Tony Bennett on Holiday

On recent albums, great American songman Tony Bennett has nodded to Sinatra, Astaire, and Irving Berlin in his championship of pre-rock & roll pop. It’s only a slight surprise that Bennett, a jazz singer without really trying, would pay homage to Billie Holiday. His naturally laid-back phrasings remind us of Lady Day without mimicking her. Tony Bennett on Holiday is framed by Ellington’s ”Solitude” and ”God Bless the Child,” a posthumous duet with Holiday and the only questionable note here.