Hank O'Neal's Photos of Tony Bennett

Hank O'Neal—the author, photographer and co-founder of Chiaroscuro Records—knew Tony Bennett for more than 50 years. Yesterday, Hank sent along an email with a photo of Tony at home. I asked if JazzWax could use it along with a bunch of others. Hank generously sent along the following candid images of Tony. [Photo above of Hank O'Neal by Ian Cliford]

But first, Hank's email:

Hi Marc. What a lovely piece you wrote about Tony. It is certainly reflective of the guy I knew. I first met him in early 1969, but we really connected in 1973 at my studio when he spent many afternoons and nights rehearsing with Ruby Braff and George Barnes for concerts and recordings. In between then and the late 2010s, I kept taking photographs of him. The first one below is one I took, in the entrance hall of his apartment with his Maltese pup. There also was a photo shoot at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is included below. Hope all is well. Hang in there.

All photos below are copyrighted by Hank O'Neal and may not be used without his permission. To request permission, go here.

Here's Tony at home in his apartment in 2002...

Here's Tony with actor-director Clint Eastwood...

Here are two images of Tony at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art...

Here's Tony with his portrait of Duke Ellington...

Here's Tony in his studio with a self-portrait...

Here's Tony with Earl "Fatha" Hines...

Here's Tony in the summer of 1973 with cornetist Ruby Braff and guitarist George Barnes (right), guitarist Wayne Wright (left) and bassist John Giuffrida...

Here's Tony Bennett at Downtown Sound Studios in New York in the summer of 1973...

And here's Tony with, from left, guitarist Wayne Wright, cornetist Ruby Braff, bassist John Giuffrida and guitarist George Barnes at Downtown Sound in New York City in June 1973

Bonus: Here's Tony recording The End of a Love Affair in London in 1972, backed by the Robert Farnon Orchestra, with Farnon conducting his arrangement. Featured are John Bunch (piano), Arthur Watts (bass) and Kenny Clare (drums)...

You'll find the start of my 2009 multipart interview with Hank O'Neal here.