Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett Planning Jazz Album
As a followup to their cover of “The Lady is a Tramp,” Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are planning to do a jazz album together, Rolling Stone reports.
The pair first collaborated on the Rodgers and Hart song for Bennett’s 2011 albumDuets II. Gaga was apparently so nervous working with the legend that she drank whiskey all day.
“Did all the girls used to have to get drunk to hang out with you?” the 26-year-old asked. “You’re such a dreamboat!”
Bennett told Rolling Stone, “Of all things, she called me from New Zealand and said, ‘I want to do a jazz album with you. And I said, ‘You got it!’ So that’s one of the things we’re gonna do.”
The pair will also collaborate with three-time Grammy-winning arranger Marion Evans, who has worked with Bennett as well as Judy Garland. A big swing band will also be incorporated into the album.
Bennett said a lot of people aren’t aware of the fact that Lady Gaga is “a phenomenal jazz singer.” He also said the album will consist of a catalog of songs from a mystery songwriter. The 86-year-old said:
“I can’t mention the composer because I don’t want anybody to do it before we do it, but there’s a great composer that’s very underrated, very famous, but not as famous as Gershwin or Porter. But he did as many hit songs as anybody, and so we’re gonna do a big swinging album.”
Tony Bennett said he was hoping to begin working on the album as soon as possible, and that he was looking forward to performing with Lady Gaga soon. “I call her the musical Picasso,” he said. Her energy is just phenomenal.”