YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Frank Sinatra’s songs are meant to be delivered by a singer with some swagger and a full orchestra that makes them more grand.
That’s what the audience will hear Friday when guest artist Tony DeSare joins the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra in concert at Stambaugh Auditorium.
DeSare is bringing his “Sinatra and Beyond” show, in which he sings the greatest songs of Ol’ Blue Eyes, plus a few others. He’ll also play a grand piano that will be set in front of the orchestra.
The show won’t be an impersonation of Sinatra; that’s not what DeSare does. Instead, it will be a salute to the iconic artist by someone who has a similar style.
DeSare has been doing the show with orchestras in concert halls around the country for a decade, but this will be his first time in Youngstown.
He has created other piano-centric shows that he performs with orchestras, including one that features the music of Billy Joel. But “Sinatra and Beyond” has been the biggest crowd pleaser.
DeSare talked about the show during a recent phone interview.
“The idea was to celebrate Sinatra’s artistry without being an impersonator of him,” he said. “I sing very similarly to Frank Sinatra. We have a similar kind of voice. But I wanted to make a show for the 21st century to frame where his work sits with the icons.”
He pointed out that Sinatra in his prime was a pop superstar on the level of Elvis Presley or the Beatles.
DeSare throws a few of his originals into the show to give it some variety, but even those songs complement the Sinatra style.
“I want the longtime Sinatra fan and also the person that doesn’t really know much about Sinatra other than ‘New York, New York’ to really appreciate it,” he said.
DeSare’s on-stage style is also similar to Sinatra’s during his heyday in the 1950s and ’60s. He brings the audience into the nightclub setting of that era, telling stories in a relaxed style.
As for the songs, they are delivered as Sinatra would do them.
“This is music that’s meant to be played live by an orchestra,” DeSare said. “It’s one of the few genres where a live orchestra and pop music really combined so well, because that was when pop music was made by a live orchestra.”
Hearing Sinatra sing live in those days sounded like listening to one of his records.
That’s because the recording process was a lot simpler then. The producer didn’t overlap separately recorded tracks to build a complete and perfect recording, as it is done today.
“They recorded all those records live in the studio with the orchestra playing with him, and him singing at the same time,” DeSare said. “That is kind of a lost art, because albums are made much, much differently today. They were capturing a live performance [in the studio].”
In Friday’s concert at Stambaugh, DeSare will sing a number of Sinatra hits, including “Come Fly with Me,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “It Was a Very Good Year,” “One for My Baby,” “The Summer Wind,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Night and Day,” “New York, New York” and “My Way.”
The show will start at 7:30 p.m., with Erik Ochsner, YSO music director and conductor, on the podium.
For tickets, click HERE.
Pictured at top: Tony DeSare will perform his “Sinatra and Beyond” show with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on Friday.