Cheek To
Cheek features classic jazz standards sung by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett in a
combination of vocal duets and solo performances. Each song was handpicked by the artists, and
the album features classic selections from the Great American Songbook
including "Anything Goes," "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't
Got That Swing)," "Sophisticated Lady," "Lush Life," and the record's title
track, "Cheek To Cheek." Recorded in New York City, the record took
over a year to complete and features jazz musicians associated with both
artists including members of Bennett's quartet, Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent,
Harold Jones and Marshall Wood as well pianist Tom Lanier. Jazz trumpeter Brian Newman, a long-time
friend and colleague of Lady Gaga appears on the album as well with his NYC
based jazz quintet. Jazz soloists on selected tracks include tenor saxophonist
Joe Lovano and flutist Paul Horn, who passed away earlier this month.
Of this
new project Lady Gaga commented, "Cheek To Cheek came out of a very
organic friendship and relationship that Tony and I have built over the years
and it truly was a collaborative effort. It was important to Tony that this was
a jazz record. I've been singing jazz since I was a child and really wanted to
show the authentic side of the genre. We made an album of jazz classics, but it
has a modern twist."
"I
have been singing the Great American Songbook my entire career and all along
forging a
bridge between pop and jazz music.
Creating this album with Lady Gaga has been a beautiful experience as
she is a fantastic singer and I am hoping that all her fans will embrace this
music and swing along with it," said Tony Bennett.
Photographer
Steven Klein contributed the photographs and spearheaded the artistic design
for the album packaging as well as for the first official image released from
Cheek To Cheek, which is featured on the "Anything Goes" cover art.
Tony
Bennett and Lady Gaga first met backstage in 2011 after the two performed at
the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City and Bennett asked Lady Gaga to
sing a duet with him on his DUETS II album that he was beginning to
record. "The Lady is A Tramp"
was the result of that endeavor and conversations began about collaborating on
a jazz project. Recently, Bennett and
Gaga surprised the student body at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a NYC
public arts high school founded by Tony Bennett, when they spoke and performed
for the school on the last day of classes in June. Earlier this month, Gaga surprised the
Montreal Jazz Festival audience by joining Bennett on stage when he was
performing at the famed jazz festival.
Last night, they taped a television special that will air on PBS later
this fall. The two appeared this morning on the TODAY SHOW to official announce
CHEEK TO CHEEK.
No comments:
Post a Comment