Review: Michael Feinstein's STANDARD TIME Celebrates Mathis & Mancini at Carnegie Hall

Cabaret legend Michael Feinstein returned to Zankel Hall on June 18 for his latest Standard Time concert, My Celebration: The Magical Music of Johnny Mathis and Henry Mancini. Feinstein was accompanied by the Carnegie Hall Big Band, with his usual trio of pianist/arranger Tedd Firth, bassist David Finck and drummer Mark McLean, along with guitarist Matt Munisteri, comprised the rhythm section, supplemented by 13 additional cats in the reed and brass sections.

This concert had originally been scheduled for April, but was rescheduled due to a bout of laryngitis. Feinstein was in fine voice for this concert. Henry Mancini composed the music where only a lyricist is mentioned below.

The big band started up with a smokin’ hot arrangement of Mancini’s legendary Peter Gunn theme before Feinstein appeared for a brassy rendition of “Le Jazz Hot” from Victor/Victoria (lyrics by Leslie Bricusse), including the verse with only Munisteri on guitar, with McLean channeling Gene Krupa. Feinstein jumped to an early Mathis hit, “Wonderful Wonderful” (Sherman Edwards/Ben Raleigh) with a thrilling, even brassier arrangement.

Feinstein was close to both Mancini, who passed away in 1994 at 70, and Mathis, who is still alive but retired from performing last year. Both giants in the music business since the 1950s, the two began collaborating as early as 1962, though their only collaborative album was the 1986 The Hollywood Musicals. Mathis did, however, record at least 16 songs written by Mancini, many of which were covered in this concert.

The stunning “Two For the Road,” also written with Leslie Bricusse, was the favorite song both writers ever wrote. Here, with Feinstein at the piano, his magical voice wrapped itself around the listener like a giant hug with impeccable phrasing, while his hands provided lush voicings that took us with him on this musical road trip.

As always, Feinstein peppered his patter with insightful, funny anecdotes about Mathis and Mancini, with many quick, off-the-cuff quips.

Feinstein and the band paid homage to the Sinatra/Riddle arrangement of “Days of Wine and Roses,” with Feinstein’s softer approach to essentially the same chart.

In a nostalgic segment, Feinstein covered some of Mathis’ earliest (non-Mancini) hits, many of which were so new to him that just to make sure he didn’t “screw up,” he declared, “I’m cheating,” with lyrics in front of him. Here, he performed “It’s Not for Me to Say” and “Chances Are” (both by Robert Allen/Al Stillman). The latter song, in 1957, made Mathis a big star after singing the song live on The Ed Sullivan Show. Later in the set, Feinstein performed a lovely, gentle solo piano and voice rendition of “The Twelfth of Never” (Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster) from this period.

Johnny Mercer, in a period of disillusionment, wrote darker lyrics for “Whistling in the Dark,” which Mancini composed for the film Darling Lili. Feinstein’s connection to the lyric was palpable in this moving waltz, which had some musical elements reminiscent of “Charade.”

Only two years into Mathis’ career, Columbia Records put out “Johnny Mathis’ Greatest Hits,” the very first “greatest hits” album, which, Feinstein noted, is to date the biggest-selling such compilation in history. Included were a pair of songs with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim: “Funny” (composed by Jule Styne) and “Maria” (composed by Leonard Bernstein). Mathis’ stunning 1959 recording of “Maria” is perhaps the definitive commercial recording of the song. While Feinstein did not quite match Mathis’ iconic performance, it was nonetheless a compelling take, with the reed section here on flutes, and garnered a huge reaction from the audience. He told a funny story of Jule Styne’s interference with a recording session, doing a spot-on impersonation of Styne after being told he’d have a heart attack if he didn’t calm down, saying, “I’m not gonna have a heart attack, but I’ll give one!”

Though “Charade” (lyrics by Johnny Mercer) was composed as a waltz, Firth took advantage of the big band to rework it into a swing, with a terrific trumpet solo by Alphonso Horne. Feinstein was at his swinging best here. It was one of the best numbers of the evening.

Towards the end of the set, Feinstein performed a gently swinging “Misty” (an Errol Garner instrumental, with lyrics added by Johnny Burke), one of Mathis’ best recordings. Feinstein related the surprising story of the recording, which was saved for the very end of a long night at the studio. Incredibly, Mathis recorded “Misty” flawlessly in a single take!

A ballad medley of tunes composed by Victor Young, “When I Fall in Love” (lyrics by Edward Heyman) and “My Foolish Heart” (lyrics by Ned Washington) had Feinstein deftly merging the two songs at the end of the piece.

Feinstein closed the show with another waltz, one of Mancini’s most beloved songs, “Moon River” (lyrics by Johnny Mercer). This was another winner in Feinstein’s long-running series. The Carnegie Hall Big Band added greatly to the mix, with a few standouts, including Andy Farber, Brandon Wright and Kellin Hanas, in addition to the previously mentioned Alphonso Horne.

It was a “wonderful, wonderful” night at Zankel Hall.

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For more information about Michael Feinstein, visit www.michaelfeinstein.com.

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