Take it away, Tony!

The most touching part came at the end of the concert Tuesday night when Tony Bennett disappeared amidst the standing ovation and came back onstage  not once, not twice but thrice to acknowledge the resounding applause from the SRO audience at the PICC Plenary Hall who couldn’t seem to have enough of him, even if for more than one hour the enduring balladeer sang all (well, almost!) his hits which music-lovers around the world can sing, or hum, straight from the heart.

“I love the Philippines,” said Bennett who has performed here a few times. “The Filipinos love good music.”

But before that, giving in to an insistent demand for an encore, Bennett placed his microphone on top of the piano and sang In Other Words a cappella, sounding as if he was romancing the crowd with an amorous whisper, only to stop short and, taking the cue from the heat-up audience that started singing with him...  yes, the whole PICC was reverberating with the song!!!... and listened with a wide smile, waving here, throwing a kiss there, spreading his arms in a gesture of appreciation and gratitude.

“I want to cry,” said Dr. Lily Lim (in our company with her husband, Dr. Wilson Lim and Dr. Welson Yap). “It’s so moving.”

Actually, all of Bennett’s songs that night were “touching, moving” certainly because those songs have special meanings to each and everyone of us, each of those songs marking a milestone in our lives — for example, I remember an aunt (who opted to live the rest of her life a spinster) retelling the tragedy of losing her first love and getting over it by listening to Bennett’s Boulevard Of Broken Dreams over and over again until her RPM record cracked like…huhuhuhu! — a broken dream.

 I got teary-eyed when Bennett sang Smile because that song (“Composed by Charlie Chaplin,” I told an incredulous Dr. Lily) has a therapeutic effect on me (and on other people, I’m sure) as it lights up a world that seems so gloomy (when there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by; so smile what’s the use of crying…) and you watch the pieces of your heart scattered on the floor (smile though your heart is aching, smile even though it’s breaking) until you look out of the window and you see the dark clouds parting (light up your face with gladness, hide every trace of sadness…you’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile).

The concert, with Bennett’s daughter Antonia Bennett as front act (yes, a chip off the…I won’t say “old” but — original block), opened with a voice-over of Frank Sinatra (the Ol’ Blue Eyes) calling him, “The best singer on the planet.” There were no pyrotechnics, no distracting dancers and no gimmicks; it was just Bennett and his orchestra (which he acknowledged after every song), singing beautiful songs which is how a real concert should be.

Among those in the star-studded, well-heeled audience were (to name a few) Sen. Bongbong Marcos with his sister Irene Marcos and her husband Greggy Araneta, Former Chief Justice Renato Corona and his wife Cristina, Former Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco and wife Gretchen, STAR Lifestyle Editor Millet Mananquil with husband Robert Mananquil and daughter Raya, BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, Dr. Vicki Belo and good friend Atom Henares, Boots Anson-Roa, Jojo Alejar, Arthur Manuntag, RJ Jacinto and wife Frannie, scriptwriter Jake Tordesillas and sister Honey, ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs head Ging Reyes, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal and wife Mila, Ronaldo Valdez and son Janno Gibbs with mother-in-law Vicky Loyzaga, Vice Pres. Jojo Binay and wife Dr. Elenita Binay, Jorge Araneta and wife Stella Marquez-Araneta, Julius Babao and wife Tintin Bersola, Johnny Revilla and wife Janet Basco, Mrs. Judy Araneta-Roxas, Mike Toledo, Vivian Sarabia, Criselda Lontok, and Jose Mari Chan with son Jose Antonio.

From Joe Mari:

Anthony Dominick Benedetto, 87 years old, is perhaps the most enduring American vocalist today. He was Frank Sinatra’s personal favorite singer. He had his first big hit in 1952 with the song Because Of You and he has not put down the microphone since then. Sixty-one years in recording and concertizing, he did a SOLD OUT concert at the Plenary Hall of the PICC one rainy September night. The crowd loved him and after several encores, he was given a standing ovation. He is TONY BENNETT. Jazz and ballad vocalist. Highly respected by musicians and artists the world over. Despite his age, Tony Bennett gave a splendid performance that endeared him even more to his audience. He was amazed that the Filipinos are music lovers and that we knew all the songs he performed in his repertoire.

As you must have noticed, it was strictly Seniors Prom Tuesday night at the PICC and it might as well be a loving tribute to Bennett who, knock on wood, might not come back for another concert. That’s why, once more with more feeling, the audience graciously walked down Memory Lane with Bennett as he continued to sing one lovely song after another, never forgetting to acknowledge the audience and his band — I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, Once Upon A Time, The Way You Look Tonight (which Julius sang on his knees when he proposed to Tintin), The Shadow Of Your Smile (theme song of The Sandpiper, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), For Once In My Life and, but of course, I Left My Heart In San Francisco which is, hands down, your and my favorite and Bennett’s, too.

“You know,” Bennett said during our phone interview a month before he flew in on a private plane Monday night, “that song has lured people to go to San Francisco and see it for themselves. San Francisco is a beautiful city,” added Bennett who lives in New York City, “people just love that city, so it’s a beautiful song to be identified with.”

Yes, he admitted, “I left my heart in San Francisco.”

For somebody who turned 87 last Aug. 3, Bennett didn’t look 87 at all. Although he didn’t sound exactly plakang-plaka, he could still reach those high hits without missing a beat, singing every song as if he was singing it for the first time.

In our interview, I asked him how he maintained his good voice (what lung power!) and his body.

“Well,” he revealed, “I exercise three times a week. I play tennis. I’m very contented and very happy that I’m in very good shape. I like my life. It’s not work to me. It’s beautiful.”

The good life, that’s it.

He also revealed that one Filipino that he knew very well is Minda Feliciano who was Michael Caine’s former girlfriend, not on the romantic level but purely friendship.

“She was a good friend of mine,” said Bennett. “We are still very good friends. I’m close to the whole Feliciano family. They are a very nice people. I see her in London sometimes. That was many years ago. The last time I saw Minda was years ago when her husband died. I was sorry about that.”

And the three things that he considered very memorable?

“One was when I was recording I Left My Heart In San Francisco. Also, when the United Nations made me a citizen of the world. That changed my life because it made me realize that I am a citizen of every country that I go to. The third? Well, I have a beautiful wife who makes me happy. We started a school together; we have 14 schools of performing arts now in Manhattan and we teach students how to become artists.”

When Bennett left (yesterday?), maybe he didn’t leave his heart in Manila but for sure, he took away all the hearts of those whom he made smile and find that life “is still worthwhile” on that rainy Tuesday night at PICC.

(Note: Thanks to Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions for bringing back Tony Bennett. More such shows, Renen!)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)