Tony Bennett Sings About San Francisco While His Son Dae …media.iamplify.com/pdf/pag_47-56.pdf ·...

47Summer 2006 • COMMERCE

48 A Conversation with Music Legend Tony Bennett By Pete FornataleMixed Bag Radio

52 Bennett Studios in Englewood is Bringing Home the ‘Bacons’ By Olia SileoContributing Editor

56 A Special Tribute to Les Paul on His 91st BirthdayCompiled by Miles Z. EpsteinEditor, COMMERCE

Special thanks to:Mixed Bag RadioChris Hall, Mixed Bag RadioLinda Feder, Mixed Bag RadioiAmplifyDwight McCann PhotographyChumash Casino ResortBennett StudiosLes PaulJazz Promo ServicesMichael Braunstein & Co.Prana Marketing & ConsultingMorgan Stanley

Tony Bennett SingsAbout San Francisco

While His Son DaeMakes Music in Englewood

SPONSORED BY

Corethia Oates / www.morganstanley.com

Commerce Summer 06 FINAL.qxp 6/26/2006 11:26 AM Page 47

48 COMMERCE • www.cianj.org

PETE FORNATALE: I'm guessing that these days, yourfans are expressing not just the appreciation for agood album or a good concert, but expressing theirappreciation for the totality of your career, for yourlifelong dedication to excellence. Do you perceive itthat way?

TONY BENNETT: It's very inspiring, you know, because Ilike doing it. I just realized I have to do it—it's not thatI want to do it. I'm not pushing or trying for something.I just do it because I still have a lot to learn and I lovedoing it. I like to entertain people.

Q.You've been at this for a very, very long time.Not many of your peers have been able to connectwith a younger audience in the way that you have,the MTV crowd, so to speak. Could you tell us howthat came to be?

A. I think it's because I only did good songs. I foundout I did it because I felt the public deserves the bestout of me, so I just stayed with very good songs, likefrom Cole Porter on down. I just found out that peoplelike good songs, the young, their parents, their grandpar-ents. Everybody likes good songs.

Q.Was it your idea to do the “MTV Unplugged”concert and appear at the video awards that year?

A. We were all celebrating. I won the Album of theYear, so it was enough to just go bananas and have a lotof fun. I told my son,Dan, that I liked it. I said,“Could youget me on that MTV?” He organized the thing where I was able to do an Unplugged show, and it worked.We won the Album of the Year that way.

Q.A great moment for what is known as TheGreat American Songbook. Can you give me your def-inition of The Great American Songbook?

A. It was a Renaissance. It was a great era. It had thebest composers. You had Jerome Kern. You had ColePorter, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, justthe best songwriters that ever lived. It all happened atone time.They were all great friends.They used to com-pare songs to one another, show each other what theywere writing.They all lived together and it was a greatcamaraderie of magnificent composers.

Q.You are probably the primary standard-bear-er for that kind of music still active today. Do youfeel that its future is in good hands?

A. Absolutely. There's a whole new group that'swonderful. Pete Cincotti, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé…

Q.I had the experience of playing your son'srecord when he was in a rock and roll band, calledQuacky Duck. He has really taken over the reins ofyour career.

A. Yeah, he's brilliant.

Q.How did that come about?

A. I got into trouble you know. I went through adivorce and I was spending more than I was making. Hesaid,“I'd like to help you out,” because he's interested infinance and economics and all. He really straightened itout. He really turned my whole career around with agreat sensibility, with this very happy ending for me.

Q.With your other son as well, you're involvedin a terrific venture back in Englewood. Dae's studio

Editor’s Note: With his 80th birthday in August, it seems appropriate to salute Tony Bennett, a man and a musician that has always had the respect ofhis fans and critics. Pete Fornatale interviewed Tony in his New York City apartment to celebrate a music career that spans the generations and contin-ues to thrive. The interview, from which this article is excerpted, aired on Mixed Bag Radio, a syndicated program that features in-depth interviews andlive, in-studio performances.

A Conversation with MusicLegend Tony Bennett

BY PETE FORNATALE

MIXED BAG RADIO



is where The Art of Romance was recorded? And yourdaughter is a singer too?

A. That's right, Bennett Studios.There's a beautifultheater right down the street from the studio. We putcables underground in the street to the theater, and werecorded right in the theater, the Bergen Performing ArtsCenter [bergenPAC], which makes a very great naturalsound—acoustically perfect—no reverb on it. Thereverb is from the sound of the theater.

I have my daughter,Antonia, traveling with me on theroad now. She's performing and doing very well. I'm veryproud of my children.They're great, they're all doing well.

Q.You were able to record with your combo, orwith even a larger orchestra there?

A. It's big—there's a 60-piece orchestra. JohnnyMandel, who's a magnificent composer, and orchestra-tor,and every musician likes to play with him.It remindsme of a great story that happened to me. I got to meetIra Gershwin one day.The clerk up at [Chapel, a majormusic publisher] was all nervous to have Ira Gershwinthere,and so was I.He asked me if I would record a songthat was left out of a Fred Astaire movie, called “Hi-Ho,”a beautiful song written by George and Ira Gershwin.The clerk came up to Mr. Gershwin and he said,“I notonly have a record of it,” he said,“but it's in stereo.” IraGershwin said,“I don't need stereo, I have two ears.”

Q.We mentioned your album, The Art ofRomance, and you have done something on thisalbum that you have never done before.

A. That's right. I wrote a song. I found this wonder-ful melody from Django Reinhardt, an early jazz musi-cian that played with Louis Armstrong. I heard thismelody, I loved it. Once again, my son said,“Why don't

you write a song?” I said, “Well, I can't compete withCole Porter or Gershwin.” I said,“I don't know, I like to

continued on page 50

All photos By Dwight McCann/Courtesy of the Chumash Casino Resort


interpret songs, but I don't write songs.” I got inspired,funny enough, and it was written in an hour. After somany years of recording great composers, I knew howto stay away from trite lyrics and all that.

Q.What was the Reinhardt recording called?

A. Nuages.

Q.You transformed that into a song with lyrics called?

A. “All For You.”

Q.Did you start painting when you were singing?

A. I painted earlier than when I was singing. Ialways had a passion to do those two things. Myinstincts derived at just doing those two things.

Q.I would like to get a glimpse of your Italian-American roots, and your upbringing in Astoria. Isthat where your love for music and art was forged?

A. It was my family. It was during the Depression.My sister, my brother, and myself were invited to sing tothe whole family every Sunday and put a little show on

for them. That was their entertainment in those days,because we were all extremely poor. It was a thrill, Icouldn't wait until the next Sunday, and I still feel thesame way now.They gave me a lot of encouragement.

Q.Coming from similar roots, I know well.The gui-tar would come out, the mandolin would come out…

A. That's it, right. It works.

Q.It does work. How about the painting part?Where did that come in for you?

A. I've always loved to do it. I lived in the projects inAstoria. There was an Irish teacher of art [JamesMcQueeney] and he lived in the same building that I did.He saw me sketching in the street...he and his wife—she was an English teacher—took me to the first Museumof Modern Art, and also the theater.They kind of steeredme toward culture. I've always appreciated what they did.

Q.I think you're at a point now where youcould probably make your living from either musicor painting. Isn't that true?

A. That's true.

Q.There must have been a period where yourperforming was subsidizing your ability to learn the painting?

A. Yeah. I became well known as a personality, andthen I just hooked up with a lot of great teachers of art,and I'm still a student.

Q.That's a terrific attitude to have.When didyou know for sure what your job in this life wasgoing to be?

continued from page 49


“Receiving an award from the United Nations making me a

world citizen was a thrill of my life. To have that happen was just wonderful

because I do play all over the world.”

“People like good songs, the young, their parents, their grandparents. Everybody likes good songs.”



A. Right from the very beginning. I always knewthat I didn't want to do anything else. I just felt that if Ididn't make it, I'd still do it for the rest of my life.

Q.You sign your paintings with your birthname, correct?

A. Benedetto, yes.

Q.No less a luminary than Bob Hope had some-thing to do with the creation of your stage name.Would you mind telling that story?

A. He saw me down in the Village. I was on a showwith Pearl Bailey. It was an all-African American show, Iwas the only white guy on the show. He got a kick outof that and he said,“What's your name?” I said,“AnthonyDominic Benedetto,”and he said,“That's too long for themarquee. Let's Americanize you and call you TonyBennett.” When he announced me on the ParamountTheater Stage,he announced me as Tony Bennett. It's thefirst time I ever heard that name. I guess I'm supersti-tious enough, I said,“I'm going to keep that name.”It wasunbelievable, that's the first time I ever played to a fullaudience.

He had no idea that there would ever be a singercalled, Engelbert Humperdinck.

Q.I want to ask you specifically about yourfriendship with Frank Sinatra. How did you meet?

A. I was very nervous. I was just starting out and Ihad a couple of million-selling records. I was left with abare stage at the studios. For a summer replacement,Perry Como gave me this show to do for the summer. Iwas very nervous. I went to Sinatra being very apprehen-sive. People said he's tough sometimes. But he was won-derful to me. He sat me down, and he said,“What's going

on?” I said,“Well, I'm very nervous, how do I handle it?”He was very inspiring to me.He told me not to worry.Hesaid,“If you're nervous, the people sense that and they'llroot for you, they'll cheer you on.” He said,“Just go outand do it, you'll find out that by you caring, they're goingto care for you.They'll make sure that you go over.”

It was a very wonderful lesson that made me relax verymuch.That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Q.You have also worked with Elmo on a chil-dren's album, Tony Bennett and Elmo.You made agreat combination.

A. I got mad at him. It's the only time I lost at theGRAMMYS. Elmo won on his album.

Q.You have received many honors over thecourse of your long career.Which ones are the mostmeaningful to you?

A. The best one was receiving an award from theUnited Nations making me a world citizen. That was athrill of my life to have that happen. I never dreamt ofthat.To have that happen was just wonderful because Ido play all over the world. It feels good to know that I'ma genuine citizen of the world, rather than just onecountry. n

Download the entire interview with Tony Bennett from MixedBag Radio and iAmplify.com for FREE by logging on towww.mixedbagradio.com. Simply register and use the discountcode Tony Bennett.

Pete Fornatale was one of the architects of Progressive Rock FM in the '60s.

He has been a fixture on New York radio for four decades, starting his career

at WFUV in Nov. '63 as a Fordham undergraduate hosting "Campus

Caravan," then moving on to WNEW-FM (in '69) and K-Rock (in '89). Now at

Mixed Bag Radio, he can be heard on WFUV in New York, WBJB in New Jersey,

and on XM Satellite, 4 times weekly.

Commerce Summer 06 FINAL.qxp 6/26/2006 11:26 AM 1


continued on page 54

THE BACON BROTHERS AND OTHER TALENT-ed musicians, from Mel Torme to Elvis Costello,have chosen to make music recordings atBennett Studios, a recording complex housed

in a 100-year-old, slate-roofed, Victorian railroad stationin Englewood. Opened about five years ago by audioengineer Dae Bennett, the studio is a hit factory with astring of GRAMMY awards and nominations—includingtwo recordings of his famous father,Tony Bennett: TheArt of Romance (2005) and A Wonderful World (2003),which Tony recorded with k.d. lang.

At a time when major recording studios are closing,Bennett Studios is racking up an impressive record ofsuccess, offering services such as music recording andtraditional album production, audio for video post-pro-duction, pre-recorded or live television production,Internet multimedia production, and live Webcasting.

Bennett Studios was making hit records long beforeDae started working with his famous father, a source ofgreat pride for him since Tony Bennett is an undisputedlegend in the music industry. Despite having that legacyto live up to, and being measured against it, Dae is a starin his own right—as he is considered among the indus-try's most talented audio engineers.

Between recording sessions,he spoke with COMMERCEmagazine about his mutually beneficial businessarrangement with the City of Englewood, the studio'spartnership with the Bergen Performing Arts Center(bergenPAC) and about his working relationship withhis famous dad.

COMMERCE: How did you decide to open a recordingstudio in suburban New Jersey?

DAE BENNETT: I grew up with recording equipment inthe house and always had an affinity for the recordingarts.After spending many years as a musician, I decidedto change careers. I'd had a recording studio, HillsideSound, in Englewood for 18 years. It was a one-room

facility, but we produced some tremendous hit recordsthere for the Rap and R&B worlds. Bennett Studiosallowed us to expand on that.

Q.What do you like about doing business in New Jersey?

A. There are some great things here for our indus-try—one being the amount of space we have. Largeacoustical spaces are disappearing in recording facili-ties. In New York City, where real estate costs are highand volatile, it's very hard for these places to stay open.In the past year, some major studios have closed; mostnotably, the Hit Factory, one of the most famous record-ing studios in the world.When our clients come here—from New York or internationally—they find that thespace and the acoustics are really fantastic,and the ancil-lary costs of producing a record—parking and hotels,for example—are lower in New Jersey.There's also ourrelationship with the bergenPAC theater. The City ofEnglewood has been really great about us setting up ourbusiness and our connection with bergenPAC.

Q.What is your relationship with bergenPAC,formerly the John Harms Center?

A. We have a physical hookup with the theaterthrough fiber optics,which allows us to record large-for-mat events, such as TV shows.We have recorded a lot ofpeople at bergenPAC. This year, for my father's 80thbirthday, we are doing a record there with some famousartists—we had Billy Joel, Elvis Costello and Diana Krallsinging duets with my father.

Q.There have been so many advances in record-ing technology that people are able to make theirown recordings.What are the advantages of using aprofessional studio?

A. I knew coming in that the recording landscapehad changed. When the studio's designer asked what Iwanted, I said “everything you can't have at home.” A

The Bacon Brothers have recorded three albums at Bennett Studios:Forosoco, Getting There and Live: The No Food Jokes Tour.

Bennett Studios inEnglewood is Bringing

Home the ‘Bacons’

BY OLIA SILEO

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR


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professional, controlled acousti-cal space allows you to dothings such as putting a wholebig band in one room.Also, a lotof people are realizing the needfor professional audio engineersand record producers, whosejudgments come from years ofexperience. It's more than put-ting up a mike; it's knowingwhat's happening artisticallyand musically, and matching thetechnology to balance thedynamics. There's a big differ-ence between what you can getat a home studio and what youcan get here.

Q. How did you decide tolocate Bennett Studios in aformer train depot?

A. I'd always had my eyeon this site because of the space and the ample parking.There had been a succession of restaurants here. Afterthe last restaurant, the City of Englewood said it wouldconsider other uses. I put in my proposal, offered tohook up bergenPAC and provide some educationalopportunities for the Englewood school system.I alwaystry to make synergistic deals, so they will work out wellfor everyone.

Q.What influenced your choice of a home-like,Victorian atmosphere for the studio?

A. I have worked in many different studios. Somemake a great impression when you first walk in—sort offuturistic, with zigzagging wood flats for acousticaltreatment.To me, these places just weren't comfortable.In music, the vibe is very important for people whenthey're working.This studio is designed to make peoplefeel at home and relaxed because that's how you getgood performances.All the acoustical features are here,but they're hidden.

Q.Your father recently won a GRAMMY for thealbum Art of Romance, which was engineered andmixed by you. How did it feel to have a role in this,and be working with your father?

A. Until about five years ago, I never worked on hisrecords. I was always skeptical about nepotism and thatsort of thing. But it reached the point where I had anumber of hit records under my belt, and my fatherstarted telling me about people he'd met who said whata great job I had done on a record.So,he and I did a cou-

ple of smaller records together. They went really well,and we enjoyed spending the time together. It evolvedto where he just feels comfortable with me there; hetrusts my judgment and good taste, and those are impor-tant relationships to have. If my father asks me if a takeis good, he knows I'll give him a straight answer.

Q.What services do you offer clients?

A. We offer traditional album recording, DVD pro-duction and audio post-production for television.We arediversifying, as well.There are a lot of niche artists whohave a following,but who are not found on the “Top 40”charts. We give them a venue to sell their music prod-ucts from the online store on our Web site. One of ourgoals is to help artists form their own Internet cottageindustries by helping them produce and sell theirrecords. Recently, we have taken on some authors whoare marketing industry-related books. Down the road,we probably will expand more into producing our owncontent for sale. We are exploring new talent and newways to expand product delivery.Hard product, like CDsand DVDs, may not exist in a few years. We are on alearning curve with the new technologies.

Q.What is the Tony Bennett Center for the Media Arts?

A. It's our informal name for the educationalopportunities we provide to the Englewood school sys-tem.We work with students interested in the technicalaspects of the business. We have them recording themusic students, so you have people on both sides of theglass, learning. At the end, they have produced a hardproduct from their work. It's a good program because itshows what the real working environment is like.Thereis no charge to the students; it's just the kind of thing myfamily has always done. It's dual-purpose:We meet tech-nically talented young people, some of whom stay on towork.The musicians may turn professional,and they willalready know us. It's good for business, but it's also away to give talented kids opportunities they might nototherwise have.

Q.What are you most proud of in your career so far?

A. The studio itself; it's a great feeling to have creat-ed something in your mind's eye,and then actually to bewalking around in it. I often refer to this as my last stu-dio because I don't think I could go through the con-struction again. But once we made some recordingshere, I realized it was exactly what I wanted. You gothrough all the trials and tribulations of the business—but at the end of the day when I'm closing up, I know Idid the right thing. n

The bergenPAC is hooked up via a 64-channel, fiber-optic link to Bennett Studios,

so live concerts can be recorded and albums can be made for artists who need the big stage.

continued from page 52


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THE IRIDIUM JAZZ CLUB,THE LONG-TIME HOME of guitar pioneer Les Paul, hosted Les Paul's 91stBirthday Celebration on June 12, where the guitar

pioneer took the stage with his regular working band:Lou Pallo on guitar; Nicky Parrott on bass and JohnColliani on piano.

The five-time Grammy Award winner (Les won twoGrammy's this year for his chart-topping Capitol CD,American Made World Played) and was also celebratedwith a gala concert in his honor by music stars Slash,Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Alison Krauss, Steve Lukather,Joe Perry, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, Shayna Steele, BuddyGuy, and Edgar Winter.

Les Paul, the father of the electric guitar, was bornJune 9, 1915, in Waukesha, WI. The five-time GrammyAward winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is theinventor of the solid body electric guitar and the pio-neer of multi-track recording, the use of reverb andother now-standard recording techniques.

Paul was honored throughout his 90th year with anarray of new product releases, honors and awards fit forthe father of the electric guitar. In addition to Les Paul &Friends: American Made World Played, Capitol/EMIreleased Les Paul with Mary Ford: The Best of TheCapitol Masters (90th Birthday Edition), a collection ofPaul's finest Capitol recordings,with new artwork,bonustracks and a package essay written by Paul himself.

Last May, Paul was inducted into the NationalInventors' Hall Of Fame at the Hall's Akron, OH head-quarters. On June 9, 2005 the evening of Paul's 90thbirthday, he was honored with the Songwriters' Hall OfFame Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. OnJune 19, an all-star group of guitarists took the CarnegieHall stage for “All For Paul: Les Paul's 90th BirthdaySalute,” a star-studded celebration presented by GibsonGuitar at the JVC Jazz Festival-New York.

In addition, two new Les Paul books have beenreleased: The Les Paul Legacy by Rob Lawrence (HalLeonard Publishing) and Les Paul In His Own Words, alimited edition autobiography with each numberedcopy signed by Paul (Russ Cochran Publishing).Guitarists around the world favor Les Paul's signatureline of Gibson guitars, which debuted in 1952.

For more about guitar pioneer Les Paul, visitwww.lespaulonline.com. n

A Salute to Guitar Pioneer Les Paul

on HisBirthday

91st

Q. You have played with a lot of the greats inAmerican music.What high-lights stand out for you inyour amazing career?

LES PAUL: Playing for PresidentRoosevelt at the White House in 1939.That same year, another highlight was the first televisionshow we did. President Roosevelt had introduced the newmedium from the World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. About 30hours later, we were on the air, doing a test broadcast for thefirst time from NBC in New York. Every month NBC would goon the air and do an hour of testing, and we were the firstprogram they put on with an orchestra. Working with BingCrosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong andothers were wonderful moments that I've had the privilege toexperience, as well. One of the most important parts of mylife is when I met Mary [Ford]. To have someone as preciousas that, with that much talent, and for us to be given theprivilege to be together, to be so successful and accepted isspecial to me. I have so many great memories in my life. n


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