The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings (2 CD, 2009/FLAC)

The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings is a two-CD box set released in 2009 compiling the two recording sessions by singer Tony Bennett and pianist Bill Evans which produced The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album in 1975 and Together Again in 1976, including twenty alternate takes and two bonus tracks not released on the original albums.

•     Tony Bennett – vocals
•     Bill Evans – piano

Tony Bennett & Dave Brubeck - The White House Sessions, Live 1962 (2013/FLAC)

Since both were performing their own sets at the White House Seminar American Jazz Concert on the Sylvan Theater grounds on August 28, 1962, Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck decided to perform an impromptu collaborative set together that day, and although one song from it was eventually released, a version of "That Old Black Magic," the rest of the hour-or-so-long tape ended up lost in the vast Sony catalog vault, filed, as it turned out, with several classical tapes, until it surfaced again shortly after Brubeck's death in 2012. Now finally available, it reveals two master performers at the very top of their respective games. Bennett's signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," had been released only a couple of weeks before the concert, while Brubeck's "Take Five" had just begun to take on its iconic significance. Brubeck and his quartet, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums, played a four-song set, followed by a six-song set from Bennett and his band, with Ralph Sharon on piano, Hal Gaylor on bass, and Billy Exiner on drums. Then came an unrehearsed and impromptu four-song set from Bennett and Brubeck, with Wright on bass and Morello on drums (alto saxophonist Desmond sat out) that included versions of "That Old Black Magic" (the only track previously released before this), "Lullaby of Broadway," "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)," and "There Will Never Be Another You," each of which purveys a loose, fun elegance that makes this archival find a true treasure. Bennett and Brubeck would not perform together again until both appeared and briefly reunited on-stage at the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival.

Tony Bennett - Complete Columbia Singles Vol. 1-6 (2011)

 

The discography of American traditional pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett consists of 60 studio albums, 11 live albums, 33 compilation albums, three video albums, one extended play and 83 singles.

Almost all of Bennett's albums have been released by Columbia Records. The biggest selling of his albums in the US have been I Left My Heart in San Francisco, MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett, Duets: An American Classic and Duets II, all of which were certified platinum by the RIAA for shipping one million copies. Nine other albums of his have gone gold in the US, including several compilations.

Tony Bennett - The Complete Improv Recordings [4 CD, 2004/FLAC]

 

For those new to the music of Tony Bennett, Improv was a label started by Tony Bennett and businessman Bill Hassett. Bennett was fed up with the suits at Columbia Records, who were trying to make him sing rock & roll. When his contract expired at the beginning of the 1970s, he and Hassett formed a label to help him realize his aesthetic ambitions, and Improv was born. Bennett recorded five albums for the label between 1975 and 1977 before it went bankrupt. These recordings may not have sold well -- due largely to distribution problems -- but all of them were critically acclaimed. On these sides, Bennett is in awesome company throughout, with talent ranging from Bill Evans and Earl Hines to Ruby Braff to Marian McPartland to Buddy Tate and Charlie Byrd.

The albums included here are Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers and Hart Songs, Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers & Hart, Tony Bennett and Bill Evans Together Again (this was the follow-up to the Fantasy set entitled The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album and is easily the better of the two), Life Is Beautiful, and Tony Bennett With the McPartlands and Friends Make Magnificent Music. While the original albums have been issued on CD before, complete sessions have never been available until now. Along with the original LPs are unissued alternate takes, 45s, and even an unreleased tune finished for a particular session but never used. In addition, the album with the McPartlands is here on compact disc for the first time. It should also be noted that this box finally completes the two different Tony Bennett and Bill Evans Together Again CD issues that were released on Rhino and Concord with different material. Collectors will find the box irresistible as much for its fine, if simple, presentation as for the material itself.

Tony Bennett - The Complete Improv Recordings [4 CD, 2004]

 

For those new to the music of Tony Bennett, Improv was a label started by Tony Bennett and businessman Bill Hassett. Bennett was fed up with the suits at Columbia Records, who were trying to make him sing rock & roll. When his contract expired at the beginning of the 1970s, he and Hassett formed a label to help him realize his aesthetic ambitions, and Improv was born. Bennett recorded five albums for the label between 1975 and 1977 before it went bankrupt. These recordings may not have sold well -- due largely to distribution problems -- but all of them were critically acclaimed. On these sides, Bennett is in awesome company throughout, with talent ranging from Bill Evans and Earl Hines to Ruby Braff to Marian McPartland to Buddy Tate and Charlie Byrd.