Ted Fiorito

Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2016 Popular Song series at the Appel Room ended this year's agenda on June 8 with host Michael Feinstein's appreciation of the interconnection between swing and popular song, a subject about which he's clearly enthusiastic. Each musical era, he suggests, is previewed by a song marking change: “Alexander's Ragtime Band” ushered in ragtime, “Sing, Sing Sing,” prefaced swing, “Rock Around the Clock” heralded rock n' roll. With the able assistance of Musical Director Tedd Firth (also on piano), Firth's Big Band, and special guest vocalists Allyson Briggs, Jeremy Jordan, and Catherine Ross, Feinstein and Co. delivered a lively evening of familiar and eclectic material.