Concert Review: Michael Feinstein at the Dakota Jazz Club

 

Michael Feinstein in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis, April 3, 2022. You can also see pianist Tedd Firth and drummer Mark McLean. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor)

One of my favorite performers, Michael Feinstein, came to the Dakota Jazz Club over the weekend. I’ve been a fan of Feinstein’s since I was a little kid. I was entranced by Feinstein’s 1989 album The M.G.M. Album, on which he sang songs like “It’s a Most Unusual Day,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” and my favorite song when the album was released, “Singing in the Rain.” Yes, I was a strange 9-year-old. But Michael Feinstein became the gateway to the Great American Songbook for me, and that led to discovering singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Wikipedia tells me that Michael Feinstein is 65 years old, but my eyeballs would swear that can’t be true. Feinstein has always projected a boyish exuberance, and that remains true in 2022. His vocals have gotten better and better over the years, and it’s great fun to see him with just a trio of Tedd Firth on piano, Mark McLean on drums, and an excellent bassist whose name I didn’t write down and can’t find online.

Feinstein’s voice is always warm and inviting, which serves him well on up-tempo material, and over the years he’s added a tenderness that makes him a very affecting ballad singer as well. His version of “The Time Has Come,” a Marshall Barer song about gay rights, was especially affecting.

The concert started with a rush, as Feinstein charged into a bright and snappy rendition of “Hello, Young Lovers,” which brought to mind Bobby Darin’s version. Darin’s version was recorded in the 1960’s, but went unreleased until the late 1990’s, so it might be unlikely that Feinstein was influenced by Darin’s version, but then again, Feinstein’s knowledge of music is encyclopedic, so it’s still possible. “Hello, Young Lovers” was combined in a medley with “It’s All Right with Me,” by Cole Porter, from the musical Can-Can, and “Come Back to Me,” from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. It was a fun and energizing way to start the evening.

Another highlight was Feinstein’s rendition of “You and Me Against the World,” a hit for Helen Reddy, which Michael used as an example of how the Great American Songbook is like an expanding and evolving museum of the best of American culture. As Feinstein put it, “If a song transcends the time and place in which it was written, it becomes part of the Songbook.”

Feinstein also sang the 1950’s classic, “You Belong to Me,” originally a hit for Jo Stafford, although my favorite version is Dean Martin’s. Before he sang Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things,” Feinstein reminded the audience that Frank Sinatra had once called the song “the saddest song I ever heard.” And that’s really something, coming from a man who recorded entire albums made up of nothing but sad songs! (See In the Wee Small Hours, Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, etc.) I’ve always wondered if Frank had his relationship with Ava Gardner in mind when he said that about “Just One of Those Things,” that theirs was a “love affair that was too hot not to cool down.”

In honor of Doris Day’s 100^th birthday, which was Sunday, April 3^rd, Feinstein sang “Fools Rush In,” which Day recorded for her 1962 album Duet, with the pianist Andre Previn. Day had told Feinstein that album was her own personal favorite among her recordings. Feinstein sang “The Trolley Song,” from Meet Me in St. Louis, and the exuberant spirit of the song fits perfectly with Feinstein’s own musical personality. During the requests part of the show, Feinstein started with “Pure Imagination,” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is one of my wife’s favorite songs. My wife chided me for not shouting out “Rhode Island is Famous for You” during the requests, as it’s one of my own favorite tunes of Feinstein’s that I remember from my childhood, from his 1987 album Live at the Algonquin.

If you love the Great American Songbook, or simply great music in general, go see Michael Feinstein if you have the chance. He’s sure to put a smile on your face.

Concert Review: Michael Feinstein at the Dakota Jazz Club

Singer, pianist, conductor, and music archivist Michael Feinstein.

Tonight, I saw Michael Feinstein at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. I’ve been a fan of Feinstein’s since I was a little kid, and his music was the way I was introduced to the Great American Songbook. Which is only fitting, since Feinstein is such an advocate and proponent of those songs.

For this concert, Feinstein was backed by Tedd Firth on piano, Phil Palombi on bass, and Mark McLean on drums. They were an excellent backing group and provided superb accompaniment on both ballads and swingers. I’ve never seen Feinstein sing with a small backing group like this—I’m pretty sure every time I’ve seen him he’s either been on his own, just accompanying himself on piano, or with an orchestra. 

Michael looked and sounded great—it doesn’t look like he’s aged a day since the last time I saw him in person, which was back in 2012. (I also reviewed his 2011 concert here.) He was sharply dressed in a dark blue suit and a black dress shirt. Feinstein’s voice sounds great, and it even seems like his voice has gotten more powerful, as he held some ending notes for a very long time. And he hasn’t lost any of his upper range. Feinstein remains a fun and vibrant nightclub entertainer, as he brings a warm and engaging personality to the stage. It’s hard to imagine someone not having fun at a Michael Feinstein concert. 

Feinstein performed several medleys of songs, and the opener was the great song made famous by Nat King Cole, “L-O-V-E,” combined with “Almost Like Being in Love.” It was a fun opener, and it was followed by a superb version of W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues,” written in 1914. As Michael said, “I like to keep it current.” Another highlight was a medley of the 1959 Frank Sinatra song “All My Tomorrows” with the 1969 hit single by the Spiral Staircase, “More Today than Yesterday.” It was an inventive pairing that worked very well together. 

Feinstein is a fount of pop culture knowledge, and I laughed very hard when he said that drummer Mark McLean would be playing Buddy Rich to Michael’s Sammy Davis during the song “Come Back to Me.” Feinstein then added, “But he’s much nicer than Buddy Rich!” (There are lots of stories about Buddy Rich being, um, not so nice to work with.) 

A surprise guest was singer and cabaret performer Lynne Rothrock, who performed a fun version of “Teach Me Tonight.” Other highlights of the evening included an exuberant version of “Hooray for Hollywood,” and of course, the Gershwin medley. Michael Feinstein worked as an assistant for Ira Gershwin for the last six years of Ira’s life, helping to catalogue Ira’s music collection. Feinstein was audibly emotional during the intro to “Our Love is Here to Stay,” as he recounted how George had written the music, but Ira didn’t put words to it until after George’s death. Thus, the song became Ira’s moving tribute to his dead brother. 

And Feinstein saved some of the best music for the last, as he performed a 12-song tribute medley to Frank Sinatra. It was a fitting way to end the evening, from one interpreter of the Great American Songbook to another.

Set list: (P=Michael Feinstein on piano)

L-O-V-E/Almost Like Being in Love

St. Louis Blues

Old Friend-p

All My Tomorrows/More Today than Yesterday

Wish You Were Here/So Far Away

Come Back to Me

When I Fall in Love/My Foolish Heart

Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight/One Less Bell to Answer

Hooray for Hollywood

Blame it On My Youth-p

Gershwin Medley:

How Long Has This Been Going On?-p

Someone to Watch Over Me-p

Our Love is Here to Stay-p

Frank Sinatra medley:

Come Fly with Me

Witchcraft

A Foggy Day

I’ve Got the World on a String

Summer Wind

All or Nothing at All

I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry

Angel Eyes

That’s Life

Night and Day

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

You Make Me Feel So Young

Encore:

Isn’t it Romantic?-p

Michael Feinstein at Westminster Presbyterian Church

Michael Feinstein, 10/25/12. (Photo by Mark Taylor.)

Terrence Flannery, my wife Pondie, and me, 10/25/12.

Last week I heard Michael Feinstein speak at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. His talk, entitled “The Gershwins: Preserving an American Cultural Legacy,” was part of Westminster Church’s Town Hall Forum lecture series. Feinstein was promoting his new book, “The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs.” I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t give a full review of it, but it’s a beautifully designed book about the music of George and Ira Gershwin. Feinstein uses twelve songs by the Gershwins as the framework to analyze their music. A CD of Feinstein performing the twelve songs is also included with the book. When Feinstein was 20 years old he started working for Ira Gershwin, and he helped Ira catalogue his music collection. For Feinstein, it was truly a dream job. He worked with Ira for six years, until Ira’s death in 1983. 

Feinstein is a very eloquent speaker, he’s knowledgeable without coming across as pedantic, and he has a great respect for music but he still likes to tell humorous anecdotes to enliven stories. When I heard him last week, he spoke extemporaneously in perfect paragraphs, with no verbal hesitations, no “um’s” or “ah’s” at all. As anyone who has watched Feinstein’s delightful “Great American Songbook” series on PBS knows, he has so much passion for the music of the Great American Songbook and for all music in general. It’s wonderful that American popular music has a steward as dedicated as Feinstein is to the preservation and dissemination of this music. During the program he spoke about the Gershwins, his relationship with Ira Gershwin, and he played a couple of songs on the piano, including “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” He then took questions from the audience for about 20 minutes.

Michael Feinstein has been one of my favorite singers since I was a little kid; I was probably 8 or 9 when I first heard him, thanks to my Mom. His music was how I was first exposed to the music of the Great American Songbook. I remember listening with glee to his albums “The MGM Album” and “Over There,” a collection of songs from World War I. My favorite song on “Over There” was a tongue-twister called “Sister Susie’s Sewing Shirts for Soldiers.” I also remember seeing Feinstein in concert around that time, probably 1989-91. The first concerts that I can remember going to are Michael Feinstein, Harry Belafonte (I loved “Beetlejuice”!) and The Beach Boys. And even though my musical palate has expanded since then, I still love listening to Michael Feinstein, Harry Belafonte, and The Beach Boys. 

Michael signed copies of his book after the program, and he is such a nice person. I’ve met him once before, back in 2003 at a concert he did with Jimmy Webb, and I was struck then by his niceness too. My wife and I told Michael that friends of ours sang “Our Love Is Here to Stay” at our wedding. I can’t remember exactly what he said in response, but he was just so nice. He was also very nice to my Mom, as well, who also got her book signed. My wife and I also went over to talk to Michael’s husband, Terrence Flannery. We’ve enjoyed seeing Michael’s relationship with Terrence in the “Great American Songbook” series, and we recognized Terrence from the shows. Terrence was super nice to talk to; we visited with him for a few minutes, and even got our picture taken with him! It was a wonderful evening, and a lot of fun to hear Michael Feinstein talk about the music that he loves the most.