K.D. Lang: partners in Croon, Tony Bennett and K.D. Lang find new magic in good old Satchmo. Here, interview talks to the first lady of swoon

Interview, Dec, 2002 by Ingrid Sischy

When k.d. lang joined Tony Bennett to sing "Moonglow" for his MW Unplugged performance in 1994, it sparked one of the most intriguing and fruitful friendships in music.

After touring together in 2001, the two singers have now produced a captivating collection of duets that pay tribute to jazz's founding father, Louis Armstrong. The album, A Wonderful World (RPM Records/Columbia), features Bennett and lang breathing new life into 12 treasured love songs associated with Armstrong, including "La Vie en Rose" and "If We Never Meet Again." The magic--which is also captured onscreen in Bennett's PBS special Tony Bennett's Wonderful World: Live from San Francisco (to screen throughout December)--is a testament not only to the talents of lang and Bennett, but to the undiminished legacy of the man they salute. "What we play is life," Satchmo once said of his unswerving commitment to his art. Through the voices of Tony Bennett and k.d. lang, that sentiment lives on today.

INGRID SISCHY: You and Tony know each other well now, in terms of performing, because you've worked together often.

K.D. LANG: We went on tour last year and became very good friends. It's a pretty interesting combination. There are many different aspects to our relationship: the music, being singers and big proponents of classic American songs and songwriters. But then there's the other stuff--Tony's a tremendous painter and historian. And there's sort of a father-daughter thing going on, and yet, a platonic friendship, too. It's a very complex but beautiful relationship.

IS: And why did you choose Mr. Armstrong?

KDL: It was Tony's idea. Tony and Louis apparently lived within a block or two of each other in Queens. So they knew each other way back. Tony came to me and said, You know, we should do a record of Louis Armstrong love songs." And I went, 'Yeah, OK." [laughs] I've been a fan of Louis' forever, but it was incredible to actually go in there and dig and listen and study. It's just so phenomenal how he has influenced the very essence of American phrasing. Anything rhythmic, anything with a swing--I mean, he influenced everybody. Ella [Fitzgerald], Billie [Holiday], Nat King Cole. Louis was a cornerstone of American music.

IS: And when you were recording the album, did it feel like you were part of that history or doing something new?

KDL: It's hard to say, because it felt new, it felt old, it felt historic, it felt normal. It just really felt right. It's weird. I've vacillated between different musical styles: I've done the country thing, I've done pop, I've done ballads, but it seems it's my true nature to be a crooner. That's where I think I belong--not that I've ever really cared where I belonged, but in terms of intrinsic understanding and ease, the American ballad is where I feel most comfortable. So to sing with Tony, it's like being a lineage-holder, you know? It's like being taught by someone who knows a dying language. And you're getting the pure essence of that genre, the American jazz crooner. You know, there aren't very many of those originals left, with Rosemary [Clooney] and Peggy [Lee] just dying.

IS: And, thank God, there's a bunch of new ones coming along, like Diana Krall.

KDL: Diana Krall, Norah Jones--there are many. You know, it's funny, because I think the jazz crooning style hasn't necessarily reached another cycle of hipness, because Frank and Tony really did it and they're still the originals. But there is a groundswell of it going on.

IS: Totally. Tell me a bit about how you recorded the album.

KDL: The two of us and Tony's band went to Tony's son's studio in New Jersey. Two blocks away from the studio there's a little theater where we set up like it was a sound check, and we recorded the album there in three days. It's all live except for the strings, which were recorded in the same place a couple of weeks later. But it's literally off the floor-no fixes, nothing. It's me and Tony singing with the band.

IS: Whoa.

KDL: Yeah, it was an incredible experience. New technology allowed us to do something very old-school. They ran cords down two blocks to the studio--digital, fiber optics or whatever. It was amazing--you had to be in the moment and give your best every second.

IS: And after you were done, the songs must have stayed in your head.

KDL: Very much so. One of the things I've always done as a musician and songwriter is kind of trade between interpretation and songwriting. As a singer it really exercises my understanding and capacity. But as a songwriter it's very challenging: Here I am singing great, classic songs and I see how they're structured, how they're written, and how the lyrics are approached. Hopefully, that sort of thing will also be incorporated for me in a type of osmosis.

IS: As you were doing the songs, were there any new ones that you got to discover?

KDL: Yeah, definitely.

IS: Give me one of the great surprises.

KDL: I fell in love with "You Can't Lose a Broken Heart," which was a duet between Billie and Louis. It's kind of like best friends, arms around each other, giving each other a philosophical pep talk, and it's a really beautiful moment. Then worlds collided when we did "La Vie en Rose." In my head it's the Grace Jones disco version from the '80s, [laughs] from when I was a young gay kid in the clubs--and here I am singing it with Tony Bennett!