TONY BENNETT — Duets II

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4.00 | 1 rating | 1 review

Album · 2011

Tracklist

1 Tony Bennett Duet With Lady Gaga– The Lady Is A Tramp 3:18
2 Tony Bennett Duet With John Mayer– One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 2:58
3 Tony Bennett Duet With Amy Winehouse– Body And Soul 3:23
4 Tony Bennett Duet With Michael Bublé– Don't Get Around Much Anymore 2:42
5 Tony Bennett Duet With k.d. lang– Blue Velvet 4:35
6 Tony Bennett Duet With Aretha Franklin– How Do You Keep The Music Playing 5:29
7 Tony Bennett Duet With Sheryl Crow– The Girl I Love 3:53
8 Tony Bennett Duet With Willie Nelson– On The Sunny Side Of The Street 2:57
9 Tony Bennett Duet With Queen Latifah– Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) 3:53
10 Tony Bennett Duet With Norah Jones– Speak Low 3:56
11 Tony Bennett Duet With Josh Groban– This Is All I Ask 4:36
12 Tony Bennett Duet With Natalie Cole– Watch What Happens 2:10
13 Tony Bennett Duet With Andrea Bocelli– Stranger In Paradise 5:03
14 Tony Bennett Duet With Faith Hill– The Way You Look Tonight 3:55
15 Tony Bennett Duet With Alejandro Sanz– Yesterday I Heard The Rain 3:44
16 Tony Bennett Duet With Carrie Underwood– It Had To Be You 3:51
17 Tony Bennett Duet With Mariah Carey– When Do The Bells Ring For Me 2:53

Line-up/Musicians

Alto Saxophone – Dave Mann (track 1), Lawrence Feldman (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), Lou Marini (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 12)
Conductor – Jorge Calandrelli (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Marion Evans (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12)
Baritone Saxophone – Ron Janelli (track 1), Roger Rosenberg (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 12)
Bass – David Finck (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Marshall Wood, Tim Cobb (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Bass Trombone – George Flynn
Bassoon – Marc Goldberg (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Cello – David Eggar (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Diane Barere (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Ellen Westerman (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Jeanne LeBlanc (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Richard Locker (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Stephanie Cummins (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Charles Pillow (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Drums – Harold Jones
Flute, Piccolo Flute – Katherine Fink (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Pamela Sklar (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
French Horn – Ann Scherer (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Barbara Jostlein Currie (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Bob Carlisle (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Philip Myers (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Thomas Jostlein (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Guitar – Gray Sargent
Harp – Grace Paradise (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Oboe, English Horn – Diane Lesser (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Percussion – Ben Herman (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Erik Charlston (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Gordon Gottlieb (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Piano – Lee Musiker
Tenor Saxophone – Andy Snitzer (track 1), Mark Phaneuf (track 1), Charlie Pillow (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 12), Dave Mann (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 12)
Trombone [Tenor] – Keith O'Quinn (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), Larry Farrell (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), Mike Davis
Trumpet – Bud Burridge (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), John Owens (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), Bob Millikan* (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 8, 12), Tony Kadleck
Viola – Adria Benjamin (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Alissa Smith (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Craig Mumm (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), David Gold (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Desiree Elsevier (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Judy Witmer (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Karen Dreyfus (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Monica Gerard (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Todd Low (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Vincent Lionti (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Violin – Ann Leathers (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Avril Brown (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Carol Pool (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Catherine Sim (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Cornelius Duffalo (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Liz Lim Dutton (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Entcho Todorov (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Jonathan Dinklage (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Karen Karlsrud (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Katherine Fong (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Katherine Livolsi (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Laura McGinnis (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Lorenza Ponce (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Matthew Lehmann (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Ming Feng Hsin (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Nancy Wu (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Sanguen Eanet (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Sean Carney (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Shirien Taylor Donahue (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Una Tone (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Wen Qian (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Xiao-Dong Wang (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Yoon Kwon (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Yuri Vodovoz (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17), Yurika Mok (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Violin, Concertmaster – Elena Barere (tracks: 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 11, 13 to 17)
Vocals [Duet] – Lady Gaga(track 1), John Mayer(track 2), Amy Winehouse(track 3), Michael Bublé (track 4), k.d. lang (track 5),Aretha Franklin (track 6), Sheryl Crow (track 7), Queen Latifah (track 9),Norah Jones(track 10), Josh Groban(track 11), Natalie Cole(track 12), Andrea Bocelli(track 13), Faith Hill(track 14), Alejandro Sanz(track 15), Carrie Underwood(track 16), Mariah Carey(track 17)
Vocals [Duet], Guitar, Soloist [Guitar Solo] – Willie Nelson (track 8)

About this release

RPM Records / Columbia – 88697-96851-2 (US)

Recorded At Bennett Studios / Capitol Studios / Ben's Studio / Avatar Studios / Abbey Road Studios / Henson Recording Studios / Manhattan Center Studios

Thanks to snobb for the addition

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Matti P

Tony Bennett (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023) made an impressively long career of high quality. He is, in my opinion, the only major male vocalist in the entertainment category to rival Frank Sinatra in importance. Sad to say he hasn't been reviewed here before. My choice is his decond "Duets" album. In his later years he was keen on performing together with well-known contemporary artists. In addition to the albums with a wide selection of duet partners on a song by song basis, he made whole duet-oriented albums with k. d. lang, Lady Gaga and Diana Krall. Undoubtedly Amy Winehouse, featured on this set, would have been on his Wanted list, but she died in 2011.

This is the second Tony Bennett duet album I've listened to completely, the first one being Love Is Here to Stay (2018) with Diana Krall, which I quickly ran through some time earlier and didn't like at all. I do appreciate Krall highly, too, but their mutual album had such a worn-out set of George Gershwin standards (e.g. 'Nice Work if You Can Get It', 'I Got Rhythm', 'They Can't Take That Away from Me' and so on) performed in an old-fashioned, light-hearted way.

Therefor I was all the more happily surprised to realize I had a pretty good time with Duets II. Undoubtedly the biggest kudos goes to the producer maestro Phil Ramone -- who passed away in 2013. The production of each well chosen song is perfectly tailored for the singers with various backgrounds and styles, and also the cast itself is delicious in its variety: from other elder legends such as Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson to the fairly young popular artists such as Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Cheryl Crow or Norah Jones.

Tony Bennett himself was indeed an ideal duet partner, always capable of creating a warm and happy atmosphere with whoever he was singing with. 'One for My Baby' feat. John Mayer suitably resembles a spontaneous bar stool dialogue. One of my faves is 'Blue Velvet' featuring the fantastic deep sensualism of k.d. lang. 'Stranger in Paradise' features Andrea Bocelli whose passionate, operatic approach suits the song.

This 63-minute set is definitely representing the cream of Various Artists oriented duet albums, and an excellent work from a legendary artist in the age of 85. R.I.P., Tony Bennett.