Her sense of humor about it was something we discussed last week in a Zoom call. Parlato said, “If you see the list of the other artists I’m very certain that I am the most least-known artist of all of them. And I’m happy to be included. It’s just that feeling of being able to have that moment to honor this music and then be starstruck and to just look over. I don’t know how close you can get to the other artists.”

The other artists are Billie Eilish, Debbie Harry, Bettye LaVette, Seth MacFarlane, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Dianne Reeves. They will all perform with The Count Basie Orchestra with musical director Christian McBride and pianist John Beasley.

Though Parlato is not a household name the way other artists on this program are, she should be. She’s a two-time Grammy Award nominee for her albums Live in NYC (2013) and last year’s Flor. She has an understated approach to singing that draws a listener in almost immediately. She can easily go from singing from the Great American Songbook to singing a song by David Bowie (No Plan which is on Flor).

Her grandmother was the person who most influenced Parlato.

“She played a big role in playing these amazing jazz vocalists for me. Before I even knew what jazz was. It was just this sound of Ella and and Nancy and Frank and Peggy Lee.”

When asked if she’s concerned that our present-day culture is entirely too focused on the present and not the past, particularly as it relates to recording artists, she finds a reason to believe.

“I agree with you that often it takes a little more effort to seek out the art of any genre that isn’t alive anymore,” she offers. “To show how important [Sinatra and Lee] were in the lineage, look at the singers that are chosen to be a part of this show. Billie Eilish is one of them. She has stated her adoration for Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra. So that’s a perfect example of someone who’s very young who can pay tribute and admire singers that she grew up with that have helped inform what she does. But it’s unique.”

For this concert Parlato will be singing two songs from the Sinatra and Antônio Carlos Jobim catalog. While she is definitely a fan of Sinatra’s, I believe she has a lot in common with Peggy Lee’s signing style. Lee said of her own vocal talents that what she did was “singing softly with feeling.” The comparison is not lost on Parlato.

“It’s interesting because I’ve heard different quotes from other artists. Not until you just mentioned the quote from her did I put it all together. That’s the way that I have been brought up being a vocalist. There’s something so powerful about this understatement and intimacy and kind of allowing people to feel all the different facets. It doesn’t have to be something obvious, it can be something that’s a little bit intriguing.”

It’s also the moments she chooses not to sing that are equally important to her.

“You’re totally right. That is equal, if not maybe more important; the space and the silence in-between the sound. I talk a lot about that when I teach. It’s like the yin and yang. It’s like these opposites that complement each other that make the other one even stronger. It’s an exciting place to be when you allow that space to sit and you get comfortable with it. And it’s a great metaphor for life to write, for meditating or just leaning in and accepting a situation and allowing it to be and feeling. Allowing whatever will come around to enhance that place that you’re in.”

Parlato has learned a lot from teachers like Ruth Price, Tierney Sutton and the late Barbara Morrison who called what Parlato does with her voice “an offering. It’s a gift, like, here you go.” As for the lessons learned from Sinatra and Lee, she is very quick to respond with one word.

“I think phrasing is everything. Singers like that really taught me to pay attention to not only the emotional story of the song, but what are we singing about. Barbara had us write out what are the lyrics about of the song that you’re singing. What’s a way that you can introduce this song and find your connection to it. That’s something that I can find much easier to do now in my forties than when I was a teenager. There was a disconnect, too. It was mostly about this more intellectual and technical sense of phrasing and rhythm. I think paying attention to the rhythm can be informed by the emotional story of the song. So what are you trying to say? How do we phrase based on the story?”

Last spring Parlato completed a recording with guitarist and singer Lionel Loueke. Their duo project will be released next year followed by a series of performances around the world. For now it’s the tribute to Sinatra and Lee followed by a tour in Europe in October and November.

But what if Sinatra was able to hear her sing? To hear her sing from some of the legend’s most celebrated albums? What would she like him to say?

“Oh, wow. That’s a cool question. I’m imagining him sitting in the box seat smoking at the show. I think if he said ‘Good job, kid’ I’d be good with that. If he said, ‘Let’s have a drink. Cheers!” that’d be good.

“In all seriousness, if he was able to find a glimpse, a sparkle that he had an influence and a connection to. I think that would be an enormous compliment. Somebody of that level just feeling that I am connected to the music. I would hope that he would appreciate artists finding their own voice, singing a song and telling their own story. So I would hope that he would hear me singing his exact arrangements and that he would hear that there’s a tradition there. But that there’s something fresh and a new story to tell. That I made it my own.”

To watch my full conversation with Gretchen Parlato, please go here.

For details on Gretchen Parlato’s tour schedule, please go here.

Main Photo: Gretchen Parlato (Photo by Lauren Desberg/Courtesy of the Artist)

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My top pick for the weekend is Close Quarters #6 from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Their ambitious series has redefined how classical music can presented in the 21st century. With innovative direction from James Darrah and interesting choices of music, LACO’s series is well worth exploring.

Here are my Best Bets: January 15th – January 18th:

OPERA: The West Is a Land of Infinite Beginnings – LA Opera – January 15th – January 29th

Missy Mazzoli’s opera, Proving Up, had its world premiere in 2018 at the Terrace Theatre in Washington, D.C. and is based on a short story by Karen Russell. Royce Vavrek wrote the libretto. This short film is inspired by the opera.

James Darrah directed this digital short for LA Opera. As he recently told me, “Proving Up is an excerpt, but I didn’t want it to feel like an excerpt. It was an opportunity to lean into 80s/90s counterculture. I’m using all my favorite horror movies. There’s a twist that allows you to think about the mystique of it. Let’s not tell the story of Proving Up, but let’s build mythology around this character and what would he look like in LA in 2021. The West is a Land of Infinite Beginnings is, I hope, a little unexpected.”

This digital short will have its premiere at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST on Friday, January 15th and remain available for free streaming for two weeks.

JAZZ: Virtual Halston – Cast Party Network YouTube Channel – January 15th: 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

If you’ve read this column on a regular basis, you know I think there’s no better way to start the weekend than with the charming and delightful Julie Halston and her Friday afternoon salons. Of course, if you’re on the West Coast, you’re getting an early start, but what’s so bad about that?

Her guests this week: jazz musician John Pizzarelli and his wife, actress Jessica Molaskey (Parade).

Mix your favorite cocktail and enjoy and hour of witty repartee and maybe even some music!

JAZZ: Kenny Garrett Quintet – SFJAZZ – January 15th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Saxophonist Kenny Garrett announced himself to the world when he was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1978 (at the tender age of 18) under the direction of Mercer Ellington. He would go on to record with Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw before striking out on his own as a bandleader.

His first album was appropriately entitled Introducing Kenny Garrett in 1985. He’s never needed an introduction since. He’s won one Grammy and has received seven other nominations.

Joining him for this 2019 concert from SFJAZZ are percussionist Rudy Bird, pianist Vernell Brown, Jr., bassist Corcoran Holt and drummer Samuel Laviso.

This concert is party of the Fridays at Five series from SFJAZZ and requires a one-month digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60) to watch it.

JAZZ: Thumbscrew – Village Vanguard – January 15th – January 16th

Giovanni Russonello, writing in the New York Times, selected a streaming concert by Thumbscrew in October as one of the 8 Things to Do This Weekend. He described them this way:

“The guitarist and MacArthur fellow Mary Halvorson works in all kinds of scenarios, but there’s no better way to get acquainted with her wavy, wiry style than to hear her play with Thumbscrew. In that trio, featuring the drummer Tomas Fujiwara and the bassist Michael Formanek, a playfully sympathetic rapport prevails whether the group is handling jazz standards, Brazilian folk songs or one of the bandmates’ own deceptively precise compositions.”

Doesn’t that sound intriguing? You can find out for yourself as Thumbscrew has two performances streaming from New York’s Village Vanguard this weekend. Each performance is $10.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Close Quarters #6 – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – January 15th – 9:30 PM EST/6:30 PM PST

Two weeks ago, in the first of two Close Quarters films curated by Juan Pablo Contreras, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra released its most ambitious, so far, of this multi-film series. Which makes me all the more excited to see what’s in store from James Darrah and the musicians of LACO in #6 of the series.

Opening the program is the world premiere of Mariachitlán for Piano Four-Hands by Contreras. Also being performed is Seduccíon for flute, clarinet and piano by Miguel del Águila and Tangódromo by JP Jofre.

Performing Mariachitlán is the duo Hocket (composer/pianists Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff).

If you want to see just the performances without the surrounding filmmaking and storytelling, LACO makes that available on their YouTube channel. I recommend watching the full films.

DANCE: Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” – Center Theatre Group – January 15th – January 17th

In 2019 Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” returned to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. This marked the 20th anniversary of the show’s original run at the theatre.

The ballet uses Sergei Prokofiev’s music, but is set in War-torn England during the Blitz. Ashley Shaw and Andrew Monaghan star.

If you are seeking a traditional ballet, Bourne’s work is not for you. What makes his projects compelling is he is constantly seeking out new ways of telling familiar stories. Bourne has had a long relationship with Center Theatre Group with many of his other projects, including The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands and The Red Shoes having appeared there.

As part of Center Theatre Group’s Digital Stage Plus, they are making a film of this production available for rent. There are five available performances: Friday, January 15th at 8:00 PM PST; Saturday, January 16th at 2:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM PST and Sunday, January 17th at 1:00 PM PST and 6:30 PM PST. Tickets are $10.

OPERA: Romeo & Juliet – San Francisco Opera – January 16th – January 17th

This production of Charles Gounod’s opera, directed by Jean-Louis Grinda, was new to San Francisco Opera when it was performed in 2019 and marked the first time this opera has been performed there in 32 years. Grinda is director at Opéra de Monte-Carlo and this was his American directorial debut.

Starring as Romeo is Pene Pati (who assumed the role after the announced Bryan Hymel withdrew a few days before opening). In the role of Juliet is Nadine Sierra. Additional members of the company were Lucas Meachem as Mercutio, Timothy Mix as Capulet, James Creswell as Friar Lawrence, Daniel Montenegro as Tybalt, Philip Skinner as the Duke of Verona, Stephanie Lauricella as Stéphano and Eve Gigliotti as Gertrude. Yves Abel conducted.

Joshua Kosman, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, said of Pati’s performance, “He’s got a vigorous, full-bodied sound with a lustrous mid-range and glorious, perfectly placed top notes, including one long-held stratospheric closer that would have sounded like showboating if it hadn’t been so magnificent. Pati sings in a gleaming, sensuous stream of sound, with heroic accents in more athletic passages and a warm, tenderly inviting depth for moments of romantic intimacy.”

PLAY: Sinatra: RAW – The Wallis – January 16th – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

If you went to central casting for the perfect type to portray Frank Sinatra in 1971, you probably wouldn’t think of hiring a British actor. Richard Shelton, however, had other ideas and put together a show that depicts Sinatra being Sinatra – warts and all – and allows Shelton to shine.

It’s late night in Palm Springs and the singer has had a few too many drinks. He starts to tell stories about his career, the Rat Pack and, of course, sings a few songs.

Press notes indicate that this is a cabaret version of his show. When Sinatra: Raw was reviewed by Donald Huerta for the Times of London, he said, “This solo performance (with pianist) is a mesmerising distillation of Shelton’s talent for inhabiting a showbiz legend. If you are in any way, shape or form a fan or, indeed, want to know more about a complex man, Shelton’s masterful take on Ol’ Blue Eyes is a must-see.”

Tickets are $25 and allow for streaming for 24 hours.

CABARET: Kelli O’Hara with Seth Rudetsky – Seth Concert Series – January 17th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

If you’ve seen Tony Award-winner Kelli O’Hara on stage in any of the musicals in which she has performed*, you know why any opportunity to hear her glorious singing is one not-to-be-missed. If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and watch this show.

Seth Rudetsky’s concert series performances are not glamorous. She’s in her home and he’s in his on a keyboard accompanying her. They communicate online through their computers. But somehow it all works and makes for some beautiful performances and always good stories.

*The Bridges of Madison County, The King and I, Kiss Me Kate, The Light in the Piazza, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Pajama Game and South Pacific

If you cannot catch the performance live on Sunday, there will be an encore showing Monday, January 18th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST. Tickets are $25.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Mutual Admiration – Gershwin and Ravel – Music@Menlo – January 17th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

In 1928, composer Maurice Ravel was on a tour of America where he performed several of his works. During his stop in New York, he had a chance to meet George Gershwin. The two shared a keen interest in jazz.

This concert, featuring violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Orion Weiss, looks at their Mutual Admiration from the perspective of the music each man wrote.

The concert comes from Music@Menlo in Atherton, California.

On the program is Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, op. 45; five songs from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess arranged for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz and closes with Ravel’s Tzigane for violin and piano.

Tickets are $25.

CABARET: Pajama Cast Party – Cast Party Network YouTube Channel – January 18th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is so much fun. It’s a shame that we can’t see this wildly entertaining show in person. But he’s putting on his pajamas, as are his guests. And you should, too! Switching to the online format as Pajama Cast Party allows Caruso to continue his show where performers from various genres show up and sing whatever they want.

Joining him on Monday (the show runs every Monday) are Claybourne Elder (the new production of Company that hadn’t officially opened when Broadway was shut down); Capathia Jenkins (Newsies), married opera singers Jessica Fishenfeld (New York City Opera’s Stonewall) and Scott Joiner (San Francisco Opera’s The Secret Garden) and singer/songwriter Susan Werner (composer of the musical Bull Durham).

PLAY: Crowndation – Center Theatre Group – January 18th – 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST

Center Theatre Group is launching a new series called Not a Moment, But a Movement on their Digital Stage. The series centers on Black artists and combines the work of a musician, a theatre artist and a visual artist.

The series gets launched with Angelica Chéri’s Crowndation; I Will Not Lie to David. This one-woman show finds Fatima Seed struggling to define herself at the exact same age her mother was when she passed away. In the course of her journey she uncovers something previously unknown about her father.

Composer Jessica Lá Rep and visual artist Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle are paired with Chéri for this program.

Since Monday is Martin Luther King Day, Center Theatre Group is making this first showing available for free for all viewers. But only this one showing. It’s considered a sneak peak. Beginning on January 21st, the program will be free only for donors and subscribers, $10 for all others.

A few reminders before closing out Best Bets: January 15th – January 18th:

New York’s Prototype Festival concludes on January 16th. There is some terrific programming here. If you’re a bit on the adventurous side, I strongly urge you to check it out.

The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival 2021 concludes on Sunday, January 17th. This festival also has interesting and entertaining options. I strongly recommend the motown project by Alicia Hall Moran. (You can read my interview with her about the show here.)

PlayhouseLive began streaming You I Like – A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman this week. This is a thoroughly entertaining 90 minutes guaranteed to please fans of musicals.

Finally, the Metropolitan Opera concludes a week of productions starring soprano Renée Fleming with Richard Strauss’ Capriccio on Friday; George Frideric Handel’s Rodelinda on Saturday and Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka on Sunday. And here’s a preview of next week since we’re including options for Monday. Next week’s theme is Leading Ladies: Opera’s Greatest Heroines and the week gets started with a 2014 production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen.

That officially ends my Best Bets: January 15th – January 18th. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Main Photo: Piano duo Hocket (Courtesy Hocket.org)

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Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope – The Soraya Facebook Page – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4PM PDT

Violins of Hope is a program celebrating the recovery and restoration of over 60 stringed instruments from the Holocaust. They were restored by Amnon Weinstein, and his son, Avshalom, in Tel Aviv.

The Soraya had scheduled several events around the Violins of Hope, but those have been postponed due to the pandemic. While they have been rescheduled for early 2021, Niv Ashkenazi will give a concert on one of those violins on Friday.

Ashkenazi is the only musician in North America who has been loaned one of these precious instruments. He recently released an album entitled, appropriately enough, Niv Ashkenazi: The Violins of Hope.

For this live streaming event, Ashkenazi will perform the “Theme from Schindler’s List” by John Williams, “The Chassid” by Julius Chajes, an improvisation on Ernest Bloch’s “Baal Shem, II. Nigun” and George Perlman’s “Dance of the Rebbitzen.”

Prior to the performance, The Soraya’s Executive Director Thor Steingraber will conduct a conversation with Ashkenazi about Violins of Hope and his recording.

Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway – BroadwayWorld – April 17th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

Last November, Disney celebrated a quarter century of musicals on Broadway with a concert at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York. The event was a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

That concert, which featured veteran cast members from Disney’s many shows, is being streamed as an additional fundraiser for BC/EFA, but this time for their Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. There is no charge to watch the show, but they are asking for donations.

As you probably know, Disney has had many a blockbuster musical on Broadway. Their shows include Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, AIDA and Frozen.

Amongst the performers at this concert are Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis and Sherie Renee Scott from The Little Mermaid, Christian Borle and Ashley Brown from Mary Poppins, Kerry Butler and Susan Egan from Beauty and the Beast, Merle Dandrige, Mandy Gonzalez and Adam Pascal from AIDA, James Monroe Iglehart, Adam Jacobs and Michael James Scott from Aladdin plus a reunion of cast members from Newsies.

Additional participants include Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Whoopi Goldberg (the original film version of The Lion King), Ashley Park (Mean Girls) and more.

Soft Power Listening Party – Public Theater NY YouTube Channel – April 17th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

When Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang’s musical-within-a-play Soft Power played the Ahmanson Theatre in 2018 it proved to be a wholly unique way of telling a story through both a play and a musical. I loved it.

The show was reworked and opened at The Public Theater in New York and that cast recored the show. Soft Power was just made available on Ghostlight Records in the digital and streaming formats.

To celebrate the release, some of the cast and the creators of the show are holding a listening party on The Public Theater’s YouTube channel. They are also raising funds for both The Public Theater and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Phantom of the Opera – The Show Must Go On YouTube Page – April 17th – beginning at 2 PM EDT/11 AM PDT for 48 hours

Andrew Lloyd Webber continues to make performances of his musicals available for 48 hours with this version of his blockbuster musical The Phantom of the Opera.

This production stars Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Cristine Daaé and Hadley Fraser Raoul. Nick Morris and Laurence Connor directed this 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

Attaca Quartet performs Caroline Shaw’s Orange – The Greene Space YouTube Page

If you aren’t familiar with composer Caroline Shaw, this is a great opportunity to get introduced to her work. Orange, performed here by the Attaca Quartet, is one of Shaw’s highly-acclaimed works. Their recording of Orange won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Musical/Small Ensemble Performance.

Shaw is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Partita for 8 Voices.

This performance comes from a 2019 performance at WNYC/WQXR’s The Greene Space.

TCM Classic Film Festival: Special Home Edition – Turner Classic Movies – Now – April 20th

The annual TCM Classic Film Festival had to be canceled due to the ongoing crisis. However, they have moved the festival from Hollywood to your living room. For fans of theatre and jazz there are a few options worth checking out (whether you have never seen them or want a chance to revisit them!) Note that some are not showing at convenient times (unless you are an insomniac) so set your DVR.

Grey Gardens – April 18th 1:30 AM EDT/April 17th 10:30 PM PDT

This is the documentary that inspired the Tony Award-winning musical. The Maysles Brothers (Albert and David) made an utterly compelling film about Jackie Kennedy’s aunt, Edith Bouvier Beale (79) and cousin, Edith ‘Little Edie’ Bouvier Beale (56). They live in a completely rundown mansion on Long Island with no running water that is filled with multiple animals including numbers cats and raccoons in the attic.

The Man with the Golden Arm – April 18th 6:00 AM EDT/3:00 AM PDT

This 1955 film by Otto Preminger makes our list because Elmer Bernstein’s score is so driven by jazz. Not the first film to use jazz as the style of a film score, but certainly one of the best.

Frank Sinatra stars as an ex-junkie who returns home after half-a-year in prison. While in prison he not only got clean, but learned to play drums. Upon his return he has to face the real world and whether or not he has fully recovered from his heroin addiction.

Both Sinatra and Bernstein were Oscar-nominated for their work on this film. Another reason to check out the film is Saul Bass’s amazing title sequence.

Mame – April 19th 3:30 PM EDT/12:30 PM PDT

This is the classic Rosalind Russell film from 1958 that is truly essential viewing. Mame tells the same story as Jerry Herman’s musical (and the subsequent disaster of a film of that musical with Lucille Ball), but Russell’s performance here is superb. Fans of the musical will want to check out this film. In our troubled times perhaps we can all take some sage advice from our dear Auntie Mame.

Singin’ in the Rain – April 19th 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

One of Hollywood’s best musicals ever and recently on the list of best films to watch during the pandemic. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds star. Watch this film and you’ll be singing “Good Morning” on Monday.

Victor, Victoria – April 20th 3:30 AM EDT/12:30 AM PDT

Blake Edwards’s 1982 film musical was, of course, the basis for the Broadway musical. Julie Andrews stars as a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, who becomes a singing sensation in Paris. But she has to maintain the disguise just as she falls in love with a gangster played by James Garner.

The film also stars a phenomenal Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras.

The songs were written by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.

The Verdi Chorus: The Force of Destiny – The Verdi Chorus Website and Facebook Page – April 18th – 10:30 PM EDT/ 7:30 PM PDT

Forced to cancel their planned April 18th concert, The Verdi Chorus is going to stream their first online concert: The Force of Destiny. This was their 2018 concert that featured selections from Verdi’s La forza del destino, Nabucco and La Traviata. It also included music from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

Joining the Verdi Chorus are Shana Blake Hill, soprano, Karin Mushegain, mezzo-soprano, Alex Boyer, tenor and baritone Ben Lowe.

Treasure Island – National Theatre Live’s YouTube Page – Now – April 23rd

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel has been given a couple twists for this 2014 stage version. First of all, Jim, is played by actress Patsy Ferran. There is music and songs by Dan Jones with additional songs by John Tams.

But the reviews were extraordinary. Arthur Darvill (of Dr. Who) plays Long John Silver. Polly Findlay directed the play. Tim van Someren directed the film. Treasure Island runs 1 hour 50 minutes.

Buyer and Cellar – Broadway.Com – April 19th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

Actor Michael Urie has performed Jonathan Tolin’s Buyer and Cellar countless times. It’s a perfect role for him as the man who attends to Barbra Streisand’s personal shopping mall in her Malibu home. Of course, this isn’t a true story, but what if it was?

On Sunday Urie will perform the show from his own home as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Covid-19 Emergency Assitance Fund. The performance will stream on Broadway.Com.

This is a thoroughly entertaining show and well worth your time.

***Don’t forget there is also Madama Butterfly on April 17th, Adriana Lecouvreur on April 18th and Der Rosenkavalier on April 19th – each available for 23 hours beginning at 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT at the Metropolitan Opera’s website.

Another reminder that WNET is making five different Great Performances available. For details you can go here.

Photo: The company of Treasure Island (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)

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There really isn’t anything else to say or write about a singer about whom even Frank Sinatra praised highly.  But better to let Mr. Bennett tell that story from this interview in 2011 with The Guardian:

“He changed my life,” Bennett says. “In [an article in] Life magazine, he was emphatic about saying that I was the best singer he’d ever heard. I was moderately popular then, and every so often I’d have a million-selling record, but for me it was about being good, not the most famous. [Then] he called me the best he’d heard. And since then, I sold out around the world.”

Of course, when he’s not singing and traveling the world, he’s drawing and painting. Like this image on his website of Lady Gaga with whom he collaborated on the 2014 recording Cheek to Cheek.

Bennett has been recording since his debut album in 1952, Because of You. Last year he released Love Is Here to Stay, an album of duets with Diana Krall. Of course the world totally embraced him in 1962 when he released his signature song on an album of the same name:

In the Johnny Mercer song he also made famous, Bennett sang, “I want to be around…” In that particular case it was to pick up the pieces of a broken heart. But he’s had other ideas personally. Because at almost 93 he’s still going strong. How many more years will we be able to enjoy him live and in concert? That makes Wednesday night’s performance a must-see.

For tickets go here.

Photo of Tony Bennett courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association.

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Day, who is originally from Utah, grew up on MGM musicals and great singers like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. His previous recordings include The Mystery of You and Daybreak. He currently has a hit single with 72 and Sunny from Angel City.

This Saturday, Spencer Day will be performing with the Budman/Levy Orchestra at Catalina Bar & Grill to celebrate the release of Angel City. The theme of the album is Los Angeles and his own experiences and observations about our fair city.

I recently spoke to Spencer Day via phone about the project and fascination with LA.

How would you describe your relationship with Los Angeles?

Very complicated. (He laughs). I feel like over the years I got to see it with its make-up off. It would beat me up and then give me flowers – the way a Joan Crawford character would. When I left home and quit my Mormon mission and headed to California, I used to draw pictures of the Hollywood sign on the walls of my bedroom. I don’t know why. I was staying with relatives in Villa Park and one afternoon I took three buses to get up to Hollywood to see the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. I was obsessed. I left LA when I made this album so I could continue loving it. It’s a place where dreams can be made, but they are built on bullshit. It really exists more as a state of mind than any place I can think of. Even when I was a kid, I knew San Francisco was prettier, but LA was the fantasy.

What inspired you to create an entire album about Los Angeles?

I had actually been wanting to do that from when I was first writing songs when I was 21-22. I started playing around with the idea of it. My time in Silver Lake was my most formative time when I was younger. This was an amazing bohemian time. I stumbled onto this amazing community and I loved LA passionately – like a lover. I’ve never lost my fascination with it. La La Land has been constantly inspiring for so many people. It’s a mystery that people are trying to figure out. Ultimately we are projecting our ideas on this blank slate and seeing what we want to see.

When writing songs, what hasn’t been said about LA that you felt needed to be addressed?

That’s a very good question. I guess for me it’s almost, I don’t want to say on a spiritual level, that LA really represents the human race as a whole and this desire to find this place that is so big and could never really exist, but it doesn’t stop us from wanting it. It feels like the final frontier and the end of the rainbow.

You recorded with a big band and did some of the recording in Studio A at Capitol Records. Tell me about those sessions.

Because I crowd founded a decent amount of money, I actually wanted to go and do it right and go to Capitol Records. It managed to fit the budget for what we were doing. I was floating on air that day. I had help on the arrangements with the Budman/Levy Orchestra – they helped flesh them out. I was able to outsource these things and see what a difference it made. The quality of the musicians and the charts were so good we could do them in the old Frank Sinatra way. Exactly as I had hoped.

I’m glad you brought up the crowd funding. You’ve been with major labels, what is the state of the industry that requires you to go on your own?

It’s in complete free fall. Nobody knows where it is going. The business model is unsustainable. All this content is expected to be free. I think the public is just not aware that there are real people on the other side who have landlords who won’t accept a song as payment. I was amazed how many people were sympathetic to this. It’s a very tough time. For someone like me, I’m not the safest bet. I’m not a shoe-in for guaranteed pop success. My hope is if I keep creating, eventually I’ll create something the world will remember. I don’t need to be famous, but would like to leave something of lasting beauty that will remain with people.

Sinatra once said “My you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mind.” If you were to live to 100, what would the last voice be you’d want to hear and what would he/she be singing?

That’s the toughest question in the world. There are so many beautiful voices. I really do like The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack. I find the recording so simple and beautiful. I was initially dismissing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, but that might be a really nice last thing to hear, as overplayed as it is. Not the Hawaiian dude, he gets the lyrics wrong and it drives me crazy. If I’m about to die, I’m not going to care if it is overplayed or not. That or the last three minutes of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

Photo Credits: J. Van Evers, Brian To

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