Reviews

FORT WORTH – One could be forgiven for giving Tony Bennett a pass. He's 81, after all, a legend. So what if he's lost a step or three? Only ... he hasn't.

Thursday night at Bass Performance Hall, the jazz singer and crooner of heart-tugging ballads put on one of those shows that audience members will be talking about for years. Intact is his gift for phrasing, for understating while also convincingly putting across the emotion of the songs, for creating surprise when he decides it's time to wail.

Taking the stage nattily dressed in a dark suit and light tie, Mr. Bennett was the embodi- ment of suave. His mike took a few seconds to work properly, but it didn't faze him. Why would it?

"Rosemary Clooney and I were the first American idols," he offered between the Kurt Weill ballad "Speak Low" and Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart," one of his early hits.

But beneath that cool exterior, what makes Tony Bennett so compelling are his humility and vulnerability. He hit his stride early in the 75-minute set with a series of songs about hope ("Maybe This Time"), the brevity of life ("Speak Low") and its contradictions ("But Beautiful").

He told stories on himself, such as the time Hank Williams called to ask why Mr. Bennett had ruined his song, and he often stepped into the shadows to let his crack four-piece band solo and jam. He also flashed dance moves and a sense of humor, dedicating "Kiss the Good Life Goodbye" to Elliot Spitzer.

Familiar tunes like "For Once in My Life" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" were reinvented and reinvigorated, not fussy or showy but still different from the way anyone else would sing them.

ARCHIVES: Search for more stories on this and other topics | Search Tips

SUBSCRIBE: Get The Dallas Morning News delivered to your home