Legendary and iconic

Fri, Jun 12th 2015, 12:58 AM

Atlantis has arguably landed one of its biggest gets yet — according to the genre of music you like — and the draw for this weekend’s concert spans generations with the legendary Tony Bennett and the iconic Lady Gaga, multi-Grammy Award winning artists taking to the Atlantis Live stage.

“It’s huge,” said Anthia Butler, Atlantis associate director of special events of the Saturday, June 13 concert. “It’s been a long time coming and we’ve landed a legend to say the least … Tony is 88 and still at the top of the Billboard charts, and a pop icon like Lady Gaga performing together — I think it’s the epitome of an offering for a concert series.”

The duo kicked off their international “Cheek To Cheek” concert tour in Las Vegas with sold-out shows in December 2014. The once in a lifetime Atlantis performances will feature tracks from the Grammy-nominated “Cheek To Cheek” CD which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts when it was released on September 23, 2014 to widespread critical acclaim.

“We are expecting a sold-out show,” said Butler, who admits to being a big Tony Bennett fan.

Atlantis booked over 1,000 nights for visitor stays at the resort for the concert.

“We have sold tickets to grandmothers, mothers and daughters. Everyone is drawn to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” she said. “They’ve sold out the ‘Cheek To Cheek’ tour and we expect the same thing to happen in The Bahamas.”

The concert will be held in Atlantis’ largest venue, the Imperial Ballroom which seats 3,600, but is still an intimate performance.

Bennett remains the oldest artist in music industry history to have an album on the number one spot on the Billboard charts. “Cheek To Cheek” marks Lady Gaga’s third consecutive number one album release in just over three years. Billboard named “Cheek To Cheek” the number one Jazz Album of 2014.

“Cheek To Cheek” features classic jazz standards sung by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett in a combination of vocal duets and solo performances. From the title track, to “But Beautiful” to “I Won’t Dance,” the record showcases the chemistry between the two artists, with an age difference of 60 years.

As Bennett says, “What I really love about being a jazz singer is that jazz artists are very creative, very honest, from phrase to phrase.”

“We wanted to make something that sounded perfect because of the quality of the emotion … the honesty,” said Lady Gaga.

“Cheek To Cheek” also features the Lady Gaga solo “Lush Life,” accompanied by Tony Bennett’s solo of “Sophisticated Lady.” The two songs compliment each other, as Lady Gaga explains, “I loved making ‘Lush Life.’ Tony mentored me emotionally through the process.”

Tony Bennett adds, “I sang ‘Sophisticated Lady’ to answer her on ‘Lush Life,’ and because Duke Ellington wrote it, who collaborated with Billy Strayhorn, the writer of ‘Lush Life.’”

Recorded in New York City, “Cheek To Cheek” took over a year to complete and features jazz musicians associated with both artists including members of Bennett’s quartet — Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones and Marshall Wood as well as pianist Tom Ranier. Jazz trumpeter Brian Newman, a long-time friend and colleague of Lady Gaga appears on the album as well with his NYC-based jazz quintet.

Jazz soloists on selected tracks include tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, trumpeter George Rabbai and flutist Paul Horn, who passed away in July.

The Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga show will see a new addition to the Atlantis Live concert series as guests will get the opportunity to walk the blue carpet which Butler says will be exciting as they afford concert patrons the opportunity to show off their fashion, take photos and share them on social media for the opportunity to enter to win fabulous prizes including tickets to upcoming Atlantis Live shows.

Tickets for the Tony Bennett/Lady Gaga performance are $250 gold and $195 silver, not including value added tax, and includes complimentary wine, beer and soft drink.

The concert starts at 9 p.m., doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Atlantis Live will dive into the world of country music following this weekend’s concert with Keith Urban scheduled for the United States Labour Day weekend, and a Saturday, September 6 show at 9 p.m., also to be held in the Imperial Ballroom.

Other upcoming events on the Atlantis Live calendar include this month’s launch of the Cartoon Network; and an in-house magic show featuring Rob Lake, June 24 through September 6, nightly Wednesday through Sunday at 8 p.m.

Past performances on the Atlantis Live stage has seen the likes of Michael Buble, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Reba McEntire, Jerry Seinfeld, Jordan Sparks, Maroon 5, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Jennifer Hudson, Miranda Cosgrove, Coco Jones and Avril Lavigne.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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