Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett Planning Tour & 'Cheek to Cheek' Follow-up

In a recent Billboard article, Lady Gaga confirms that she will be touring with singing legend Tony Bennett, and that they are currently planning on recording a second album of Jazz standards. Their first album of duets, "Cheek To Cheek" is available for pre-order now.

As BroadwayWorld recently reported "Cheek to Cheek" features standards and showtunes including the first single "Anything Goes," "The Lady is a Tramp", and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love."

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's duets showcase the chemistry between the two artists, who span 60 years in age. 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" and Lady Gagaadds, "We wanted to make something that sounded perfect because of the quality of the emotion...the honesty."Cheek To Cheek also features the Lady Gaga solo, "Lush Life," accompanied by Tony Bennett's solo of "Sophisticated Lady." The two songs complement each other, as Lady Gaga explains, "I loved making 'Lush Life,' Tony mentored me emotionally through the process," and 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 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.

On Saturday, September 13 at 11 PM (EST) leading entertainment and lifestyle retailer HSN will broadcast TonyBennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek. This one-hour, HSN Live music special will offer fans an exclusive look behind-the-scenes at the making of their new album, while featuring never-before-seen footage of the two artists collaborating in the recording studio. Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek takes the audience on a journey from how the two legendary performers first met to how they selected and performed songs for the album. It showcases their tremendous talent and rich knowledge of the Great American Songbook and their love of jazz music. Throughout the special, fans will be able to pre-order an HSN exclusive deluxe version of Cheek To Cheekthat includes two bonus tracks - "The Lady Is A Tramp" (from Tony Bennett's Duets II) and "Lady's In Love With You" (Tony Bennett Solo, Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center). There will be an encore airing of the broadcast on Sunday, September 14 at 7 AM (EST) and fans can pre-order the HSN exclusive deluxe version of Cheek To Cheek now at HSN.com.

Exclusive bundles for Cheek To Cheek are available via Cheektocheek.ladygaga.com and Cheektocheek.tonybennett.com.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga recently taped a television special, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek To Cheek LIVE! in New York City at the Frederick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The special will air on THIRTEEN's Great Performances on PBS on October 24 at 9 pm ET (check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/tv_schedules/)