Grandpa and The Jazzy Lesbian

So this week I went to the library to check out some new (new to me, that is) music from jazzy-pop artists. I always like doing that, to hear how the greats did the songs that I do in my act. I often look for CDs where I recognize song titles, and this week I borrowed from the library the 2002 CD “What A Wonderful World” by Tony Bennett, who’ll I’ll call Grandpa for the purpose of this article, since he looks and reminds me so much of my own grandpa, and k.d. lang, whom I’ll call The Jazzy Lesbian. The CD was produced by T. Bone Burnett, giving it added hipster cred.

Now you would think that I, being a singer of the Great American Songbook, would be a huge fan of Grandpa. But, I am not. I don’t do his music in my act. No “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” for me. I just don’t like the guy’s tone and delivery. Is he a cool guy? You bet! As a person, how can you not like Grandpa– I remember when he was on MTV in the 1990s with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and thought, “Wow, Grandpa’s not dead. If anything, now his career is officially revived.” And since then, Grandpa has been on TV loads of times and recording up a storm. When he got with Canadian female crooner k.d. lang, whom many of you know for her early 1990s adult contemporary radio, the gorgeous “Constant Craving,” there was, as they say, “something special there.” So the two have collaborated, and on this “What A Wonderful World” CD, though I am not a huge fan of Grandpa’s voice, The Jazzy Lesbian’s voice is right “on point” for me. I am so glad The Jazzy Lesbian didn’t stick to just “alt-country” music, where she first made her mark in the 1990s. Her voice is so well-suited to singing classic jazzy-pop that I would say I’d be honored to duet with her someday.

“What A Wonderful World” has 12 songs on it; of the 12, most of which feature piano, warm strings, and smooth bass, a few made my “download-worthy” cut: “La Vie En Rose,” “A Kiss To Build A Dream On,” “Dream A Little Dream Of Me,” “I Wonder” (this song’s brand new to me), “That Lucky Old Sun,” and the title track.