This edition of Giants of Jazz brings you the second of a two-part audio interview with the illustrious jazz singer, Tony Bennett. We hear a thoughtful, soft-spoken artist who immediately engages with the interviewer.
Bennett’s gift for making a connection with his audience has served him well through the years. There’s no doubt that a certain loyal core of fans has matured with him, while many others have discovered him through the network of contemporary artists like Norah Jones, John Mayer and Diana Krall, with whom he has recorded in recent years.
In part one, Bennett commented on the “great spirit” of the big bands and how he valued the bragging rights that followed having an 18-piece orchestra backing him up in concerts and on recordings.
“I think I do it because when some hippies come along and say, ‘Well what are you doing today?’ [I say] ‘I’m just singing with Count Basie. What are you doing?' I give them an answer, ya see.” — Tony Bennett as related to Hot Air host, Bob Smith.
In part two, Bennett turns the tables on the interviewer, asking Bob Smith a question of his own regarding a trend Bennett has noticed among composers who borrow material without giving due credit.
The segment begins with a discussion about notable jazz instrumentalists and how their individual sounds shape their musical personas.
[play] Listen to Bob Smith's interview with Tony Bennett from the mid-'60s, 16 minutes and 18 seconds.
Interview backgrounder
The exact date of this interview is not known, but it is almost certainly from the mid-'60s when Bennett was one of many big acts that came to Vancouver to play with the fine house band in residence at the Cave Supper Club on Hornby Street.
Bennett expressed gratitude to singer Perry Como for supporting his earliest forays into television.
Bennett’s great respect for arrangers is evident in this interview. Among the many names he drops in the conversation is that of Robert Farnon, a Toronto-born arranger, orchestrator and conductor who was admired by Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones and others.
The archive
The Bob Smith Hot Air archive is a treasure trove of approximately 50 interviews Smith recorded with some of the greatest stars of the day, from the world of jazz and beyond. Captured between 1950 and 1982, these interviews include conversations with Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Harry James, Oscar Peterson and Lena Horne, as well as Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli and many others.
The interviewer
The cigar-smoking, erudite and opinionated Smith was an old-time broadcaster who forged friendships with an A-list of entertainers who always seemed to have time for a sit-down with Smith — and sometimes a little “taste” of something special that Smith had corked away for just such occasions. His habitual sign-off to his weekly jazz show, Hot Air, now undeniably the longest-running program on CBC Radio, was “God bless jazz fans everywhere.”
Related:
Giants of Jazz: Tony Bennett, part 1
Giants of Jazz: Louis Armstrong
Giants of Jazz: Oscar Peterson
Giants of Jazz: Cannonball & Nat Adderley
Giants of Jazz: Henry Mancini