Bennett, Gaga make for timeless pair

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga first teamed up on his Grammy-winning 2011 “Duets II” CD to perform the standard “The Lady Is a Tramp,” with Gaga displaying impressive vocal chops. It turns out that this seemingly odd couple – separated in age by 60 years – both share a passion for the Great American Songbook and jazz singing.

That led them to record “Cheek to Cheek” – only the second full album that Bennett has done with another singer in his nearly 70-year recording career. The first was the sublime 2002 album “A Wonderful World” with k.d. lang.

There’s a completely different chemistry on “Cheek to Cheek,” starting with the opening track, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes,” with the duo trading lines in a bright, brassy big-band swing arrangement. A sassy Gaga belts out her lines, while Bennett is elegant and precise in his phrasing.

Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” are both briskly paced with Gaga’s high-register vocals spinning around Bennett’s lines with the two engaging in some crisp harmonizing and occasional scatting. On the Nat King Cole hit “Nature Boy,” Gaga shows a different side, breathily caressing the lyrics.

Gaga, who says she intends to record more jazz albums, could learn much from Bennett.