Tony Bennett has left us; one of the all-time greatest voices to ever step up to a mic. One of those artists in the rare air of Sinatra, Nat Cole, Crosby; a list of the crooners, incredible voices of an era, of whom carried a certain style and vocal prowess forward through decades of heartfelt intrepretations of the American songbook… and beyond. Each putting a stamp of singularity on every song they chose to perform and record. As a tradition of vocal styling, it lives on today in such greats as Kurt Elling and Gregory Porter, among many other lesser known artists from the past, as well. The jazz world was, and often still is, the realm of the crooner, the serious crooner. The vocalist who can hang with the musicians because their voice is a carefully prepared, studied and crafted instrument, as well. Both the male and female artists of then and now highly respected Tony Bennett for his obvious charm and rich, emotive voical instrument. His departure is, in many ways, closure on an era. Bennett was one of the very last artists alive who was a peer of some of the most important, memorable vocalists of an era, one who also certainly belongs in the pantheon of the greatest.