Rene'e Fleming sings Haunted Heart

Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

This is one of the most sincere and passionate performances of pop music I've ever heard from an opera singer. I'm still traumatized by hearing Beverly Sills butcher Smoke Gets in Your Eyes back in the 70s and in general, trained classical singers and jazz tend to mix badly or at best, come off as kitsch.

Rene'e Fleming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLbSwaWaFx0&feature=related

With apologies to Fleming and Jo Stafford, for my money THIS is the definitive performance of this tune - especially the ending.

Bill Evans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-yLbd4O2Ls

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I have a few CDs featuring Ms. Fleming, but she's never been one of my favorite singers. Here she sounds much different, and it doesn't hurt that she's so ably assisted by Fred Hersch. I enjoyed it, although maybe she was over-acting slightly.

My favorite version of Haunted Heart is by Charlie Haden & Quartet West, featuring Alan Broadbent on piano. It starts off beautifully with the recording of Jo Stafford fading in and out.
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Andy Volk · From: Boston, MA

I don't listen to opera so I can't comment on her regular gig. She's an octave under her usual register here and gets a nice smokey tone but yeah, on 2nd listen, maybe the passion is a bit too calculated? Jo Stafford is hard to beat.

I've been listening to Tony Bennett with Bill Evans and I just don't get Bennett. He had a lot of long note stamina in his prime and good intonation but he uses 1940s pop singer's affectations on certain words... kind of like the way Dinah Shore would sing Blues in the Night with a long, falling, very white bread, un-bluesy trill. I'm not quite sure why I'm supposed to revere Bennett's singing. I like Sinatra but Tony leaves me cold.

But I digress! Time to go back to listening to steel players!

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