54 Sings Sinatra: The Second Century
Feinstein’s/54 Below, NYC, January 17, 2020
Reviewed by Ron Forman
Scott Siegel has an uncanny ability to match singer to song perfectly. This ability is especially apparent twice monthly for his Sinatra: The Second Century shows at Feinstein’s/54 Below. The word has gone out, and these shows are invariably SRO. The formula is simple: he collects a group of very talented vocalists, chooses about 13 or 14 songs that Sinatra recorded, and pairs each of the vocalists with a song that will work for their sound and style. The arrangements are often quite different from Sinatra’s, but they work for the performer. What makes Siegel’s shows extra special are his entertaining and informative introductory remarks before each number is performed. This edition had Siegel’s long-time music director Ross Patterson on piano, and his accompaniments added an extra spark to many of the numbers.
Jeffrey Kringer’s big smile and lively performance of “Come Fly with Me” worked perfectly as an opening number. He even ended as Sinatra did by saying “And don’t tell your mama.” He would return later in the show for a dynamic “Luck Be a Lady” that had me believing that he was really praying for divine intervention for his crap game. Gabriele Stravelli brought her beautiful sound and exquisite phrasing to two very different numbers: a very jazzy “I’ve Got the World on a String” and a well-acted, softly sung “But Beautiful.” Paul Kropfl added the verse for his romantic “I’m Glad There is You,” and shined again as a balladeer with “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” Both of Kropfl’s songs featured lovely piano solos by Patterson. Frank Sinatra owns Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” so any vocalist who dares sing it, has to do it differently to avoid comparison. Bill Daugherty effectively solved that problem by slowing down the tempo to make it uniquely his. Broadway star Martin Vidnovic included the seldom heard verse for his lively “You Make Me Feel So Young.” Ben Jones performed “The Song Is You” softly in the manner Sinatra did with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, ending by holding the note on the final “You.”
It takes a lot of nerve to attempt to perform a song originally performed by Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin in the film Robin and the 7 Hoods, but Daugherty, Kropfl, and Kringer pulled it off brilliantly with their very funny performance of “Style.” Vidnovic returned holding a drink in his hand, for a dramatic “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” with Patterson’s piano evoking Bill Miller’s work on Sinatra’s iconic recording. Next to closing, Daugherty performed a very well-acted and moving “It Was a Very Good Year,” introduced by Siegel, who related the personal story that motivated Ervin Drake to compose the song. Jones closed the show with an operatic“Without a Song,” slowly building to a thrilling climax to the song and to the show.
