AMG Review of Together Again [Concord]

Ken Dryden
All Music Guide

Tony Bennett's second, and final, meeting with Bill Evans is a memorable session for several reasons. Bennett is very relaxed and inspired by Evans' imaginative yet reserved accompaniment, which allows the spotlight to stay focused on the singer. The program is a wide-ranging mix of standards ("You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Dream Dancing") and classic jazz compositions (including Evans' bittersweet "The Two Lonely People," and Thad Jones' moving "A Child is Born"). The two veterans blend so well, that it sounds as if getting together in the studio was a regular occurrence. Evans performs the subtle ballad "The Bad and the Beautiful" as a solo, the only song which Bennett sits out. [The 2003 reissue by Concord Jazz adds six previously unissued alternate takes; though all of them are just a shade less polished than the versions initially released, each of these tracks is well worth hearing.]