Antonio Bennett has been singing on stage since she was a toddler, performing around the world with her father, the late legendary crooner Tony Bennett. This Saturday, Bennett will perform jazz standards and original songs at Middle C Jazz in uptown Charlotte.
She honed her vocal skills as the opening act for her father, and in duets with him for more than 25 years. Bennett has released three albums. She has a holiday album set to be released soon, and an album of jazz standards and original songs she wrote coming out early next year. Bennett talks with WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn about her style of singing and the types of songs she likes to perform.
Antonia Bennett: I like to sing romantic songs, and I also like the instrumentation and the arrangements to lean on that. I really try to create an intimate setting where I can pull people in and either write material or pick material that lends itself to that.
Gwendolyn Glenn: Would you describe most of it as jazz classics or what types?
Bennett: American Songbook jazz and I would even say some of it's a little bit adult contemporary. I think it's a mix.
Glenn: I've read where people have described your voice as, you know, sassy, sultry with a hint of Billie Holliday. How would you describe it?
Bennett: You know my dad, his biggest influence was Billy Holliday, so, a lot of people, I think compare me to her also because I listened so much to him. So, I think that that's where that comes from. I would certainly take it as a compliment to be compared to a Billie Holiday or somebody like that. I think that so much of what I do is about phrasing, how to phrase something, how to sing something almost the way that you would speak it but with a little bit more intention. I would consider myself a stylist.
Glenn: Of course, your father, but who are some of the others who influenced your style of singing?
Bennett: I listened to a lot of Rosemary Clooney because they toured together. I also listened to a lot of Mildred Bailey, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. I listened to all of the great singers.
Glenn: And not only were you listening to them, you were surrounded by them growing up in your home.
Bennett: That's true. I mean, we had a lot of wonderful musicians around. I would spend every Christmas with Ella Fitzgerald. I would go to the holiday parties with my parents at Frank Sinatra's house, Mel Tormé would come to our house for a holiday party and these people were all around and they were friendly with one another.
Glenn: And with all of the different voices around you and listening to them and knowing these people personally, how were you able to carve out your own particular style of singing?
Bennett: My dad would always say, and I really find this true, when you copy one person, you're stealing. But when you copy everyone, you're automatically yourself. And I also think it comes with time, you know, maybe as a younger singer, you really like, emulate or copy somebody. And then as you get older, you just kind of relax. You stop thinking about it. And you just start doing what comes naturally to you?
Glenn: And again, with all of these wonderful singers kind of at your fingertips, I also read that you went to the Berklee College of Music. What made you decide to do that?
Bennett: The singing was the thing that I just always did. I would watch old musicals on television, like "Oklahoma," as a small child and memorize the entire score, all the songs and drive my entire family crazy, you know. Berklee was such an esteemed school and so many wonderful musicians came through there.
My dad had worked with this wonderful drummer named Joe LaBarbera and I knew that Joe had gone there and he was very supportive of me in my early life. He was like, “You can do this. You can learn to read music,” because I had never had any formal music lessons before going there really. I just got up on stage and did it. You know, I had great teachers like Count Basie and Ralph Sharon and the musicians that traveled with my dad and I knew a lot of songs, but I really didn't have a formal music education. So, in a way, I started late. On the other hand, I started early, you know, because I was just doing it.
Glenn: Well, what are your earliest memories of singing with your father?
Bennett: From the time I could walk and talk, I remember singing, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" or the hokey pokey songs.
Glenn: Do you remember feeling afraid or did you just love it?
Bennett: I loved it. I think the fear came a little bit later, but I always really loved that adrenaline rush of getting up on stage. My dad would call it butterflies. Then it just means that you care about what you’re doing.
Glenn: Do you still get butterflies?
Bennett: Absolutely. Sometimes, you know, I think it's a healthy way, you know, it also keeps you kind of awake and alert so that you can really deliver to the audience.
Glenn: You traveled all over the world, singing with him. Is there a favorite song with him?
Bennett: We used to sing "Old Friends” together. And that was very meaningful because he really wanted to sing that with me. And he wanted me to dance with him. I was a little embarrassed because I always felt like my dancing skills were not up to par. But, you know, when you're 80-something-year-old father asked you to dance with him, you don't say no.
Glenn: Right, well, some people might say people who have legendary parents might feel like they're in their shadow. Have you ever felt like that or felt that it was hard finding your identity in terms of singing in the music world?
Bennett: I will tell you that at a certain point, you just make a choice to stand either in their light or in their shadow, and I really feel blessed that all those years I was able to spend time with him on the road in my adult life.
Glenn: And I guess it's kind of like your time.
Bennett: It's my time, absolutely.
Antonio Bennett, daughter of singer Tony Bennett, will be at Middle C Jazz in uptown Charlotte for shows at 6:15 and 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.
