Caterina Valente and Michel Legrand in Concert, 1972

Caterina Valente is one of the most prolific and exceptional all-around entertainers in the second half of the last century. An Italian who was born in France in 1931, Valente grew up in a musical family. She played guitar, was well versed in jazz, danced and spoke six languages and sang in 11, which helped her become one of the most recorded global vocalists and most in-demand performers in Europe. Michel Legrand, of course, was one of the finest composer-pianists who moved effortlessly between jazz, pop and the cinema.

In a career that began in 1954, Valente has long considered her 1972 performance with Legrand at the Olympia in Paris one of her artistic highlights. The concert run took place in January and featured Valente and Legrand singing together for the first portion of the event. Then Valente moved on to perform with a guitarist and then sang solo before returning for additional duets with Legrand.

Here's an hour and 15 minutes from the 1972 concert that brought down the house...



Bonus. Here's Valente in Germany in 1956 singing with Chet Baker backing her. Notice how she purposefully sings flat, in Baker's style, even though she knew exactly where those notes should be. That took skill. A special thanks to Bill Kirchner. The personnel: Chet Baker (tp), Lars Gullin (bar), Dick Twardzik (p), Jimmy Bond (b), Peter Littman (d) and Caterina Valente (vcl)..