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Although he is now recognized as one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York City, on August 3, 1926, and 82-years old at this writing), was just a young and barely known singer when his first album, Cloud 7, was made in 1955. However, two years later, when Tony, his second LP appeared, he had already become a star. In fact, even though his early recordings advertised him as another romantic crooner, and admitting that through his whole career he never stopped making "commercial" albums in the usual string or big band settings, Bennett always had a special touch, and his artistic ambition led him to assume different challenges. His later duet recordings with pianist Bill Evans represent another example of Bennett's creativity and sensitivity. His defined jazz orientation earned him the distinction of becoming the vocalist in the Count Basie orchestra in the late fifties, and he has since recorded with most of the finest jazz instrumentalists. During a 1966 interview with Les Tomkins, Bennett commented on those experiences: "Of course, I've always been involved with musicians. I had my own group for about seven years. Before that, I had Chuck Wayne as my musical director. Then Ralph Sharon was with me for a long time; and now I have Tommy Flanagan. Just piano and voice, and then we rub shoulders with artistry. We run into Woody Herman, Count Basie or Duke Ellington, and join [them] and the combination seems to work out real nice. Recently in Los Angeles I worked with Basie and Buddy Rich together. Buddy played drums with Count Basie's orchestra. A very gratifying evening. It's funny how much Basie can teach everybody around him by not saying anything-- just by his actions. He really enjoys his work. It's very pleasurable to him to perform to audiences. And he always has a good orchestra."