| Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Billy Eckstine and Benny Carter |
| Cover: | Eckstine Carter.jpeg |
| Released: | 1986 |
| Recorded: | November 17–18, 1986 in New York City[1] |
| Genre: | Jazz |
| Length: | 50:43 |
| Label: | Verve |
| Chronology: | Billy Eckstine |
| Prev Title: | I Am a Singer |
| Prev Year: | 1984 |
Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter is a 1986 album by the American singer Billy Eckstine, accompanied by the alto saxophonist Benny Carter.[2] The singer Helen Merrill appears in duet with Eckstine on the first and last songs of the album. This was Eckstine's only LP released on Verve Records, and marked his final album recordings.
Eckstine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male at the 30th Grammy Awards for his work on the album.[3]
Scott Yanow reviewed Billy Eckstine Sings with Benny Carter for Allmusic and wrote that "Billy Eckstine's final recording (although he would live until 1993) finds the 72-year-old singer showing his age. Mr. B's famous baritone voice at this late date only hints at his earlier greatness although his phrasing and enthusiasm uplift what could have been a depressing affair." Yanow felt that Carter "...still sounds in his prime on alto" and praised his trumpet solo on "September Song". Eckstine's biographer Cary Ginnell also noted the deterioration in his voice, writing that "...he had by now lost most of his lower range...[his] jazz instincts were still evident, but his chops were gone".[1]