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Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: "Cheek to Cheek"

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Over the past few weeks, I've spent quite a bit of time with Cheek to Cheek (Interscope), the much-ballyhooed Songbook album by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga that's out today. For many jazz fans, I suspect it will be difficult for them to go beyond preconceived notions about Lady and even Tony. In recent days, I've fielded emails from readers who insist they won't be listening to the album—accusing Lady of being a a fraud and Tony a doddering legend who has been duped by a media-savvy icon playing to his fatherly instincts.

While nothing could be further from the truth, it's easy to understand the reaction. Up until now, Lady Gaga has made a career out of parlaying superficiality into a fine art—from the pop-art runway outfits and revolving door hairstyles to the self-aggrandizing media swirls. With this backdrop, many jazz fans view her as an intruder who's trying to gain credibility by putting on the Ritz.

Jazz does tend to have more partisan fans than any other form of music. As a result, it's not easy for non-jazz artists to slip through the door without being strip-searched for motive, chops and knowledge. Viewed through this prism, many jazz fans are in shock, as if Tony brought home a date from the other side of the tracks. 

By contrast, fans of other forms of music don't normally engage in such bilious debates over who is allowed into the fold and who isn't. That's because jazz fans treat the music as a highly personal expression. To truly understand jazz, you have to pay your dues, spending years listening to and reading about the music. To become a true jazz fan, you must serve an apprenticeship of sorts. Years must be spent with books, articles, blogs and liner notes as well as listening to musicians over 10 decades before you can have anything close to a fine understanding of the music and its soul. That's why jazz fans are among the hardest to win over. They know the difference between the real deal and a phony.

Which brings us to Cheek to Cheek. After 30 complete listens, I found the album engaging on many levels. First, Lady is far better at navigating Songbook standards than you'd imagine. She clearly understands the idiom and has the technique and sensitivity to deliver convincing versions of favorite songs. Second, she knows how to improvise—you can hear it in virtually all of the album's tracks. And third, it's just a darn fun pairing. Tony and Lady clearly have chemistry and play off each other well. You just have to listen to this album without coming all undone about why she isn't you favorite singer from the 1950s. Just relax and give it a spin, and make believe you have no idea who is singing. If you can do this, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

You should know that Cheek to Cheek isn't a straight-up duet album. To be sure, there are plenty of duets—11 in all. But there also are solo vocals—two by Tony and two by Lady. In addition, the instrumental backup comes in three flavors—Tony's gorgeous quartet (Mike Renzi on piano, Gary Sargent on guitar, Marshall Wood on bass and Harold Jones on drums), a big band arranged and conducted by Marion Evans and an orchestra arranged and conducted by Jorge Calandrelli. So there are a plenty of modes in which to judge Lady and Lady and Tony together.

The high point for me are two ballads—the Tony-Lady duet on But Beautiful and Lady's Lush Life. On both tracks, Lady's voice is exposed, and her interpretations are sincere and yearning. As we know, Lush Life is one of the most difficult jazz standards to sing. Frank Sinatra took a shot and passed. Is Lady's version the finest Lush Life ever to hit vinyl? She'd be the first to say that would be an impossibility. But it is credible and heartfelt and splendidly executed, showing that the singer not only knows what the lyrics mean but also lived the Billy Strayhorn story about loneliness and boozy grief.

On But Beautiful, Lady phrases lucidly, soaring with the strings in just the right places, swinging into her high register at several points to make a point before sliding effortlessly down into her middle register, which is as warm and soft as a woman's leather glove.

There's plenty of mischief here on the upbeat side of the equation—particularly on Firefly, They All Laughed and It Don't Mean a Thing. Lady knows how to dance the lyrics without trying to sound like someone else. All along the way, you have to keep reminding yourself that Lady is just 28 years old. What's remarkable to me isn't her youth but that she understands the adult pain that went into crafting these songs. If this is just the beginning of a long romance between Lady and the Great American Songbook and jazz in general, it's a superb start and can only help the form survive future genterations.

A few words about Tony, whose first hit—Because of You—soared up the charts in 1951. On Cheek to Cheek, he still sounds like the hippest guy in the room. There's a knowing, sly wisdom about his voice now, an awareness that he no longer has to prove himself with blistering technique but merely has to hit the tastiest notes in the chord with just the right amount of swing and surprise. His Don't Wait Too Long and Sophisticated Lady solo tracks are cozy and autumnal, with all of the golds, oranges and reds. Every time I hear Tony I can't help but think how lucky we are to have him and all of his great recordings, not to mention his generosity and kindness. His music is a life partner for all moods.

Is the album perfect? No. If I had been producing, I might have dropped Goody Goody, a track on which Tony sings and Lady mutters coy comments along the way about being a “bady." I would have replaced it with Lady singing The Man That Got Away. When I told Tony, His eyes lit up. “Oh yeah, that would have been good."

As you'll soon see if you give the album a listen, Tony is no sap and Lady is no freeloader. Cheek to Cheek is a happy union of old school and the next big thing. As you listen, please remember that it's unfair to hold Lady or anyone else today to the standards of 50 years ago. I'd wager to say that whatever we do for a living today, we'd be hard-pressed to do it at the same level if all we could use were the tools of the 1950s. No computer, no spell-check, no smartphone, no printer, no Wiki, no nothing. There was a different level of mastery back then based on the available technology. Comparing Lady to Ella, Sarah, Peggy, Dinah, Carmen or anyone else from the golden era isn't fair. Just listen to Cheek to Cheek as if it's the start of a new generation's love affair with the music we enjoy so much. Lady has the wit, sass and talent to translate a tradition for a generation tired of the arena pop they've been served up and are searching for substance. As for Tony, think of him as a master mentor. To paraphrase the title of one of his albums in 1967, Tony still makes it happen.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Cheek to Cheek (Interscope) here and the deluxe version here.

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This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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