- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by PSEG Foundation.

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- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

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_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi everyone, Steve Adubato.

Welcome to a very compelling, important program, together with my colleague Jacqui Tricarico.

Jacqui, now, why would I have this autobiography of Tony Bennett over here and that magazine cover, I've had for years around my house.

Tony Bennett, what are we doing about Tony Bennett today?

- Just a great person that we get to remember here today on our program.

Tony Bennett had those New Jersey connection, New Jersey roots in Englewood, New Jersey, where he lived for many years and he actually opened up a recording studio there that was open for many years, run by his son.

But yeah, he's just such an icon on so many different levels.

His career spans decades and decades and working with artists from Lady Gaga to Amy Winehouse to Frank Sinatra, just runs the gamut of the people that he's worked with during his career.

He passed away just a few years ago and suffered Alzheimer's for many, many years.

Behind the scenes, no one really knew, but continued to work and sing and collaborate for many years living with Alzheimer's and not letting that take down his drive to want to continue to, into his nineties, perform.

- You know, along those lines, Jacqui, I saw him in his eighties and I mentioned this in one of the interviews at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, was actually a fundraiser, I believe, for our public television station here in New Jersey at the time.

NJTV, now, NJ PBS.

And you would not for a second have thought that Tony Bennett was struggling with cognitive issues.

On stage, he had grace, class, his voice was in form and he connected with the audience in a very powerful personal way.

Jacqui and the people we talked to, lineup, so that people know who we're talking to here and why we talked to them.

- Yeah, two people that actually knew him personally.

Scott Simon, who worked with Tony Bennett, to write the book, "Tony Benett, Just Getting Started."

Yeah and he's a host of NPR'S Weekend Edition Saturday as well.

And Bill Charlap, who works over at William Paterson University as their jazz studies director, and worked and collaborated with Tony Bennett.

So two people who knew him personally that we get to hear some really fun, great stories about Tony Bennett, behind the camera, if you wanna say it like that and some really fun stories from both of them and their times with Tony over the years.

- Jacqui, I'm gonna quiz you on this, you ready?

How many records?

Again, I'm quizzing Jacqui on the note she gave me.

So, Jacqui, how many records did he sell?

- 50 million, more than 50 million records.

- Oh, 50 million, fine.

All right, how many Grammy awards?

- 20 Grammy Awards.

I mean, so many other awards besides the Grammys, but 20.

- Jacqui has the answers.

(Jacqui laughing) And today we look at Tony Bennett, who was just really important.

We cannot and will not forget the great Tony Bennett.

Check it out.

- We're now joined by Scott Simon, who's the co-author of "Tony Bennett: Just Getting Started".

Scott, great to have you with us.

- Very good to be with you, thank you.

- Yeah, it's so important to remember Tony Bennett because?

- I don't think there has ever been a greater artist that has devoted themselves to the American popular song than Tony Bennett.

His interpretations of song after song by the greats, including Harold Arlen, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, are considered to be definitive.

You know, the Duke used to send him a dozen long-stemmed red roses whenever... (laughs) whenever he wanted Tony to record something, which I think is an indication of the esteem in which he was held by everybody in the industry.

His artistry was universally recognized.

Some years, it was recognized with record sales.

Others years, it was not.

He had the courage of a great artist to undertake albums like the three that he did with Bill Evans, that didn't have any kind of real commercial impact at the time.

But on the other hand, we now treasure them and they sell even today as definitive interpretations of great works.

- What's so interesting about the book, Scott, is that it's Tony Bennett in collaboration with you, talking about a whole range of people in his life.

And I'm gonna throw these out and you'll... these relationships and you'll share your perspective.

Tony Bennett and the person who we did... We did the first, I believe "Remember Them" program on Frank Sinatra.

Tony Bennett, and- - Oh.

- Frank Sinatra.

Please.

- Oh my gosh.

Well, I mean, talk about New Jersey.

This is the singer laureate of New Jersey and Hoboken to the world.

And of course, Tony was a number of years younger than Frank Sinatra, and I think it's safe to say when he was developing his own theatrical skills and voice, Frank Sinatra was already then considered the gold standard.

And Tony often talked about the fact that greater than any reward he received, the greatest recognition he received is when Frank Sinatra was playing the London Palladium and referred to Tony Bennett as his favorite singer.

Absolutely extraordinary.

And they didn't...

They had met at that particular point, but didn't really know each other.

But it was just Frank Sinatra's own powers of discernment and judgment of great musical talent had settled on Tony Bennett.

And he conferred the title of his favorite singer on Tony Bennett and it was something that meant to him really more than most anything.

- This is another thing I picked up in the book, that Tony Bennett's involvement in civil rights, in the civil rights movement matter with Dr. King, with Cole Porter, with so many other African American leaders in our country, Count Basie, others.

Tony Bennett cared about social justice, civil rights.

Did he not?

- Did he.

He did very much so.

And, you know, remember he'd grown up performing jazz and swing in nightclubs where he was surrounded with gifted black performers.

And he is very much aware of the fact that depending on where they were playing, they could not stay in the same hotels, typically.

They could not stay in the same restaurants.

He grew up, I think, with...

He grew up in the business with a keen sense of that kind of injustice.

And many of his best friends in the business, you know, including, by the way, his neighbor in New Jersey, Dizzy Gillespie.

- That's right.

Is that in Englewood?

- That's in Englewood as a matter of fact, yeah, where Tony lived from 1951 to... 1957 to 1971.

And he became drawn up in the US Civil Rights Movement.

And, you know, there was a...

There was a time in on the march to Selma that he and Billy Eckstine decided that they were going to perform.

I think Dr. King asked them, "Could you perform somewhere?"

And they figured out that they would, but of course there was no performance venue in central Alabama then that would rent the hall to them.

And there was a black caretaker in town who gave them, as I recall, about 25 caskets to stand on.

That became their stage.

And the great Billy Eckstine, another great voice, and Tony Bennett performed on that stage of 25 caskets.

And they violated the law standing at the time by staying in the same motel.

And each of them flew on to gigs elsewhere.

I remember Billy Eckstine was in Chicago.

I'm trying to remember where Tony's was.

And Tony got a phone call in his motel from Billy Eckstine saying, "Tony, you stole my pants."

Because they'd gotten each other's tuxedo pants performing wardrobe switched.

- Let me ask you this, Scott.

Gimme 30 seconds on San Francisco, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," and Tony Bennett, - Oh my gosh.

30 seconds?

- Gimme a minute.

- Alright.

Look, he was going on a cross country tour that would wind up in San Francisco.

It was in the bottom of a shirt drawer.

They were playing Little Rock, Arkansas in a club, by the way, where young Bill Clinton said that he used to stare into the windows.

And Tony and his pianist just took the music out and they tried it, and the bartender there in Arkansas said, "Goddamn, if you guys ever record that, I'll buy the first copy."

Their nightclub tour wound up in San Francisco.

They were playing at the Top of the Mark.

They recorded it there in San Francisco.

Biggest hit that he ever had, obviously.

Fifth bestselling record of that particular year, and one of the best-selling records of all-time.

And by the way, he had barely been to San Francisco.

He'd performed there a few times.

In many ways, forgive me, I know this is gonna cater you a little bit, it's a New Jersey song.

Okay?

- It sure is.

He was living in New Jersey when he recorded it, and it's a song of longing.

As a matter of fact, the two- - Yes.

- Native San Franciscans who wrote it were living in New York at that particular time.

So it's a song of longing.

He doesn't say, "I left my heart here in San Francisco."

It says, "Left my heart in San Francisco."

So it's a plaintive wail from the East Coast to San Francisco.

- Scott, we would never have known that if it were not for you.

How about this?

Tony Bennett and...

I gotta do this.

- Yeah.

- And PS, get the book because drugs, alcohol.

- [Scott] Well, that's the best way to know it, yes.

But yeah, yeah.

- Get the book.

- [Both] Drugs, alcohol.

- Struggle on a whole range of issues.

But Tony Bennett later in his career, we're not doing justice to his extraordinary career spanning so many decades.

And Lady Gaga, please.

- Oh, mutual admiration society.

And it was, I think at first motivated by her because she was just intrigued by his artistry and proposed the album along with, you know, I mean, two very important figures, obviously in his personal life, but also his creative life.

His son, Daegal, who became his principal recording engineer, and by the way, I believe has won two more Grammy awards than Tony did because of the recording artistry he's done really all over the world.

But of course, he had his own studio there in Englewood, the old train station in New Jersey.

And it was Danny and Tony.

And when I've met her, she said, "Call me Gaga."

I can't quite do that with a straight face, but I do.

- Right.

- And in any event, she was just absolutely drawn in by his artistry and wanted to be a part of it.

And she and Danny Bennett figured out a way to make that work several times.

And look, one of the greatest moments of my life was being at Tony's 90th birthday party, restaurant on top of Rockefeller Center, and Gaga.

By the way, forgive me for telling a media story.

So I was at the same table as Katie Couric.

Sir Paul McCartney was over at another table.

And at one point, Katie came over to me and she had palmed Paul McCartney's... Paul McCartney's, you know, place card.

And it said, by the way, "Sir Paul McCartney."

Not Paul McCartney.

- Of course, sir.

Go back to Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett in that room.

- All right, so Lady Gaga- - 90th birthday.

Lady Gaga gets up and we're preparing to sing Happy Birthday to Tony.

And she said, "Tony, I've been talking to the city."

This is a bad Lady Gaga, but I'll go ahead with it anyway.

"Tony, I've been talking to the city of New York and I've arranged a little something for you."

And she pulled a switch and the lights in the Chrysler building shined in the colors of the flag of Italy.

And Gaga sang "Happy Birthday" to Tony Bennett.

Oh my gosh, life doesn't get any better than that, does it?

- By way of background, Lady Gaga, research her family, her parents, and connection to Italy on her end as well.

Let me ask you this.

As Tony Bennett got older and struggled with memory, with his memory, he continued to perform.

- Yeah.

- How and why?

- He loved it.

- And PS, Lady Gaga helped him through that as did Amy Winehouse and others, please.

- And Amy Winehouse, another personal favorite.

And Tony was very personally affected by Amy Winehouse's death.

You know, the memory never affected his music.

The music was there, the artistry was always there.

His performance skills were always there, and it's something that absolutely kept him going.

Some of his others powers of cognition obviously faded and could fade in and out for that matter, but the performance skills were absolutely always there.

And I think everybody recognized that they were in the presence of a special force of life.

And for that matter, their own performances were uplifted by it.

And it gave them an insight in the power that music has to uplift and transform all of us and to make our lives better.

And that's why he kept performing and that's why he was on the road.

And that's why people made it possible.

And look, it was a great experience for everybody concerned, including me, to see the power of his artistry undimmed after so many decades.

And, you know, it would switch from show to show, but at one point in every show, he would put aside the mic and just sing out into the audience.

And still, there he was at the age of 90, being able to nail his voice into the backseats.

It was absolutely amazing.

- First, I wanna thank Scott Simon, the co-author of "Tony Bennett: Just Getting Started".

And throughout the book, when you get the book, you'll see Tony Bennett's artwork.

An artist, not just a great singer.

- Tony was a great artist.

I think almost all of our sessions together took place in his art studio as a matter of fact.

- Yeah.

Hey, Scott, thank you.

- My pleasure.

- Helping us to remember an extraordinary performer, American iconic figure, Tony Bennett.

Thank you, Scott.

- My pleasure, thank you.

- Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- I moved to Englewood, New Jersey, and I had the most wonderful time.

I loved it so much, and I had so much optimism in those days.

I still do, but I had the blessing of two beautiful sons.

And I took some acreage in Englewood, New Jersey, and I called it Next Day Hill, and it really worked out because all of my children and my grandchildren, all together with me, and actually, I employ all of them.

(audience laughing) No, but I mean, it's not that they need a living, but I can't tell you how wholesome it is.

I don't have to worry about anybody stealing any money.

If they steal it, it's still gonna go to my family.

(audience laughing) (audience clapping) And they live in New Jersey, in Englewood, New Jersey, and my son, Daegal, has a beautiful recording studio, the Bennett Recording Studio in Englewood, and every musician that I ever meet that has visited that studio comes out and says, "That's the best studio that we've ever recorded in."

And he records all my music and we get along great.

Daegal is my son, and he's a beautiful recording engineer.

He has more Grammys than I do.

(audience laughing) Actually, he records all different artists and live performances throughout the world.

And I have 15, and he has 20 Grammys.

(audience laughing) Isn't that something?

(audience clapping) So along with my love for Frank Sinatra and his wonderful family, and my family, I just, God bless every Italian American in the world.

Thank you very much.

(audience cheering) - We're now joined by Bill Charlap, who is Grammy award-winning pianist and director of jazz studies at William Paterson University.

Good to see you again, Bill.

- It's good to see you again, Steve.

- Tony Bennett, not just an extraordinary entertainer, singer, artist, but you knew him personally.

Talk about that personal connection with Tony Bennett.

- He was a great man.

What you see is what you get.

The warmth of Tony Bennett, the love that he had of life, the way he looked you right in the eye, and was interested in you and your story, the way that he connected with people, it was all as genuine as can be, and you hear that when he sings.

- Explain a little bit more about the personal connection with him.

How did you connect with him?

- I loved his singing like the rest of the world does.

But as a young piano player growing up in New York City, I first heard him, well, on my parents' record collection, of course, most importantly, on the brilliant albums that he did with the great pianist, Bill Evans.

There were two albums that my teacher at the time, who was a man called Jack Riley, introduced me to, and I remember they were Bill and Tony on one side of a cassette.

On the other side, it was the Bar Talk third piano.

I love Tony Bennett singing and Bill Evans playing together.

I heard it as the highest standard of excellence in terms of singing the lyric, putting that incredible personality and beautiful sound that he had.

He was a painter, you know, and he almost painted, when he sang.

The nuance of the sound, it was like laying on paint, laying on oil paint, and the colors that he chose, all of those things, which got to the essence of the lyric.

So many years later, well, not that many, by the time I was right out of high school, I was playing solo piano at a club in the city that was called Jays.

And I walked in one night and there was Tony Bennett sitting there at a table with a woman by the name of Helen Keen, who had been Bill Evans' manager for many years.

And I couldn't believe that these icons were sitting there.

They were sitting there listening to me.

Tony Bennett drew a sketch.

He gave it to me.

I was so glad to meet him.

Let's flash to a number of years later, maybe about three or four years later, I was playing with the great Phil Woods at the Blue Note.

I was a member of the-- - Blue Note jazz club in Manhattan.

- That's right.

And after the first set, the maitre d' came upstairs.

He said, Tony Bennett's here, he wants to see you.

I went downstairs, there's Tony sitting at the bar, and he told me that Ralph Sharon, his pianist for many, many years, wasn't gonna be able to do a couple of dates with him, and would I come on the road and play some of these dates with him?

And of course, I said yes right away.

And that was the beginning of a very long friendship.

Oh, close to 30 years of friendship, I would say.

- Bill, let me ask you something.

And again, Tony Bennett had a strong New Jersey connection, even though he was an extraordinary American entertainer, international entertainer.

Let me ask you something, Bill.

Behind the scenes, he was clearly a perfectionist in his art, in his work, and loved performing.

What was he like, quote unquote, behind the scenes, off stage, if you will?

- Tony was extremely warm, extremely passionate.

He loved art, he loved painters.

He was always talking about other musicians.

And specifically he was always talking about jazz musicians.

- Why?

- Well, he loved the way that, for instance, he would say that Art Tatum would make a production out of a song, or the lyricism in the way that Stan Getz would play a solo, the incredible colors and humanism of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, Louis Armstrong.

He felt that they were the paradigm of the greatest American musicians.

He also was always focusing on painters.

He loved John Singer Sergeant and Andre Zorn, and he was always sharing all of that with me.

And you know, it was funny.

Here I was talking with somebody who was such a great hero of mine, but it always felt so comfortable and so natural.

And here he was telling me lessons that he learned from Fred Astaire or Judy Garland.

And I'm thinking to myself, you know, to him, those are just the people that he came up with.

To the rest of the world and all of us, they are iconic forces, and how lucky I was to get to know this great man.

- You know, you know, Bill, there's a term that's often used.

Well, maybe it's not that often, that an entertainer is, quote unquote, generous.

You know what I mean by that?

Generous to others.

He would, he appeared from reading about him, trying to understand a little bit about Tony, but growing up, Sinatra was in my house 24/7.

- Of course.

- When it wasn't Enrico Caruso, that's another story.

- Yes.

- But Tony Bennett we always, I was aware of him through Sinatra.

That being said, he seemed very generous, meaning giving a platform to other musicians, wanted them to succeed.

Other entertainers, please we got a minute left.

- All you had to do was see him perform.

You know, when he was on the stage with his trio, he was always giving props to the drummer, to the pianist, to the bass player.

And I remember seeing him at Radio City Music Hall, that huge hall with just a bass player, a drummer, and a pianist, and he brought down the house.

And after the audience was on their feet, moment after moment after moment, and he brought the house down with encore after encore, after the concert, when everyone had left, almost everyone had left, I remember he came back out on stage.

There were some people there, and he stood there and shook their hands and talked to them one by one, looking directly at the people that he was talking to.

I also remember playing at places with him that were industrial sort of places, you know, grand hotel rooms, things like that.

And he was always talking to everybody there.

Not just the people who were important and who were iconic and who were famous, but the entire staff, everyone who worked there, he saw eye to eye with and he spoke with directly.

- Hey, Bill, I wanna thank you.

I mean, I was honored to get to see one of Tony Bennett's final performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

And while I never got to meet him face to face, he connected with thousands in that audience.

And people I'm sure are picking up that connection, that human connection, by just listening to you.

Hey, Bill, I wanna thank you for joining us, talking about the extraordinary Tony Bennett, thank you.

- Thank you so much.

He always made it feel like he was singing right to you.

- Thank you.

On behalf of Jacqui Tricarico and our entire team, at Remember Them in One-on-One.

Thanks for watching.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by PSEG Foundation.

Holy Name.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Newark Board of Education.

The North Ward Center.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

And by New Jersey Sharing Network.

Promotional support provided by New Jersey Globe.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

The North Ward Center continues to expand their services and outreach in Newark, from the childhood years to the golden years, Offering programs like preschool, youth leadership development, Casa Israel Adult Medical Day program our Family Success center, as well as a gymnasium.

And most recently Hope House, a permanent home for adults with autism, supporting and nurturing our autism community with Hope House 2 coming soon.

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