At a time when musical fame is manufactured weekly by the “American Idol” TV series, Tony Bennett’s concert Friday night at the Fox Theatre brought an interesting, more thoughtful perspective on what it really takes to become a lasting star in the music business.
Bennett has been singing professionally for more than 60 years, and during that lengthy and impressive career he has managed to appeal to several new generations of new fans along the way winning his first Grammy awards in the 1960s, and following that up with multiple Grammy wins throughout the past two decades.
And as he proved at the Fox, Bennett’s continuing success has everything to do with a commitment to quality and to the musical standards that first brought him success decades ago.
Backed by a talented quartet of musicians led by pianist and musical arranger Lee Musiker, Bennett strolled casually onto the stage after a short three-song opening set by his daughter, Antonia Bennett. Dressed in a stylish dark suit, Bennett jumped right into the great American songbook, singing timeless classics such as “Watch What Happens,” “They All Laughed,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Speak Low.”
After briefly adjusting his vocals to the band and the Fox’s acoustics, Bennett quickly hit his stride. He soon had the crowd wrapped around his finger as he continued to mine hits from the 1950s -- performing his first recording, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and his hit version of the Hank Williams classic, “Cold, Cold Heart.”
The hits just kept on coming -- all sung in Bennett’s warm, mellow style, with occasional higher octave punctuations that proved at age 82 he still has much of the same range and vocal power that he exhibited early in his career.
Bennett’s emphasis was decidedly on the music throughout, and he made it a point to continually showcase his talented band of Musiker, guitarist Gray Sargent, bassist Jim Hughart and drummer Harold Jones. Sargent’s tasteful chorded accompaniment of Bennett on “The Way You Look Tonight” was a special highlight, as was Musiker’s dynamic piano solo on “Maybe This Time.”
Bennett has been singing professionally for more than 60 years, and during that lengthy and impressive career he has managed to appeal to several new generations of new fans along the way winning his first Grammy awards in the 1960s, and following that up with multiple Grammy wins throughout the past two decades.
And as he proved at the Fox, Bennett’s continuing success has everything to do with a commitment to quality and to the musical standards that first brought him success decades ago.
Backed by a talented quartet of musicians led by pianist and musical arranger Lee Musiker, Bennett strolled casually onto the stage after a short three-song opening set by his daughter, Antonia Bennett. Dressed in a stylish dark suit, Bennett jumped right into the great American songbook, singing timeless classics such as “Watch What Happens,” “They All Laughed,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Speak Low.”
After briefly adjusting his vocals to the band and the Fox’s acoustics, Bennett quickly hit his stride. He soon had the crowd wrapped around his finger as he continued to mine hits from the 1950s -- performing his first recording, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” and his hit version of the Hank Williams classic, “Cold, Cold Heart.”
The hits just kept on coming -- all sung in Bennett’s warm, mellow style, with occasional higher octave punctuations that proved at age 82 he still has much of the same range and vocal power that he exhibited early in his career.
Bennett’s emphasis was decidedly on the music throughout, and he made it a point to continually showcase his talented band of Musiker, guitarist Gray Sargent, bassist Jim Hughart and drummer Harold Jones. Sargent’s tasteful chorded accompaniment of Bennett on “The Way You Look Tonight” was a special highlight, as was Musiker’s dynamic piano solo on “Maybe This Time.”
