VIA PRESS RELEASE | When Tony Bennett and Bill Evans recorded their first of two albums together in 1975, it marked a rare moment in pop culture—when a pair of equally respected but vastly different icons could combine their talents, while elevating each other’s artistries in the process.
Bennett was an internationally renowned singer, who had built a name for himself interpreting pop and jazz standards. Evans was one of the most innovative pianists in jazz music, who was revered for his conversational interplay and lyrical compositions. Best known for his work in trio settings, Evans rarely played with singers. He did, however, have a great appreciation for Bennett, which he professed in a 1968 Billboard tribute to the singer.
Several years later, the two legends finally met at Fantasy Studios for an intimate and somewhat spontaneous affair. Joined only by producer Helen Keane and an engineer, Bennett and Evans selected material and loosely worked out arrangements. An amalgamation of both men’s backgrounds, the set married pop (“Days of Wine and Roses,” “Young and Foolish,” “We’ll Be Together Again”) with jazz, including Evans’ own “Waltz for Debby” (featuring lyrics by Gene Lees). The session allowed Bennett to prove his chops as a serious jazz singer, while Evans offered thoughtful accompaniment—with ample improvisational interludes.
The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album was an enormous success upon its release, leading to a follow-up, 1977’s Together Again. Since then, reverence for the recording has only grown. AllMusic hailed it as “one of the best albums of either’s career,” while All About Jazz called it “one of the most memorable vocal-piano duets committed to vinyl.” NPR included the album in their Basic Jazz Record Library, with the AFI’s Murray Horwitz declaring, “This is the American art song tradition at its finest. . . . Both men are masters, they know exactly what they want to do with each song, and they make a splendid interpretation every time. It’s one of those records when you can truly say it doesn’t get any better than this.”