It’s a wonder that Michael Feinstein’s hands aren't burning as a result of all the torches he’s juggling. His latest archival entry pays further homage to singing legend Frank Sinatra. It is Act II of The Sinatra Project, which he started in 2008.

Feinstein is not the first artist to take on the iconic songs made famous by Sinatra. But in an age of mindless music and more mindless artists, he is a gift—as is this album. Noting in his liner notes that this installment “is really about Sinatra—and his friends. It’s about the people he influenced and the people who influenced him.” This lot includes the singer/pianist, with full orchestra, reinterpreting songs made famous by the likes of Ray Charles, Rosemary Clooney, Duke Ellington, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peggy Lee, for starters. It’s also no accident that by design and with such lush arrangements, it tips the hat to arranger/orchestrator Nelson Riddle whom Sinatra worked with extensively in the 1950s and ‘60s. Here, producer/arranger Bill Elliot has done a masterful job reworking these chestnuts along with Feinstein in what may be his finest recorded effort to date in terms of musicianship and concept. This marks the Grammy nominee’s 28th album release.

As in the past, Feinstein fuses the familiar with relatively obscure material on this 12-track album that includes Sinatra signatures like “Luck Be a Lady,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Sway.” Most are given full throttle big band treatments. However, a minimalist treatment of “I’ll Be Around” is a particular highlight. Here, Feinstein does what he does best—weaving an intimate, expressive tune using his supple baritone. Through the years, he has evolved from a mellow crooner to a singer who can now belt and swing with the best of them when he chooses. But it is on the more personalized ballads that he truly excels and sounds most comfortable. This is particularly evident on a well-structured reading of “The Good Life,” made famous by Tony Bennett in 1962. “Thirteen Women” is a 1954 rarity initially recorded by rock ‘n’ roller Bill Haley on the flip side of his huge hit “Rock Around the Clock.” Feinstein quipped, “”Thirteen Women” is an example of taking a rock ‘n’ roll song and giving it more legitimacy with a big band arrangement. That’s the sort of thing Sinatra would also do with songs.” “C’est Comme ça!,” co-written by Ellington and Marshall Barer, is a gem (written for the 1966 Broadway flop Pousse-Café). It is moments like this, brought to life, that realize this conceptual album in the best of taste. Featuring some of the finest musicians working today, the album is a must-have for connoisseurs of the American Songbook and collectors everywhere.

John Hoglund
Cabaret Scenes
November 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org