It takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to do a tribute to an icon pair of sessions, but that’s what vocalist Allan Harris and pianist Takana Miyamoto have done in saluting the famed summit meeting between Tony Bennett and Bill Evans. With the same instrumentation, just voice and ivories, they revisit ten of the tunes that the bel canto Bennett and the romantically blue Evans performed in the 70s.
The good news is that Harris and Miyamoto have completely different deliveries than their predecessors. Harris never goes into dramatic histrionics, rarely raising to a voluminous climax. Rather, he takes a road akin to Donny Hathaway, sounding more reassuring, homey and introspective on pieces like “My Foolish Heart” and “Young and Foolish.” He sounds more cozy and intimate, as if sitting on the couch with you on “The Touch of Your Lips” while Miyamoto serves as a bed of roses on which Harris can comfortably lay on “Waltz For Debby.” Less classically sounding than Evans, she keeps the mood relaxed, making this a nice substitute in mood for the originals.