In the PWA hall, 76-year-old singer Tony Bennett will be dipping into the Great American Songbook with songs by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hart and George Gershwin. Straight from the heart has always been the trademark of this elegant American troubadour, who can effortlessly transform the most complex tunes into songs that are easy on the ear. Bennett is one of those singers with a golden voice who has reached the absolute peak of their profession. It is with good cause that the sympathetic, charismatic man has quite a few Grammys and other music awards to his name. It is to Bennett's credit that, despite his long and well-established career, he is still interested in anything happening in contemporary music. His successful CD MTV Unplugged- on which he sings with stars like Elvis Costello - was a good example of this, but his recent work with pop singer k.d.lang is a surprising move in a new direction.
The album A Wonderful World, out in the U.S. but as yet unavailable in the Netherlands, consists of an extraordinary collection of duets. These are songs that became well-known after being performed by Louis Armstrong. This is yet another one of Bennett's tributes to the legendary performers from that grand era. Apart from that, the singer, who received his first lessons from the great composer Duke Ellington, has achieved a remarkable record. He has performed more times than anyone else in Los Angeles' famous Hollywood Bowl, which, with 18,000 people per concert was naturally always sold out. And finally, another fact deserving mention is that, once again, we will be able to admire Bennett in a movie. He has a cameo in the new Jim Carrey!
