NY Philharmonic Frank Sinatra Tribute

Stars ranging from Christina Aguilera (the Princess of Pop) to Bernadette Peters interpreted songs made famous by a man born in Hoboken, New Jersey almost 100 years ago to the day.  Sinatra: Voice For A Century was a night long on talent at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center on Thursday, December 3rd, 2015.  Seth MacFarlane hosted the event and he displayed his trademark humor while concisely telling Sinatra’s life story.  MacFarlane is an excellent narrator as a gig hosting the Oscars would suggest so solid ground there.  However as a fan of MacFarlane’s work on Family Guy and American Dad as well as Ted, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the voice of Brian the Dog (among so many others) sing.

My fears were misplaced as MacFarlane is an outstanding vocalist and clearly a devotee of Mr. Sinatra.  His new album No One Ever Tells You, to say nothing of its cover, are proof of that.  The night was a triumph for him as well as for choreographer Joshua Bergasse, conductor Alan Gilbert, and co-directors Lonnie Price and Matt Cowart.  The show was well paced and dancing complemented the music without competing with it.  Sting and Chris Botti teaming up was a highlight of the evening.  They have excellent chemistry as they’ve performed together at Chris Botti’s residencies at The Blue Note.   My regrets on not getting contributors such as Fantasia or the Broadway talent like Sutton Foster, Kyle Dean Massey, and Billy Porter into the video.  You’ll enjoy their talents along with the rest if you tune in to the PBS TV-13 in New York telecast next Friday December the 18th.  Otherwise check your local (PBS) listing as they say… This is not to be confused with another nifty Sinatra tribute that was on TV this past Sunday night.

An embarrassment of concert riches this 2014 summer in NYC from the NY Philharmonic to John Hiatt to Dinosaur Jr. to Jack White to Spoon…

This past Friday night was gorgeous and the NY Philharmonic symphony orchestra were in excellent form in Central Park.