32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com MUSIC It’s a fitting coincidence that “Because of You,” Michael Feinstein’s tribute to the timeless crooner Tony Bennett—which kicks off the Sunset Center’s 20242025 season—takes place Sept. 13. The date is only two weeks before the 67th annual Monterey Jazz Festival. Notwithstanding his late life crossover success with Lady Gaga, and other pop icons, “Tony Bennett considered himself a jazz singer,” says Feinstein, who debuted the Bennett homage earlier at Carnegie Hall this spring and is taking it on the road. He’ll be accompanied in Carmel by the seven-piece Carnegie Hall Ensemble. “Towards the end of his career, he preferred to work with a jazz trio or small group as opposed to a big band or orchestra,” Feinstein observes. The producers at Columbia Records made him into a pop star, but he wanted from the outset to do jazz albums. “It was his son [and manager] Danny who put him together with the pop singers,” Feinstein adds. “He never changed his style. Even when he made his comeback on MTV’s Unplugged, he performed in a suit.” The multi-tasking Feinstein— he’s also the pops conductor for the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Palladium Center of the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana—first met Bennett in 1983, through Rosemary Clooney, a neighbor of lyricist Ira Gershwin, whom Feinstein was working for as an archivist at the time. Clooney sponsored a benefit that Bennett appeared in. “Tony called me because he was interested in performing a little-known Gershwin tune, and invited me to look him up in New York,” Feinstein recalls. “I was just a kid, but he took me around me to his favorite music places.” Later on, Bennett sat in on one of Feinstein’s Loews Regency residency gigs and the two duetted on “Just In Time”—a standard he’s sure to cover at Sunset Center along with Bennett’s greatest hit, “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” “He had an ability to connect with people that was born out of his life experience,” Feinstein says of Bennett’s delivery. Bennett grew up in poverty. A World War II tour of duty included liberating a concentration camp. “He was not afraid to show emotions that you didn’t often see in a male singer at that time.” Michael Feinstein and the Carnegie Ensemble. 7:30pm, Sept. 13. Sunset Center, San Carlos and 9th, Carmel. $70-$125. 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org. STEPHEN SOROKOFF Heart Felt Michael Feinstein’s deeply personal homage to Tony Bennett opens Sunset Center’s season. By Paul Wilner Michael Feinstein channels the spirit of Tony Bennett—including the celebrity’s affection for formal wear—in a tribute concert in Carmel. GLAMOUR PUSS! Hi there, I’m Mabel and I’m 11-years young at heart! I have had a recent glow up and photo shoot and this look is purrfect! My gorgeous calico fur and amber eyes are just gleaming with love for that special person that gives me my second chance on a new beginning. My fans would describe me as playful, affectionate, and a HUGE cuddle bug. I still long for a loving furrever home where I can be the main attraction soaking up all the attention you have to offer. If you would like to sponsor our next ad, please call us at 831-200-9232 or email info@gocatrescue.org. PO Box 683 Monterey, CA 93942 831.200.9700 www.gocatrescue.org
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