 Frank Sinatra, Jr. at the Blue Note. What a difficult thing it must be, to be the son of such a famous celebrity and do a tribute to him, as well! This is what Frank Sinatra, Jr. was able to accomplish during his packed three-day show at the Blue Note, “Sinatra sings Sinatra” in late May of 2009. Frank brought a “small big band” – an octet that sounded like a big band - to the stage, which worked very well, as the Blue Note in Greenwich Village is not a huge space. Alto saxophonist Mike Smith from Chicago was the arranger and musical director; however, Sinatra himself did quite a bit of conducting, as there was no separate conductor. He has a natural, relaxed manner, and is a very talented vocalist.
The band members were: Jeff Morrison on piano; Paul Rostock on bass; Bob Chmel on drums; Jim Fox on guitar; Walt Johnson on trumpet; Ed Morgan on trombone; Mike Smith on alto and Terry Anthony on tenor.
After an opening band number, a minor blues with a killer alto solo by Smith, Sinatra came to the stage on a well-arranged swing tune, “I Can’t Take You Nowhere.” With the brass and sax sections crisply working together, one was taken back to a nostalgic era of Vegas-show-tunes.
Frank Sinatra Jr. has a pleasing high baritone voice, mixed with a smoky gravelly tone, and after warming up with a few numbers, he paid tribute to his dad. One interesting note: he  was conductor to Sinatra the star, for the last 7 years of his life! Older folks remember “Street of Dreams” as a hit for Sinatra, which had some tight section playing, mixed with a guitar solo by Fox. Frank got a “Bravo” from the crowd, and he loosened up with some anecdotes. For example, he said that back in 1956, Sinatra’s arranger, Nelson Riddle, had to score arrangements for four songs overnight for a recording date in the morning. He was madly finishing writing in the back of the car on the way to the session, and the ink was still wet when they made one of Sinatra’s biggest hits, “I’ve Got You Under my Skin.”
The band played the scaled-down arrangement by Riddle of Porter’s “Under my Skin,” complete with a string section played by Morrison on synthesizer. It was uncanny how Frank captured his father’s tone and phrasing. Everyone recognized this, and the audience responded with a round of applause.
Other Sinatra favorites sung were: “Summer Wind,” “Strangers in the Night,” “For Once in My Life,” the upbeat Guys and Dolls “Luck Be a Lady,” with all of the modulations, and the Gershwin medium swing tune that Ira and George wrote in twenty minutes; “A Foggy Day.”
Sinatra also spoke of the times his father spent with the Basie and Ellington bands. He selected Basie’s “Please be Kind,” which featured a swinging walk by bassist Rostock, and rousing slides by the horns. Altogether, Frank Sinatra, Jr. put on a great show. When he comes back to New York, I’d encourage readers to go see him. |
Tweet this article !
