yet intense “You Must Believe In Spring”— that originally appeared on Together Again. This set is a stone-cold classic.
Disc 1
Disc 2
- 1962
Featured On
- Chet Baker
- Mel Tormé
- Clifford Brown, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan & Helen Merrill
- Nancy Wilson
- Stan Getz Quartet