Sinatra Project captures the classics of 'Ol' Blue Eyes'
By: Emily Cary
Special to the Examiner
November 6, 2009
If you goMichael Feinstein's The Sinatra Project arrives at the Strathmore on Sunday backed by the requisite big band. This is the latest accomplishment of the multitalented singer/composer who has been celebrating the Great American Songbook for more than three decades.Michael Feinstein in The Sinatra Project
Where: Music Center at Strathmore
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Info: $30 to $65; 202-785-9727; wpas.org
His career began like a Hollywood script when the young man from Columbus, Ohio, ventured to Los Angeles, met Ira Gershwin and became his assistant. After devoting six years to cataloging unpublished Gershwin songs, Feinstein set about preserving the works of Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren and many other American composers.
Through his effort and determination, their contributions to popular song from the 1920s to the present are archived today in the Library of Congress, his gift to future generations.
During the past quarter-century, Feinstein has received five Grammy Award nominations and performed at the White House many times, and is now designing a First Ladies piano for Steinway and creating a new PBS series about American popular song around the world.
Never content, he started The Sinatra Project as his tribute to "Ol' Blue Eyes" with an album released in September before this cross-country tour.
"Many years ago, I met Sinatra and I never forgot how kind he was to me when I was a nobody," he says. "It seemed folly to imitate him and do a recording of his songs exactly as he sang them, so I chose to do a homage to him by interpreting his taste in music and style. To be authentic, we used the same acoustic technology by recording in Capitol Studio A in Los Angeles where Sinatra and other stars of his period recorded."
Feinstein and producer/arranger/conductor Bill Elliott began by scouring through the enormous Sinatra catalog, making lists of songs that said something to them, ultimately narrowing down the options to 12. Rather than repeat the Nelson Riddle and Billy May charts, they created new arrangements that capture the essence of Sinatra, yet are fresh in their own right.
To emphasize the singer's personal connections, they included songs by his friends Jimmy McHugh and Alan and Marilyn Bergman. For another touch, Feinstein emulated the style of Sammy Cahn by writing additional lyrics to "At Long Last Love." Although the timbre of his voice differs from Sinatra's, he captures the same sense of relaxation and thoughtful phrasing.
