As I’ve said at least twice in the New York Sun already, Jack Jones, like Tony Bennett, is one of the last of the great old school pop-jazz singers who are still performing at the top of their game. Tonight is his last night at The Oak Room. I heartily recommend him, especially if you’ve never seen him live. (There is a link to my full review at the bottom of this page.)
Here is a song list (from the opening night):
I Am A Singer (Gerard Kenny)
Gypsies, Jugglers And Clowns (Mel Mandel/Norman Sachs)
Where Is Love (Lionel Bart)
She Loves Me (Sheldon Bock – Jerry Harnick)
Don’t You Quit Now (Johnny Mercer – Jimmy Rowles)
Love Of My Life (by an un-named friend of Mr. Jones)
Stranger In Paradise (Borodin – Wright – Forest)
It Amazes Me (Coleman – Leigh)
Just In Time (Styne – Comden – Green)
One At A Time (Legrand – Bergman – Bergman)
Wives And Lovers (Bacharach – David)
Call Me Irresponsible (Cahn – Van Heusen)
A Song For You (Leon Russell)
Just One Of Those Things (in 3/4)
Adio Como Teamo (How Much I love You) (Domenico Modugno)
Falling In Love With Love (Hart – Rodgers)
We’ll Be Together Again (Laine – Fischer)
Love Is Here To Stay (Gershwin – Gershwin)
Encore: Gershwin Medley
One more thing: I actually grew up with the song ?Wives And Lovers? via the Frank Sinatra version, on his famous second album with Count Basie, It Might As Well Be Swing. I didn’t hear the Jones version, which was the original hit, until many years later. As is well known, the Jones version, as written by Burt Bacharach, is a swinging waltz. Well, I hadn’t played the Sinatra-Basie version for a long time. Then, after hearing Jack Jones sing it again – he does it now as an even more jazzy waltz, sort of a la Bill Evans – I felt like listening to the Sinatra. I remembered that Sinatra didn’t do it as a waltz (he only rarely sang in waltz time) – but to my surprise, he sings it not in _ or 4/4 but in 2/4! It’s kind of a classic Jimmie Lunceford two-beat. And it works that way, it really swings. That’s the amazing thing about Sinatra, or any great music, every time you listen again, you hear something new.
