Songs For The Jet Set - TONY BENNETT***

Song Of The Jet/Fly Me To The Moon/How Insensitive/If I Ruled The World/Love Scene/My Ship/Then Was Then & Now Is Now/Sweet Lorraine/The Right To Love/Watch What Happens/All My Tomorrows/Lazy Afternoon

MOR vocalist Tony Bennett's Songs For The Jet Set conjures up images of a glamorous elite, globetrotting on the international social circuit, courtesy of the recently introduced jetliner. (US:47)

"I love the songs in this LP, one of the best Tony has done, without his more recent need to keep hitting higher and higher notes. I find that ruins numerous recordings like a trumpet player who just keeps playing the upper octaves without regard to balance and taste."

"On each hearing, my already considerable respect for Tony Bennett grows. This album just heightens that. It is a masterpiece."

"Bennett swings through these pieces with his easy style bringing joy and sometimes a tear. All My Tomorrows in particular needs to be singled out for attention. It is sung with the tenderness needed by the lyrics, but also contains a bit of forcefulness, as if it cannot be denied that this is the work of a true artist."

"The opening track, Song Of The Jet, is the English translation for a lesser-known Jobim tune for which Bennett and arranger Don Costa pull out all the stops. Despite the album's title however, this varied set from '65 is less international in flavour than the previous I Wanna Be Around."

"Apart from the fine bossa nova How Insensitive, and the definitive English version of Michel Legrand's Watch What Happens, there are key Tony Bennett performances such as the title song and Fly Me To The Moon. Also included are little heard versions of the Peggy Lee penned ballad Then Was Then & Now Is Now and Duke Ellington's swinging Love Song."

"Bennett takes us from Rio to Harlem. There is a lot of bossa nova here, and Al Cohn provides some jazz playing where needed. It may not be an essential recording, but it certainly is enjoyable."

"This album, which places Tony Bennett in a number of different settings and tempos is, I think, one of his very best."