Tony Bennett at Tanglewood, 9/5/98

by Seth Rogovoy

(LENOX , Mass., Sept 07, 1998) -- What is there left to be said about Tony Bennett that hasn't already been said, not once but a thousand times? That he is the very essence of self-effacing charm? That he boasts impeccable taste in song selection? That his voice is a dynamic instrument capable of feathery delicacy and roaring bombast? That he is our premiere interpreter of the so-called Great American Songbook? That he never fails to deliver one-hundred and ten percent in concert?

Well, yeah. How about this? That at age 72, he's got a great head of hair, and he looks awfully cute in his conservatively-tailored suit and tie, especially when he lifts both arms up in the air, to deliver a resounding note or to share the glory bestowed upon him with his audience, all of whom he has a way of making feel personally valued and attended to.

There was no psychodrama in the shed at Tanglewood on Saturday night, when Bennett closed out the second day of the weekend jazz festival with another home-run performance. Mark McGwire should be so lucky still to be in the ball game when he's a little over half Bennett's age. Seventy homers in a season? Big deal. How about 50 years of nothing but base-clearing four-baggers? That's the equivalent of what Bennett has achieved since the day he was discovered as a singing waiter in a neighborhood dive in Astoria, N.Y.

There was no Sturm und Drang on stage, no sips of Jack Daniel's nor displays of temper or arrogance. There was just Tony Bennett singing Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Kurt Weill, Johnny Mercer and the like. Paying tribute to Billie Holiday, Fred Astaire, Ethel Merman, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. Tony Bennett being Tony Bennett, singing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "Old Devil Moon" and "Rags to Riches."

Bennett seems to have lost nothing with age; if anything, his art is more subtle and complex than ever. He even seemed to allude to this in song, kicking off his set with "The Best Is Yet to Come" and ending with "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Does anyone detect a theme here?

Taking the stage with just pianist Ralph Sharon to accompany him, Bennett had a way of grabbing focus and turning the shed into an intimate cabaret. It was artifice, of course, but it took nothing away from the experience.

Bennett alternated his trademark bel canto singing -- with heroic endings on songs including "Autumn Leaves" and "When Joanna Loved Me" -- with a more delicate, whispery, jazz-inflected approach on "Speak Low" and, surprisingly enough, on "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," which was given a cool, dramatic treatment by Sharon and his quartet.

The Tanglewood crowd was given a special treat when Bennett brought out violinist Joel Smirnoff of the Juilliard String Quartet to duet with him on "Fly Me to the Moon." It was a touching, personal gesture, repeated in an encore of "Stranger In Paradise."

The Diana Krall Trio warmed up the crowd for Bennett with a set of cool, jazzy standards. Joined by guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Ben Wolfe, vocalist/pianist Krall was an alluring presence, singing with a Peggy Lee-like sultriness.

Krall delivered numbers such as "I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" with slinky reserve, her voice boasting a weary, angst-laden, faux hoarseness. Malone and Wolfe were able accompanists, although Malone struggled erratically with technological difficulties.

It might have been asking too much of Krall to, like Bennett, pretend that she wasn't playing to an audience numbering in the thousands instead of the dozens. Her cool, intimate arrangements were lost in the cavernous shed. They really would have been much better suited to Ozawa Hall. Perhaps next year she'll be back to headline her own program there.

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