TORME SINGS TORME. Steve Torme Pays Tribute To His Legendary Father At The McCallum Theatre

StEve March Tormé, the first-born son of legendary jazz singer Mel Tormé presents a magical evening of music and memories on Monday, February 6, at 8:00pm at the McCallum Theatre. StEve March Tormé, accompanied by a ten-piece band playing iconic arrangements by Marty Paich, sings his father's best-known songs, interspersed with personal Tormé photos and video clips.

From the opening strains of "Sweet Georgia Brown" to the up-tempo excitement of Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing," the concert covers a sweeping arc of many of the songs Mel performed over a 50 years plus career, including "Stardust," "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square," "Lulu's Back in Town," and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill."

Interspersed between the tunes are stories from Steve about his father, their relationship, and what it is like to carry on the Tormé legacy. And make no mistake, the one constant highlight throughout the show is not only the showmanship and easy personality of StEve March-Torme, but especially his voice, which has been described as "seductive," "remarkable," "extraordinary," "effortless," "joyous," "infallible" and "superb" by music critics worldwide, including Howard Reich of the Chicago Sun-Times, Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times, Peter Vacher of the London Jazz News and Chris Collins, Executive Director of the Detroit Jazz Festival.

"Tormé Sings Tormé' is an evening of great music, humor, heartfelt stories and most of all, a very talented son's reverence for his legendary father.

StEve March Tormé has electrified audiences in venues from the ?Detroit Jazz Festival? to the ?McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert,? to the Smith Center in Las Vegas, and from London to Japan, Australia to Brazil and Canada.

It seems an obvious choice that Steve would enter the family business, but he discovered his love for music almost by accident. Steve was born in New York to Mel Tormé and Candy Tockstein. They divorced when Steve was young, and Candy married Hal March, known as the host of "The $64,000 Question" and his starring role on Broadway in Come Blow Your Horn.

A baseball player and fan growing up in New York., Steve's dream was to play for the Yankees. He listened to games on the radio and then switched to Top 40 music stations and sang along with such artists as The Four Seasons, Ricky Nelson, and Gene Pitney. With his ear for harmonies, his favorite quickly became, and remains, The Beatles. By the age of 12, he knew he wanted to be a performer, and at 13 he fronted his own band. After his family moved to Beverly Hills, he continued to develop as a musician and his influences grew to include Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, and Steely Dan.

Steve recorded his first LP, Lucky, supporting it with a 20-city tour. Returning to California, he produced and sang on Liza Minnelli's release Tropical Nights. Following Lucky, Steve received a phone call from jazz critic Leonard Feather, inquiring if he would audition for a vocal group that Leonard's daughter, Lorraine Feather, was starting with Charlotte Crossley of The Harlettes. The recommendation came from Quincy Jones who'd heard Steve at a Hollywood Bowl tribute to Henry Mancini. Steve sang "Serenade in Blue" and "Blue Suede Shoes" for producer Richard Perry and Joel Silver and got the gig as the male voice in the trio Full Swing. The debut album Full Swingwas followed with tours of Brazil and Japan. Another Full Swing highlight was singing with his father, Mel, at the Kool Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. Steve sang the lead on Mel's arrangement of "What Is This Thing Called Love," previously performed by the Meltones. After Richard Perry sold Planet Records, Steve left the group to pursue a solo career.

Steve worked as an actor, playing the male lead in a mini-series for RAI (Italian) Television, and appeared on U.S. variety television shows. He spent three years as the vocalist on "$100,000 Name That Tune" and hosted two Los Angeles-based television shows, "Video 22" (a precursor to MTV) and "Box Office America."

Steve's first solo project after Full Swing was his CD Swingin' at the Blue Moon Bar & Grille. It featured a duet between Steve and Mel ("Straighten Up and Fly Right") and an improvised scat lesson between father and son. The Night I Fell for You followed, featuring "On the Street Where You Live" and a number of Steve's original tunes, many penned with longtime collaborator, pianist and musical conductor Steve Rawlins. His next release was The Essence of Love, a collection of romantic standards, including "Blue Skies," "Stardust," and a duet with Diane Schuur on "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else." His CD So Far combines the most popular material from his first three CDs into one "best of" recording.

Steve's CD Inside/out goes back to his roots as a singer/songwriter; he not only sings but also plays keyboards and guitar. Inside/out includes cleverly written homages to Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren and Joni Mitchell.

Steve performs backed by configurations ranging from trio to symphony orchestras, from intimate jazz clubs to performing arts centers and festivals. Because an interest exists in hearing Steve sing the songs his dad was known for, he did a 28-city tour, Tormé Sings Tormé. Steve pays tribute to his father in a show featuring a ten-piece band, playing the arrangements penned exclusively for Mel, and a multimedia presentation of photos and video clips. The Hi-Def, 5.1 Surround Sound version of Tormé Sings Tormé won Best Music Dual Disc at the EMX DVD Awards Show in Los Angeles.

In addition to performing and recording, Steve hosts his own radio show on the Music of Your Life network. He is the weekday afternoon host on 91.1 FM The Avenue in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and ?KVYL-FM Vinyl? in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He can also be heard every Monday morning on KVYL-FM at 9 a.m. Mountain Time for a sports segment called "Mondays with March-Tormé."

Tickets for this performance are $77, $57, $47 and $27. Tickets are available at the Theatre's website at www.mccallumtheatre.com or by calling the McCallum Theatre Box Office at (760) 340-ARTS.

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