For all his colossal likability, Tony Bennett never fawns. Indeed, steely will as much as fluid artistry accounts for his sunset megasuccess. Refusing to sway from the classic swinging that formed him, Bennett hasn't staged a comeback – rather, the world has come around to him. Vamping hot, the Ralph Sharon Trio partners him on a 20-tune recap of his 40-year career; as ever, he delivers Gershwin/Cole Porter/Irving Berlin gems as if they were mined yesterday. Elvis Costello and k.d. lang assist on sweet duets, but it's Bennett's baritone alone – scatting through "The Girl I Love" (a k a "The Man I Love") and blazing on "Fly Me to the Moon" – that best presents this album's proper star: the music itself, whose wit, depth and polish this master embodies. (RS 689)

PAUL EVANS