Four time Grammy nominee, singer/pianist Michael Feinstein is set to to release his 24th album, The Sinatra Project, through Concord Records September 2, 2008. The new album is a tribute to "The Chairman of the Board" himself, Frank Sinatra and is Feinstein's first recorded tribute to another performer. With the help of producer-arranger Bill Elliott, Feinstein realized he wanted to record an album of great romantic songs that had been sung by "Ol' Blue Eyes".
"For years I've had the desire to celebrate Sinatra's musical sensibilities, but I have no desire to copy the classic songs that he rendered better than anyone else. I wanted to create an album that would explore his style of singing and his style of music," comments Feinstein. To that end, the dynamic duo decided to record the album as they would have fifty years ago, in the famous last surviving recording studio from the days of stereo, Capital Studio A in Hollywood. "We set up the recording sessions the way they were done back in the day, with the entire band in one room, drums next to the trumpets and saxes, using only a handful of microphones to capture the warmth and depth of the music," added Elliott.
The album is comprised of classics such as "Fools Rush In," "I've Got a Crush on You," "At Last Love," "Exactly Like you," and many more. Feinstein not only pays homage to Sinatra, but to many of his contemporaries, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat "King" Cole, Rosemary Clooney and other great singers of the post-war, pre-rock years. They even called upon Sinatra's favorite songwriting duo Alan and Marilyn Bergman to consult as Feinstein recorded "The Same, Hello, the Same Goodbye" originally written for Sinatra.
Michael Feinstein started playing the piano by ear when he was five; he moved to Los Angeles when he was 20 and was introduced to the great lyricist Ira Gershwin by the widow of the legendary concert pianist-actor, Oscar Levant. Feinstein became Gershwin's assistant for six years, archiving the extensive Gershwin works and gaining unprecedented access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded. After launching his own career he was spotted by Liza Minnelli who was so impressed with the young musician, she helped launch his career.
Feinstein became a household name after his Broadway show, Isn't It Romantic, which opened in 1986. Through his live performances, recordings, film and TV appearances and his song writing (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins and Carole Bayer Sager), he has become one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song.
Dubbed "Ambassador of the Great American Songbook", Feinstein has played all around the world from Buckingham Palace to the White House. He will kick off the release of his new album with 6 special performances at his notable venue Feinstein's at Loews Regency in New York City, September 2nd - September 6th, 2008.
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