Jack Jones: A Master Class in Excellence!

I hope this finds you all in a good mood. IF you are not, get thee as fast as you can to Feinstein’s before the week is over to hear and see a singer at the top of his game, Jack Jones. Jack Jones is a double Grammy award winning jazz and pop singer and with good reason. He’s great! I’m a huge fan. I was one of the lucky ones to experience Jack Jones at his opening last night which also happens to be his Feinstein’s debut. Feinstein’s at Loews Regency is the nightclub proclaimed “Best of New York” by New York Magazine and “an invaluable New York institution” by The New York Post. I saw Mr. Jones probably about five years ago at the now defunct Oak Room at the Algonquin.The New York Times raved about that engagement saying, ” Mr. Jones sang to a packed house…delivered a kind of master class (see, I told you!) in traditional nightclub performance: suave but intimate, alternately preening and humble, seemingly casual but seamlessly professional.” Great minds think alike! I enjoyed him then but I think Feinsteins, one of my favorite rooms in town, is the perfect place for one of my favorite singers.
Born John Allan Jones, the only son of actors Allan Jones and Irene Hervey. Jack Jones was born in Los Angeles on the very night that his father recorded his signature song “Donkey Serenade” (a fact that once prompted talkshow host Mike Douglas to say to him: “I won’t ask what your middle name is”). The young Jones attended University High School in West Los Angeles and studied drama and singing. The Wall Street Journal says “he’s the most thoroughly musical and constantly creative, having learned the lessons of Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, that playing with a tune can be a way of personalizing it, making the lyrics resonate all the more meaningfully. Somehow, he achieves the near-impossible feat of being breathlessly intimate while belting at the top of his lungs.” “The cabaret community in New York is a very tight knit community of singers who are truly supportive of each other. However, it saddens me that I rarely see them in the audiences of the masters. Jack Jones is a master of song interpretation. From the moment that he made his way to the stage singing an understated opening song about being a singer joined by five top notch musicians, he had the entire sold out audience in the palm of his hands…and we remained there through the end with the audience begging for more. Music director is Lou Forestieri on piano, Chris Colangelo on bass, Kendall Kay on drums and Nyack’s own Houston Person an saxophone.
As an entertainer and with so many entertainer friends, when we are at parties, we inevitably find ourselves standing around the piano singing for each other. That was the feel I had at Jones’ show last night. It was as if we were in his living room and he got up to sing for us. He is personable, open, and willing to share his music with absolutely no barriers. He worked that room like no other singer I have ever seen at Feinstein’s, leaving the stage at various intervals and playing to every nook and cranny in the place! He is a true entertainer in every since of the word. There are great singers who know how to put a song across with absolutely no connection with the audience and/or the material they are singing. Then there are “singers” who don’t have great voices but they know how to touch their audiences. How wonderful it is when you get the total package. total package!
Last night and through Saturday night, You GET the Jack Jones is featuring songs from his greatest hits tour and his latest CD, Love Ballad which is on sale at Feinstein’s.
Jack Jones performs around the globe to sold-out audiences in venues ranging from performing arts centers to the London Palladium. His album, Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett was also nominated for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.” His hit records include The Race Is On, Lady, Call Me Irresponsible, and What I Did For Love. With over 50 recorded albums (17 of them charting Billboard’s Top 20) and consistently sold-out world world tours, Jack Jones continues to charm audiences with his wit, sensitivity and vocal power. His latest album, Love Ballad, is currently being distributed by Aspen Records and is available on all leading digital and mobile platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, EMusic, and Napster, among others.
All shows at Feinstein’s have a $60.00 cover, with $75.00 premium seats and $95.00 upfront seats available, and an additional $40.00 food and beverage minimum. Feinstein’s at Loews Regency is located at 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street in New York City. 212-339-4095 or FeinsteinsLoewsRegency.com.