Jack Jones: A Master Class in Excellence!

with Patty Farmer (The Persian Room Presents) and Jack Jones

Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.
- Victor Hugo

Happy Wednesday!

I hope this finds you all in a good mood. IF you are not, get thee as fast as you can to Feinstein's before the week is over to hear and see a singer at the top of his game, Jack Jones. Jack Jones is a double Grammy award winning jazz and pop singer and with good reason. He's great! I'm a huge fan. I was one of the lucky ones to experience Jack Jones at his opening last night which also happens to be his Feinstein's debut.  Feinstein's at Loews Regency is the nightclub proclaimed "Best of New York" by New York Magazine and "an invaluable New York institution" by The New York Post.   I saw Mr. Jones probably about five years ago at the now defunct Oak Room at the Algonquin.The New York Times raved about that engagement saying, " Mr. Jones sang to a packed house...delivered a kind of master class (see, I told you!) in traditional nightclub performance: suave but intimate, alternately preening and humble, seemingly casual but seamlessly professional." Great minds think alike! I enjoyed him then but I think Feinsteins, one of my favorite rooms in town, is the perfect place for one of my favorite singers.

Photo courtesy: Stephen Sorokoff Broadwayworld.com

Born John Allan Jones, the only son of actors Allan Jones and Irene Hervey. Jack Jones was born in Los Angeles on the very night that his father recorded his signature song "Donkey Serenade" (a fact that once prompted talkshow host Mike Douglas to say to him: "I won't ask what your middle name is"). The young Jones attended University High School in West Los Angeles and studied drama and singing.
The Wall Street Journal says "he's the most thoroughly musical and constantly creative, having learned the lessons of Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, that playing with a tune can be a way of personalizing it, making the lyrics resonate all the more meaningfully. Somehow, he achieves the near-impossible feat of being breathlessly intimate while belting at the top of his lungs." "The cabaret community in New York is a very tight knit community of singers who are truly supportive of each other. However, it saddens me that I rarely see them in the audiences of the masters. Jack Jones is a master of song interpretation. From the moment that he made his way to the stage singing an understated opening song about being a singer joined by five top notch musicians, he had the entire sold out audience in the palm of his hands...and we remained there through the end with the audience begging for more. Music director is Lou Forestieri on piano, Chris Colangelo on bass, Kendall Kay on drums and Nyack's own Houston Person an saxophone. 

As an entertainer and with so many entertainer friends, when we are at parties, we inevitably find ourselves standing around the piano singing for each other. That was the feel I had at Jones' show last night. It was as if we were in his living room and he got up to sing for us. He is personable, open, and willing to share his music with absolutely no barriers. He worked that room like no other singer I have ever seen at Feinstein's, leaving the stage at various intervals and playing to every nook and cranny in the place! He is a true entertainer in every since of the word. There are great singers who know how to put a song across with absolutely no connection with the audience and/or the material they are singing. Then there are "singers" who don't have great voices but they know how to touch their audiences.
How wonderful it is when you get the total package. total package!
Last night and through Saturday night, You GET the Jack Jones is featuring songs from his greatest hits tour and his latest CD, Love Ballad which is on sale at Feinstein's.

Jack Jones performs around the globe to sold-out audiences in venues ranging from performing arts centers to the London Palladium. His album, Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett was also nominated for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance." His hit records include The Race Is On, Lady, Call Me Irresponsible, and What I Did For Love. With over 50 recorded albums (17 of them charting Billboard's Top 20) and consistently sold-out world world tours, Jack Jones continues to charm audiences with his wit, sensitivity and vocal power.
His latest album, Love Ballad, is currently being distributed by Aspen Records and is available on all leading digital and mobile platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, EMusic, and Napster, among others.

All shows at Feinstein's have a $60.00 cover, with $75.00 premium seats and $95.00 upfront seats available, and an additional $40.00 food and beverage minimum.
Feinstein's at Loews Regency is located at 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street in New York City.  212-339-4095 or FeinsteinsLoewsRegency.com.

Here is Sandi Durell's review from the Times Square Chronicles. Note how we use the same adjectives:

“I am a singer. . .” croons Mr. Jones as he makes an unannounced appearance on the stage at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency. After a few moments, however, he’s in his stride; the full headed white mane was ready to rumble. At the tender age of 74, his voice is full bodied and he’s eager to show off his abilities of fine breath control with many long sustained notes punctuating impeccable phrasing throughout the one and half hour show.

Songs from his latest album Love Ballad are a compilation of his greatest hits tour, including the best of the Great American Songbook such as “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” giving saxophone great Houston Person the opportunity to wail in a solo, “Just One of Those Things,” in double time, or “You Made Me Love You,” all allowing Mr. Jones the latitude to boast how good his upper register and falsetto sound.  His casual approach aims to please as he frequently roams the room acknowledging all, while he sings.
 Loosening his tie and removing his jacket, he does his Wayne Newton thing, expressing his love for Brian Wilson’s classic “God Only Knows” – - slow, easy as the instrumentals build to a determination. Matt Dennis’ classic “Angel Eyes” was slow and steamy; “You’ve Changed,” a quiet tender interpretation.

With a short time spent reflecting on his younger years and how he got started in the business, the evening was all about singing the songs and his superb delivery of the lyrics. 
But what would an evening with Jack Jones be without his iconic Grammy winning David/Bacharach “Wives and Lovers,” or “The Love Boat Theme,” or reliving his role as Don Quixote and “The Impossible Dream,” each getting their own oohs, aahs and intermittent standing ovations from an admiring opening night crowd.
Jack Jones is a specialty interpreter of songs, weaving the intricate lyrics of love, life and dreams. “Here’s To Life!”
Jack Jones appears at Feinstein’s with music director Lou Forestieri on piano, Chris Colangelo on bass, Kendall Kay on drums, Patrick Tuzzolimo, on guitar and Houston Person on saxophone thru June 30^th.

*Photos by Stephen Sorokoff


Thank you to Jack Jones for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!

With grateful XOXOXs ,

Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly!  If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!
Do you have any pics? If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED.  FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!

Join me and Ron Young! (original cast of Hello, Dolly!)

June 29
7-9pm

BARNES AND NOBLE UPPER EAST SIDE, 150 East 86th Street

RICHARD SKIPPER CELEBRATES Ronald Young!

In his new memoir, "The Only Boy Who Danced: A Journey from Oklahoma to Broadway and Beyond", Ronald Young details an eventful life in the theater.  
The Only Boy Who Danced: A Journey from Oklahoma to Broadway and Beyond.

Sometimes Broadway dreams do come true. Fresh from the obscurity of living in the small farming community of Grove, Oklahoma, Ronald Young, at 22, is catapulted onto New York City's "Great White Way"... BROADWAY. 
After arriving in Manhattan on a Friday, he auditions for his first Broadway show on Monday. Bingo! After three call back auditions he snags his first dancing role in the soon to be mega hit HELLO, DOLLY! directed and choreographed by Gower Champion and starring Carol Channing. Armed with three music degrees and lots of enthusiasm he embarks on his career on Broadway.
His resume includes working with some of the legends of the theater: Ethel Merman, Shirley Booth, Angela Lansbury, Tommy Tune, Bernadette Peters, Joel Gray, Chita Rivera, Sandy Duncan, Georgia Engel and many others. He appeared in a host of shows: "MAME," "GEORGE M!" "THE BOY FRIEND," "MY ONE AND ONLY," "A CHORUS LINE" and the films "HAIR" and "ANNIE."

"THE ONLY BOY WHO DANCED" is a series of compelling, riveting stories about Ronald Young's personal quest to make it on Broadway. If you or a friend have hidden aspirations to make it on the New York theatrical scene, you will enjoy his tips and suggestions on how to break through this tough barrier.
Richard Skipper and Ronald Young are sitting down for an exploration of Ronald's incredible career in show business. 

Email Richard at Richard@RichardSkipper.com for more info



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Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com                            

 
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!