8/14/2019 By John Fulmer the Sun Herald

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INCONCERT

WHO: Tony Bennett

WHAT: Benefit Concert for the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra

WHERE: iloxi Grand The tre

WHEN: 8 p.m. May 11

COST: $50 floor; $40 balcony

TICKETS: (800) WIN-2-WIN icketmaster (800) 409-9959

DETAILS: Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra 875-2310

TONYBennettson thephone. The voiceis unmistakable. Smokey, just a tadlike sandpaper. But somehow stillsmooth.

And sleepy. Its noon but hes just awakened

in his room at the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica

where hes playing a date. Were doing an interview

or Bennetts May 11 concert at the Biloxi Grand

Theatre, a benefit for the Gulf Coast SymphonyOrchestra.

Im in Missis-

sippi, he says and his

voice implies that hes

just around the corner.

That distances between

people are small.

He sounds amazed,

oo, at what hes

ound here. He starts

alking about the

number and size of

asinos in Tunica. Theyre huge. Its pretty wild.

Bennett explains that his son Danny, whos alsohis manager, got him the date: He always puts me

in the best places.

Lest you think that a father hiring a son as

manager is a blatant case of nepotism, consider that

Danny Bennett engineered an incredible marketing

job by turning his 72 year-old father into an MTV

icon. Bennett did his part, too. As his popularity

surged, he remained cool without turning into a

parody of an aging hipster.

This was, after all, a man who in 1971 walked away

rom a 20-year relationship with Columbia Records.

Bennett refused to sing rock, disco or country. In 1979,

Danny Bennett took over and re-signed his father to

Columbia a few years later.But Bennett, whod always toured, was a long way

rom the kind of hit records -- ony Bennett: M V

Unplugged and Perfectly Frank -- that hes scored

with recently.

But dont call it a comeback. Bennett wont attach

hat word to his recent run of success. Call it faith.

Bennett stuck with Gershwin and Cole Porter when

some of his contemporaries embarrassed themselves

by following trends.

Bennetts 90s success story has often been told,

By John Fulmer

THE SUN HERALD

SINGER TO

JAZZ UP

GRAND

BENEFIT

Bennettdiction

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8/14/2019 By John Fulmer the Sun Herald

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and its one that, at first glance, defies explana-

tion. Other singers of his generation remained

true to jazz and standards, but Bennett seemed

destined to carry the flame.

In fact, destiny, is a word that Bennett uses

often. He uses it to describe Billie Holiday, one

of three artists, along with Edith Piaf and Hank

Williams, he mentions in the same breath.

Somehow they became autobiographical.

Listening to them was like reading a biography.

She sang songs that explained herself, he says.

They were true artists. They had a true

destiny, unlike artists who were just trying to

sell something.

On Holiday, Bennetts third tribute album

-- his priors were Sinatra and Fred Astaire -- is

a paean to a singer he first met in a Philadelphia

nightclub some 40 years ago. He was an up-and-

comer with a string of hits (I was the Madonna

of my day, he says) and Holiday asked him to

sing.

But my table discouraged me, he says. Its

a shame, something I always regretted. We could

have a beautiful jam session.

Bennett, a career optimist, sees a silver lin-

ing in Holidays tragic life. In the late 40s and

early 50s, Bennett studied New Yorks 52nd

Street jazz scene and recalls a different Holi-

day, a singer who hi t her peak before a well-

documented fall into drugs and dissolution.

When she was young, she sang a lot of

optimistic, happy songs, says Bennett. His voice

raises somewhat in anger or frustration as he

notes the skewed media focus on Holidays life.

They say the same thing about Frank Sina-

tra, that hes on his deathbed. Franks my best

friend, and I can tell you hes in a mellow mood

and hes going to live a long time, Bennett says.

Its tragic. hey just do this to sell papers.

Bennett remembers a Billie Holiday stroll-

ing into a club and jamming with other larger-

than-life artists -- folks like Basie, Lester Young,

George Shearing and Stan Getz. It was no

contest, Bennett says. A carnival-sized crowd

gathered on the sidewalk to hear Lady Day.

When Billie showed up there would be an

overflow, it was like Mardi Gras, says Bennett.

On this latest album, Bennett finally gets a

chance to duet with Holiday. Through studio magic,

Bennett and Holiday are reunited on her signature

song, God Bless the Child. Super producer Phil

Ramone found an old recording of Holiday and

Basie and spliced Bennett in; Bennett says he was

pleased with the results and that it brought back

some old memories.

I liked it very much. I was the first white singer

to sing with Count Basie, he said. Doing this

together was dynamite.

Perhaps thats what Bennett means by destiny:

to be part of an artistic reunion that had to wait 40

years. It seems that Bennetts life follows the old

adage that good things come to those who wait.

But it still doesnt explain Bennetts cross-gen-

erational appeal. Why is he hot and Perry Como a

wet match? Why is Bennett cool and why was Pat

Boone never cool? What made Bennett a hit for 50

years?

Elizabeth Raley, a board member with the

Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and community

relations representative with the Grand, says the

symphony wanted an upscale performer, a big-

name draw.

Last year, they booked Natalie Cole for the sym

phony benefit. Cole did two-nights and the Grand

and the symphony split the proceeds. hey wanted

a similar deal this year.

ony Bennetts name came up. Raley says: We

wanted him real bad. But he was so expensive,

says Raley and Bennett would only book for one

night. Still, they grabbed him.

`The Grand booked him for us, but its totally a

symphony event, says Raley.

Despite Bennetts big price tag, the symphony

hopes to get from $20,000 to $25,000 through its

sponsorships. Raley says the $1,500 sponsorships

have sold out and only three 500 sponsorships

remain. As of last week, about 300 individual seats

were unsold, but Raley is absolutely sure of a sell

ou .

Raley says the big question was whether the or-

chestra would back Bennett, but synchronizing thedates and setting up rehearsals would have been too

difficult, she says, and Bennett will perform with his

own ensemble.

In the end, Raley has the answer for that old

Bennett magic.

Tony Bennett is, like, hot, said Raley.

A Wall Street Journal article, The Tony Bennett Factor, offers a clue to the singers newfound popularity. The author, MarianneM. Jennings, studied business longevity, looking into eight companies that had paid investment dividends for 100 years or more.he applied the principals of their business success to Bennett :

hey were low-cost producers. (All Mr. Bennett needs are a microphone and a pianist to make music.)

Continuity and stability (Mr. Bennett has used the same musical directorRalph Sharonfor nearly 30 years.)

Customer service. (Mr. Bennett has always spent time on the road in concert, in direct contact with audiencesno mega tours, just constant gigs.)

They knew their strengths and stuck with them (Mr. Bennett never performed without singing `I Wanna Be Around, Jennings said.)

Integrity (Mr. Bennett has never made a bad recording or disappointed an audience during a live performance.)

Thats all true, but could be said of other performers as well. When figuring the Tony Bennett factor, figure in the intangible. Call it class, call it soul, call it style.Whatever you call it, Bennetts got it. And it doesnt come cheap. Bennett will command $75,000 for his show at the Grand.

BENNETT FROMPAGE H1

Somehow they becameautobiographical. Listening

to them was like reading a

biography. She sang songs

that explained herself. They

were true artists. They had

a true destiny, unlike artists

who were just trying to sell

something.

Tony Bennetton Billie

Holiday, Hank Williams and

Edith Piaf