Music lovers at Kean University's Enlow Recital Hall in Hillside, NJ, this Friday, April 25, 2025 evening prove they wanna be around to celebrate the music of the Great American Songbook by attending tonight's sold-out Because of You: My Tribute to Tony Bennett performance by the Grammy-nominated singer and pianist, Michael Feinstein.
The lights dim and Kean Stage manager Steve Cochran welcomes the crowd announcing, “Sit back, relax, and enjoy,” as trumpet players Alphonso Horne and Brian Pareschi, saxophonists Kurt Bacher and Sam Dillon, drummer Mike Klopp, bassist David Fincke, and musical director/pianist Tedd Firth take their places on stage.
The musicians begin to play a rousing rendition of “Strike Up the Band” which features Michael Feinstein’s voice coming from offstage. The audience cheers when Feinstein makes his entrance crooning with style, “There is work to be done, to be done/Let’s have fun, fun, fun!”
Sax and trumpet are featured on the arrangement’s interlude and Feinstein takes a seat at the piano and impresses with his solo playing before vocally holding out the song’s last note to a roar of cheers and applause from the enchanted crowd.
Moving on to a swinging version of “The Best is Yet to Come,” Feinstein sings with finesse and feeling, “The best is yet to come and, babe, won’t it be fine/The best is yet to come, come the day you’re mine.”
The crowd roars and Feinstein welcomes concertgoers to tonight’s show before sharing his memories of times spent with Tony Bennett and providing an overview of Bennett’s career.
Seated at the piano, Feinstein plays the intro to “Once Upon a Time,” crooning the sweet and gentle ballad’s “Once upon a time/A girl with moonlight in her eyes” lyric prior to rendering a cascading piano interlude that builds in intensity until his voice floats in falsetto on the selection’s dreamy coda.
Feinstein recalls that Bennett started his recording career in the 1950s doing both contemporary and older songs. Here, Feinstein performs a number from 1930 which Bennett recorded entitled, “Sing, You Sinners,” his recitative vocal intro leading into a swinging spiritual tune where he tastefully bends notes with his voice. Alphonse Horne is featured on a muted trumpet solo and Sam Dillon contributes a tenor sax solo before Feinstein gets the audience clapping along to the beat and the jazzy ending elicits enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
Moving on a Latin version of “The Way You Look Tonight,” the rhythm section supports Feinstein while he warmly sings, “Someday, when I’m awfully low/When the world is cold/I will feel a glow just thinking of you,” and musical director Tedd Firth renders a cascading piano solo which leads perfectly into the long legato lines of Feinstein’s lead vocal.
Horne’s trumpet and Mike Klopp’s rolling drumbeat introduce a medley of two swinging dance tunes — “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” and “Cheek to Cheek.” After Feinstein sings, “Steppin’ out with my baby/Can’t go wrong ’cause I’m in right,” Horne’s trumpet calls out a growling response. When Feinstein segues into, “Heaven/I’m in heaven/And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak,” the horn section plays accents to compliment Feinstein as he sings and dances while connecting with the crowd.
Feinstein introduces tonight’s musicians prior to launching into a medley of songs from the musicals Kismet and The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd. Standing center stage, Feinstein renders a soft and inviting interpretation of “Who Can I Turn To” accompanied by Firth on piano. As the arrangement swells, the band joins in on a dynamic presentation of “Stranger in Paradise” which includes a Brian Pareschi trumpet solo before segueing back into a dramatic reprise of “Who Can I Turn To.”
After talking about spending time in 1988 with Tony Bennett at Irving Berlin’s 100th Birthday Celebration, Feinstein performs a slow swing interpretation of Johnny Mercer’s “I Wanna Be Around.”
Singing easy and free, Feinstein chants, “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces/When somebody breaks your heart,” and Kurt Bacher contributes an alto sax solo filled with quick runs.
Feinstein explains that although Frank Sinatra made the next number famous with Count Basie’s swing big band arrangement, during his shows, Tony Bennett always presented it in the form of a ballad. On an intimate and emotional version of “Fly Me to the Moon,” Feinstein sings in his soft, legato style, “Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars/Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars,” accompanied solely by Firth on piano with David Fincke tastefully adding bass harmonics to this sparse yet powerful arrangement.
Feinstein’s rich baritone fills the theater on a Latin-influenced rendering of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” which is thematically bookended by the intro and coda from “Manhattan,” Rogers and Hart’s well-known “We’ll have Manhattan/The Bronx and Staten Island, too” tune about New York.
The crowd applauds and Feinstein introduces “the most famous song Tony ever sang,” hinting, “San Francisco made it their city song.” After jokingly belting out, “Start spreading the news…” from “New York, New York,” Feinstein serves up a masterful version of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” which builds up to the final stanza where he commandingly sings, “When I come home to you, San Francisco/Your golden sun will shine for me!” to hoots, hollers, cheers, and applause.
The audience rises and Feinstein exclaims, “Please help me thank the band!” before adding, “We’ve got one more for you,” and he and the ensemble perform a swinging rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in my Life.” Captivating the audience with his clear diction and tone, Feinstein draws listeners into the song’s “For once in my life/I have someone who needs me” message prior to eliciting another standing ovation from the crowd.
After asking, “Do you want one more?” concertgoers respond in the affirmative and Feinstein takes a seat at the piano for an encore of “How Do You Keep the Music Playing.”
Earnestly singing, “How do you keep the music playing?/How do you make it last?/How do you keep the song from fading/Too fast?” Feinstein inspires cheers, applause, and another standing ovation before he and the ensemble take a bow and exit the stage.
As music lovers make their way out of the theater, several share their thoughts on Feinstein’s tribute to Tony Bennett. Exclaims Jim from Union, “It was an excellent performance! Michael did a great job interpreting all the songs; he’s a great entertainer who made this show well worth coming to see.” Bruce from Parsippany concurs, adding, “Michael’s passion and love for the songs he sings and the stories he tells makes one appreciate the Great American Songbook even more.”
Susan from Florham Park exclaims, “Michael Feinstein was fantastic tonight! He has a fabulous voice, I loved his song choices, he has a terrific band, and I loved seeing him at this great venue. Everything about this show was excellent.”
Karen from Florham Park agrees, explaining, “I thought the entire evening was great! Michael was fabulous and the venue is really nice — this is the first time I’ve ever been here and I will definitely be back.”
Declares Marty from Metuchen, “I thought Michael Feinstein was fabulous! He sang Tony Bennett’s songs the way I remembered them, and his band was fabulous, too. Also, the acoustics are great in this theater; I’ve been to shows here before and I’ll be coming back again.”
Adrianne from Princeton asserts, “Michael was outstanding — his voice was amazing and his band was great; I’ve seen him before and I can see he’s still got that great big voice and still tells great stories.” Wendy from Fair Haven concurs, insisting, “Michael Feinstein was fantastic tonight,” prior to concluding, “He’s the ultimate entertainer!”
To learn more about Michael Feinstein please go to michaelfeinstein.com. For info on great upcoming events at Kean Stage’s Enlow Recital Hall, please click on keanstage.com.
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