Goldstar

• Rated 4.0
• Written on May 11 2009

Michael Feinstein is a consummate performer, and he was in top form at Davies last night. His rendition of "Time After Time" brought me to tears, and it just got better from there. His anecdotal stories were appropriately brief and well chosen, his impersonations of Lawrence Welk and Liberace were spot on, but it was the music we were there for, and Mr Feinstein delivered a delicious bouquet of Sinatra songs. His piano playing was also superb--working a bit of Gershwin's "Cuban Overture" into "Brazil" was brilliant, and his 17-piece back-up big band was terrific too. When he dedicated his encore to "those who have left, and those who are leaving," he trapped an embarrassed foursome in full view of the audience. "What were you expecting--a Tony Martin tribute?" Excellent! I could have done without Jan Wahl's ingratiating introduction, but that was soon forgotten as the music began. The songs were carefully chosen, beautifully rendered, and the concert overall had a lovely and respectful structure to it. I would have loved to take my mother--but I took my stage manager instead, and he also had a really good time. The hall should have been packed. For reasons unfathomable to me, there were empty seats.

• Rated 4.0
• Written on May 11 2009

If you like Sinatra this is a must see. The stories and music bring Sinatra alive. Michael's voice and animated moves on stage make his performance a very enjoyable evening. Very well done!

• Rated 4.0
• Written on May 11 2009

Feinstein's show is called "The Sinatra Project," which generally means he's mining Frank's old set lists for the crowd favorites along with more obscure songs he performed but never recorded. Feinstein makes this work rather impressively and thankfully the the show steers clear from becoming "A Tribute to Sinatra." Backed by a super-tight big band led by Bill Elliott (unfortunately never completely introduced nor listed anywhere I can find on SFJazz's website despite what is says in the program), Feinstein essentially sings in the style and range of the 50's Capitol-era Sinatra while the band goes for a Nelson Riddle, 60's Reprise-era sound.


This is a smart and savvy combination. Feinstein's tenor really sounds nothing like Sinatra's baritone at all, but since today's audiences seemed more predisposed to like the larger and louder Riddle-style arrangements over the more subdued stylings of the Tommy Dorsey era (which would be a more natural fit for Feinstein), why not combine the two?


It works really well, especially since Feinstein has the smarts and talent to play to his own considerable strengths. There probably is no living singer who is better with this material. Avoiding all the cliches except for "New York, New York," which he succeeded in owning outright, the show started off strong with "Luck Be a Lady" and stayed there. Particular highlights included Sammy Cahn's "All My Tomorrows," "Begin the Beguine" and "The Man that Got Away." His voice was simply fantastic- smooth and powerful, with hardly ever any vibrato inching into many of the songs extended climaxes. He pretty much killed it on every tune.