Review: MICHAEL FEINSTEIN: SUMMERTIME SWING! Is a Lesson in Showmanship at Feinstein's 54 Below

Some artists are so good and so successful that their name becomes a brand: Ralph Lauren, Wolfgang Puck, Steven Spielberg, Johnny Carson. Everyone who practices the art of cabaret is in some way trying to catch up to Michael Feinstein. He is the apogee of the art form. Listing his credits would take paragraphs. He is a pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, conductor, archivist, educator, entrepreneur, and great facilitator of other artists. His amazing versatility was on full display last night in his new show Michael Feinstein: SUMMERTIME SWING!, which plays at the club that bears his name, Feinstein's 54 Below, until September 6.

I'm happy to report that SUMMERTIME SWING! is perfectly on-brand. Mr. Feinstein delivers some finely crafted gems from the Great American Songbook with his trademark energy and showmanship. I have seen Feinstein mostly in larger venues, and so the surprising element in this show was to see how intimately he engaged his audience in the cozier quarters of 54 Below. It was truly like being invited into his home. He had some expert help with the party. Mark McClean on drums and David Finck on bass are fantastic musicians. Tedd Firth on the piano was positively on fire in his creativity. The trio was a jazz lover's dream. It is a delight to hear musicians of this caliber do what they do.

Michael Feinstein kicked off his swinging evening appropriately with Jimmy McHugh's "A Most Unusual Day." A couple of songs in, Feinstein replaced Tedd Firth at the piano and sang a song by a lyricist who is special to him, Marshall Barer. The song, "The Time Has Come" was written by Barer after having witnessed a Pride parade. It was a lovingly inspirational tune. He followed this up with a great sing version of Lerner and Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love."

One of the highlights of the evening was two familiar songs by Paul Williams. Mr. Feinstein gave a wonderfully acted version of "We've Only Just Begun" and "You and Me Against the World" before launching into a rousing performance of Hugh Martin's "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis. He gave us a wonderful tribute to the great band singer Jo Stafford with her hit "You Belong to Me."

One of Michael Feinstein's creations is The Great American Songbook Foundation which in addition to preserving American songs, sponsors an Annual High School Songbook Academy. Mr. Feinstein welcomed one of the students from that academy to share her work. Julia Parsaramm, who will soon begin her studies at NYU, gave us a very marvelous reading of the jazz classic, "Misty." It was a very auspicious debut. She is someone to keep your eye on.

Michael Feinstein returned to the Stage with Louis Jordan's "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby." He gave a wonderfully pensive performance of James Taylor's "Don't Let me Be Lonely Tonight" combined with Bacharach and David's "One Less Bell to Answer. " He then took the piano from Tedd Firth again for a special request from the audience, a very impassioned version of Irving Berlin's "I Love a Piano."

The finale of the show was a beautifully constructed medley of nearly a dozen songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, culminating, of course, in "New York, New York." It was a blazing piece of show business savvy that had the audience on its feet. Michael Feinstein is, above all else, a great showman. He gives his audience a lot of bang for their buck. It is great to have him back in front of live audiences and back at Feinstein's 54 Below.

Michael Feinstein: SUMMERTIME SWING is performing at Feinstein's 54 Below Aug. 26-Sep. 6. Tickets are available at 54below.com or by calling 646/476-3551. For more information about Michael Feinstein, please visit michaelfeinstein.com or follow him @MichaelFeinstei on Twitter or @michaelfeinsteinsings on Instagram.

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