If you’re ever wondering what made Frank Sinatra the most influential jazz vocalist (even though he always referred to himself as “a saloon singer”), just get a load of this dvd, which has him at two important zeniths of his career.
The first one is a 1962 black and white recording of his performance before the royal crown in London. His teamed with arguably his best combo made up of Bill Miller/p, Al Viola/g, Emil Richards/vib, Ralph Pena/b, Irv Cottler/dr and Harry Klee/ts-cl-fl. Slim, sleek and preternaturally hip, Sinatra makes each song a delivery by Pagliacci as he acts out swinging takes of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and “Imagination.” He shows amazing breath control as he delivers the chorus of “Moonlight In Vermont” without inhaling, while reaching for and grabbing the stars in “Day In, Day Out.” His lonely heart read of “One For My Baby” is complete with burning cigarette, and the collection of encores includes a delightful “Nancy (With The Laughing Face).” Stunning and essential.
Fast forward about 20 years and 30 pounds, and you get Sinatra at Carnegie Hall backed by a full orchestra. In support of his famous Trilogy album, he amazingly only repeats a handful of songs from the UK gig. His voice is a bit more brash, and he’s acting out the songs a bit more, and he gets close to becoming a caricature of his image, but his sense of timing and swing, complete with Rat Pack attitude, make takes of “The Lady Is A Tram,” “Come Fly With Me” and the stomping “New York, New York” a perfect portrait of the great one’s last apotheosis. If you don’t get this dvd, you must like jazz for the drum solos.