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| 'Tony Bennett: A Swingin' Christmas Featuring The Count Basie Big Band' Tony Bennett records his first holiday CD in forty years since his 1968 release of "Snowfall, " and this latest project, "Tony Bennett: A Swingin' Christmas Featuring The Count Basie Big Band' is destined to become an annual favorite of the season. Featuring 11 tracks, Tony swings such classics as "I'll Be Home for Christmas, " "Winter Wonderland, " "Santa Claus is Coming to Town, " and the CD introduces his daughter, Antonia, who duets with Tony on "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Phil Ramone, who has worked with Bennett on several of his recent outings including the multi-platinum "Duets: An American Classic, " produced the CD. Danny Bennett, Tony's son and manager, is Executive producer. The recording and mixing was handled by Bennett's son, Dae Bennett, owner of Bennett Studios. The CD will be available everywhere on October 14 on RPM Records/Columbia Records. "TONY BENNETT: A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS" was recorded live on the stage of Bergen Pac in Englewood, N.J., keeping with Bennett's mandate to embrace the live aspect of performing in the recording process. The Count Basie Orchestra joined Bennett for the sessions and jazz pianist Monty Alexander took on the role of Count Basie at piano. 2009 NEA Jazz Master recipient Toots Thielemans also makes a guest appearance on the recording. "TONY BENNETT: A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS" is available in the following formats: CD, a deluxe CD/DVD fan edition featuring the recording of the album and a holiday card package including 10 holiday cards with artwork by Tony Bennett plus the CD, and a deluxe CD/DVD fan edition plus a bonus holiday card painted by Tony Bennett. Tony Bennett is a 15-time Grammy winner and has two Emmy Awards to his credit. He is the founder of the NYC public arts high school, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and has raised millions of dollar in support of arts education in the public school, through his organization, Exploring the Arts. An accomplished artist, he has for the past 15 years created a holiday image that has been presented in the American Cancer Society's Holiday Card Series, which raises money for cancer research. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |