Interview: A VERY SPECIAL Michael Feinstein Brings An EVENING WITH ELLA & FRANK And a Lifetime of Great Classics

Song master Michael Feinstein will duet with songstress Freda Payne in a tribute to two song greats - A Very Special Evening with Ella and Frank - June 7th and 8th at Feinstein's At Vitello's.

The very busy Michael graciously took some time to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Michael!

Thank you very much for wanting to interview me.

I last interviewed you in 2001 when I was managing editor of Genre magazine. A lot has changed for you in the most positive sense since then. You have four name-sake supper clubs (Feinstein's/54 Below, Feinstein's At the Nikko, Feinstein's At Vitello's and Feinstein's At Hotel Carmichael). Your first, Feinstein's at the Regency you shuttered in 2013. Any future plans to expand to more cities?

We've been talking about creating a room in Sydney, Australia for quite some time. It advanced pretty far and then the shutdown of the world took care of it for the moment. Hoping to realize that soon. So, there might be a Feinstein's in Sydney.

Your Rolodex must be brimming with a Who's Who of singers. Do you have a hand in some of the bigger name bookings? Or do you delegate bookings to the individual venues?

I do not individually book any of the clubs that bear my name. However, it is part and parcel of my involvement with the rooms that the people who perform there reflect my personal taste and sensibilities that has always been crucial for me. So, I have helped to secure some of the performers to work there and I've made suggestions and brainstormed with the different people who book the clubs. That's something that I love to do.

What inspired you to create a show of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald for yourself and Freda Payne?

Freda Payne is a dazzlingly gifted singer, and most people don't know that she started her career singing standards and jazz. I saw her doing an Ella Fitzgerald show that I thought was one of the best tributes to Ella I have ever seen because it evoked a sense of Ella, but it also was 100% Freda Payne at the same time. She's one of the few contemporary singers who can genuinely spontaneously scat on the same level of brilliance that Ella Fitzgerald did. And I say that without hyperbole.

One of the great lovers of the art of Ella Fitzgerald was Frank Sinatra. A number of years ago I saw a video of Frank and Ella dueting to "The Lady Is a Tramp," so I thought since Freda was going to be doing this gig with me, it just seemed like a no-brainer to put together this duo tribute.

When did you and Freda first collaborate?

Freda and I first met and collaborated sometime in the 1980s we were booked to do a private event in Houston. We haven't worked together all that much in the intervening years, but we did do a memorable show in Palm Springs at the McCallem theater a few years ago.

You've been Ambassador to The Great American Songbook Foundation since you founded it in 2007. What accomplishments of the Foundation are you most proud of?

The Great American Songbook Foundation was created originally to preserve all the artifacts that I have amassed through the years so that it can be shared with and preserved for other people.

Certainly, I have to say the two things I'm most proud of with the (given that we are an archive and are creating what I think will be a dazzling museum for American popular song) is that we have a program called Perfect Harmony, which helps people with dementia and Alzheimer's, and at the other end of the spectrum, we have a program that is our Sound Academy. It is our yearly week-long songbook intensive where forty high school students from all over the United States come to our headquarters in Indiana and participate in this week-long workshop where they learn so much about interpreting this classic music with mentors and guides and dazzling performers from Hollywood and Broadway. It is among the most gratifying things I've ever done.

How do you juggle all your many artistic director positions and conducting commitments all over the U.S.?

Hmmm? Well, it's all about being in the moment. Focusing on the task at hand for me loving what I do. So, it is at chance taxing but by on every level, that's a privilege problem.

You made your conducting debut in 2012 as the Principal Pops Conductor for the Pasadena Symphony. When did you decide to add conducting to your musical resume?

Well, that came in 2011 when I was asked by the management of the Pasadena POPS Orchestra if I would take over the post of Marvin Hamlisch because Marvin died suddenly and tragically. I was in no position to do that because I've never been a conductor. But they're persuaded me to try it. I said this is an experiment. I don't know if it'll work. I'm willing to try it. Happily, it was successful. In the last decade I've learned more about conducting and I feel that I'm a decent conductor now. So, I love doing it.

What gives you the most gratification? Performing live? Recording in a studio? Conducting an orchestra?

The most gratification, I have to serve that performing live and recording studio are equally gratifying in different ways. also conducting even though that is a newer pursuit.

Any particular one song you never get tired of performing?

I'd have to say a Gershwin song "Isn't It a Pity." I love that song. I first recorded it with Rosemary Clooney, and I think of her every time I do.

You've performed in a variety of venues. Is there a venue you haven't that you would love to regale the audience at?

Well, it's always about the connection with the audience. But I'd love to do the Montreux Jazz Festival. That would be that would be a heck of a lot of fun.

What's in the near future for Michael Feinstein?

I'm starting to write more music. I'm actually constantly thinking of ways to connect music and spirituality and bring that to people in a different fashion. I don't know exactly what that means, but music is a very powerful healing force. And I feel that we need it more now than ever. So, it's my approach or a privilege to be able to bring it to people in my own small way.

Thank you again, Michael! I look forward to experiencing you live with Freda at Feinstein's At Vitello's.

Thank you!

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