Songbook Sundays

The Tony Bennett Centennial

Dizzy’s, NYC, August 9, 2026

Reviewed by Alix Cohen

For more than seven dazzling decades, Tony Bennett was the gold standard, a velvet-voiced headliner who could stop a room with a whisper or bring the house down with a swinging standard. This season we celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday.

Debbie Boone’s rendition of “The Best Is Yet to Come” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh) arrived silky and soft-edged. She appeared to believe its lyrics, buoying the audience.

“Nobody Else but Me” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II) emerged with thoughtful reserve, then launched into foot-tapping swing. Gabrielle Stravelli made the song her own, slipping into verses from above then below, playful with notes and octaves, shimmering from inside.

“The Shadow of Your Smile” (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster) wafted in on the plumy tone of—new to me—David Marino, a young man to watch for. “Now, when I remember spring,” he sang, head tilting, eyes closing, then looking up from beneath lowered lids. Marino effortlessly commanded the stage and maintained apt focus even during an instrumental.

MD/pianist/arranger/vocalist Billy Stritch offered a half dozen numbers from his own recent celebration of the icon. Stritch was Bennett’s accompanist for almost a year when Bennett was 90. Contributions included, in part, a stirring “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (George Cory/Douglass Cross) and the jaunty “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” (Irving Berlin). “Yesterday I Heard the Rain” (Armando Manzenaro/Gene Lees) came and went on cat feet. “For Once in My Life” (Ron Miller/Orlando Murden) was understated and poignant. Authenticity was the beating heart of Stritch’s interpretations.

Stravelli joined Stritch for a duet of “Watch What Happens” (Michel Legrand/Norman Gimbel). Counterpoint vocals and expert scat—Stritch’s bubbly, Stravelli’s sharp-edged-—carried us. Who needed horns?

Deborah Winer, the curator and host of the show, told us “Anthony Dominick Benedetto was a Queens boy. His father was a grocer, his mother worked in a garment factory and took in sewing. The family was poor. He sang in competitions, leaving school at 16 to help support the family, and was subsequently drafted.”

Pearl Bailey gave Bennett his first break. Invited to tour with Bob Hope, the young entertainer formally changed his name. We heard about Bennett’s homey friendship with Rosemary Clooney, his political activism, and his art. “He began as a hipster and died a hipster,” Winer noted.

Also featured were Marino’s heartbreaking “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (Legrand/Alan & Marilyn Bergman)—its final note took a lap around the room—and Stravelli’s sophisticated, honeyed “The Very Thought of You” (Ray Noble).

Boone’s animated “The Lady Is a Tramp (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart) showcased Jacob Chung’s whirlygig sax, Caylen Bryant’s cool, precise bass, and drummer Mark McLean’s integral, rhythmic skill from the tips of his fingers to sticks.

“The world is not very happy right now,” Winer commented, thanking the series’ benefactors in closing. “If we look like we’re having fun up here, it’s because we really are.”

The company closed with “When You’re Smiling” (Larry Shay/Mark Fisher/Joe Goodwin). And we were. Vocalists and musicians alike were top tier. The mix was engaging and savory.

NEXT: October 4, 2026 Songbook Sundays presents Kander and Ebb