Pop : Tony Bennett at Top of His Form at Universal

In certain circles, you often hear a debate over which of the surviving veteran male singers in the pop-jazz tradition is the most satisfying on stage at this point in their careers: Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme or Tony Bennett.

When it comes to ballads, the choice is Bennett, as he made clear in a 65th birthday performance Saturday night at the Universal Amphitheatre.

Many of Bennett’s ballads--including “Because of You,” “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and “Body and Soul”--were emotional and moving. His secret is the utter sincerity in his vocals and his uncanny ability to infuse them with a sharp sense of melancholy. When Bennett is truly on--as he was for most of Saturday’s show--his ballads are genuinely absorbing.

Backed by the Ralph Sharon trio and a chamber symphony ensemble, Bennett sang some of the hits he’s recorded in a career that stretches back to the early ‘50s, plus a host of quality standards.

Age has been kind to Bennett’s voice, which has turned somewhat deeper over the years as some of the top part of his range has eroded. His vocal power hasn’t diminished much--which he reminded the audience on some ballads, tacking on unnecessarily grandiose finishes and dramatically extending notes, seemingly just to show off.

With up-tempo songs, though, Bennett has always been just ordinary. The qualities that make him an exceptional ballad singer interfere with his performance on bright, bouncy songs. He can’t shake that somber, melodramatic tone. There’s a loose, breezy quality needed for up-tempo material (Sinatra and Torme have it) that Bennett has never been able to muster.

In Saturday’s show, as Bennett’s instrumental trio was smoothly swinging on songs like “I Wanna Be Around,” Bennett’s vocals were rather stiff and stodgy. The up-tempo pieces, though, were used primarily as changes of pace--breathers between those stretches of Bennett’s bread-and-butter ballads.