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  • TONY BENNETT ILLUSTRATES "THE ART OF SONG" AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
  • Aug. 12, 2005
  • LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC, CONDUCTED BY JEFF TYZIK, OPENS SHOW

    FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, AT 8:30 PM

    Friday, August 12 Concert is sponsored by Princess Cruises
    Saturday, August 13 is a Lexus "Passionate Performance"

    Legendary singer Tony Bennett returns to the Hollywood Bowl for Tony Bennett: The Art of Song for two performances on Friday, August 12 and Saturday, August 13, at 8:30 p.m. The Los Angeles Philharmonic performs, under the direction of Jeff Tyzik, and the program includes music by Gershwin and Joplin, as well as a tribute to Jelly Roll Morton.

    Bennett, considered an artist who moves the hearts and souls of audiences, is a "singer's singer" and has received high praise from his colleagues through the years, including Frank Sinatra who stated unequivocally, "Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business." Bennett was honored by the United Nations with its "Citizen of the World" honor, which aptly describes the scope of his accomplishments. Tyzik has earned a reputation as one of America's foremost pops conductors for his innovative programming and unique arrangements. He appeared at the Bowl last summer, conducting the Philharmonic on a weekend spectacular performance.

    Tony Bennett , the son of a grocer and Italian-born immigrant was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on August 3, 1926, in the Astoria section of Queens. His boyhood idols included Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, both big influences on his easy, natural singing style. Bennett's big break came in 1949 when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working with Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village in New York City. Hope Americanized his name to Tony Bennett, and the rest is history, with over 50 million records sold world-wide and platinum and gold albums to his credit. Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums charting in the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and beyond. His initial successes came via a string of Columbia singles in the early 1950s. He had 24 songs in the Top 40, including "I Wanna Be Around," "The Good Life," "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)," and his signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," which garnered him two Grammy Awards. Since his 1991 show-stopping performance at the Grammy Awards of "When Do the Bells Ring for Me," from his Astoria album, he has received a string of Grammy Awards for releases including Steppin' Out, Perfectly Frank, and MTV Unplugged. Bennett has also received an Emmy Award and a Cable Ace Award for his groundbreaking television special "Live by Request...Tony Bennett," which featured a unique interactive format in which the viewing audience called in song requests to the performer live during the program, a concept created by Bennett that has become a regular special on the A&E network. Bennett has authored two books, What My Heart Has Seen, a beautifully bound edition of his paintings published in 1996, and The Good Life, his heartfelt autobiography released in 1998. The MTV generation first took Tony Bennett to heart during his appearance with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the 1993 MTV Video Awards ceremony. He appeared on MTV Unplugged and the resulting recording won the singer Grammy's top award, Album of the Year.


    Jeff Tyzik
    is Principal Pops Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. His guest conducting schedule has given him the opportunity to conduct many of America's top orchestras including the Detroit Symphony, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Boston Pops and the Cincinnati Pops. He is also a frequent guest of Canadian orchestras, and was recently named Principal Pops Conductor of the Vancouver, B.C. Symphony and the Winnipeg Symphony. Tyzik's pops programming is a reflection of his musical diversity. He has crafted many programs that include the greatest music from the jazz, classical, movie soundtrack, opera, Broadway, Irish, Latin, gospel, rock, R & B and big band/swing idioms. Tyzik was commissioned by the publisher G. Schirmer to create symphonic orchestrations for many of Duke Ellington's masterpieces including: Black, Brown and Beige and the Nutcracker Suite. In addition, G. Schirmer also publishes many other Tyzik works for symphony orchestra. Tyzik's contemporary compositions have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Summit Brass. His pops arrangements have been recorded by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony and Doc Severinsen with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Tyzik's record production skills earned him a Grammy Award in 1986 for an album entitled The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen. Early in his career, Tyzik composed and arranged music for the Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman Orchestras and worked closely with Chuck Mangione as performer and producer. Tyzik has also produced and composed theme music for many major television networks, including ABC, NBC, HBO, Cinemax, Arts & Entertainment and American Movie Classics. He has released six of his own albums on Capitol, Polygram and Amherst Records.

    One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 37th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2005, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 16th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; it is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 AT 8:30 PM

    SATURDAY, AUGUST 13 AT 8:30 PM

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

    TONY BENNETT: THE ART OF SONG

    LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC

    JEFF TYZIK, CONDUCTOR

    TONY BENNETT

    PAUL LANGOSCH, Bass

    HAROLD JONES, Drums

    LEE MUSIKER, Musical Director/Piano

    GRAY SARGENT, Guitar

    Friday, August 12 concert is sponsored by Princess Cruises
    Saturday, August 13 concert is a Lexus Passionate Performance
    Tickets ($4 - $110) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details.


    For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000
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  • Contact:

    Cathy Williams, 213.972.3689; Laura Stegman, 310.470.6321; photos, 213.972.3034