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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 3/25/2025: Bennett Duets [1]
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Date: 2025-03-25
Vincent van Gogh: The Bedroom at Arles (1889)
Good evening, Kibitzers!
So, they finally managed to hire someone to replace me when I retire. She’s been working for a week, and she seems like a very nice and capable young woman. I was getting worried for a while that they’d never hire anyone and I’d have to work there forever. NOW, of course, I am looking at the course this country is on and wondering if I’ve made a mistake to imagine that I’ll be able to get by without a job. Will there be Social Security and Medicare? Will my 401K be worth anything? Will I have to take in laundry like generations of old ladies before me? (Given my recent history with the basement stairs, this seems like a bad idea.)
Oh well! I guess we’ll see how much civilization is left at the end of June, and how much we’ve regressed. Shout-out to my immigrant sisters and brothers killed on this date in 1911 in the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. The youngest workers killed were 14 years old. Hard to imagine we’re not headed to more stuff like that, especially since it never really went away to begin with.
Anyway! I happened to see one of the many duets Tony Bennett recorded late in his life, that I’d never seen before — I think it was the Aretha Franklin one. It made me feel like a bunch of these would make a good diary. I have no idea if he personally decided on who he’d invite to sing with him, or if he had staff help him scout people out, but everyone who sang seems to have been a great choice, regardless of whether they were previously known for singing jazz or not.
Diana Krall: Fascinating Rhythm. [2:42]
Queen Latifah: Who Can I Turn To? There’s a tendency on the part of us old folks to discount the talent of artists who sing newer styles of music. This duet is far from the only one in the series to demonstrate the error in that view, but it certainly is a robust demonstration. [3:25]
Andrea Bocelli: Stranger in Paradise. I picked this particular track for a reason that will become apparent later in the diary. [5:00]
Norah Jones: Speak Low. [3:54]
k.d. lang: Blue Velvet. [4:31]
Some of these, like this one, have some conversation segments included between sections of the song.
Bono: I Wanna Be Around. [4:13]
Aretha Franklin: How Do You Keep the Music Playing? [4:45]
Willie Nelson: On the Sunny Side of the Street. [3:08]
Faith Hill: The Way You Look Tonight. [3:53]
Stevie Wonder: For Once in My Life. [3:35]
Lady Gaga: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). Lady Gaga, more than a lot of pop singers, was just waiting for a chance to sing jazz. She impressed Tony Bennett enough that he chose to sing with her right to the end of his career, and life. I’ve added two of their tracks here. [2:17]
Lady Gaga: Night and Day. [3:41]
Why I said to put a pin in that video near the top: Stranger in Paradise, this time as a solo on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1954. This is how much voice you have to have when you're 27 if you still want to be doing it when you're 95. [2:43]
Tuesday: Stolen from this morning’s APR thread. [0:33]
Aaaand, back again two hours before posting! I’m impressed with the Marsh Family’s turnaround time on “SignalGate”. A BeeGees tune enables this pointed commentary. [3:08]
[END]
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