Author: By Ernie Santosuosso, Globe Staff
Date: 04/27/1987
Page: 11
MUSIC REVIEW
Section: ARTS AND FILM
FRANK SINATRA -- With Jan Murray and the Bill Miller
Orchestra; Jess Cain, master of ceremonies, at Symphony
Hall last night.
Frank Sinatra played Boston Garden in the fall of '74 and has returned here only four times since then. He appeared in three benefit shows -- for presidential candidate Ronald Reagan at the Metropolitan Center, now the Wang Center; at Symphony Hall in April 1983 for a fund-raiser for former Red Sox star Tony Conigliaro, and again last night in behalf of Mayor Flynn's Youth Partnership.
The event was sponsored by Bank of New England and before a capacity audience that last night paid as much as $1,000 per ticket and a low of $35, Sinatra performed for the Youth Partnership, which coordinates neighborhood youth activities and other civic-oriented programs involving young people.
Sinatra also had starred at the formal opening of the Wang Center.
However rare his appearances here, Sinatra always leaves his listeners with something to remember him by.
As has been obvious for years now, Sinatra is not the pure-toned singer of the Capitol or the early Reprise periods. When he modulates to a ballad, he often must contend with a rasp that used to be honeyed intonation. However, he has learned to adapt well to the incursions by the passage of time on his prodigious vocal talents. He projected his thickly textured tones with a power that, coupled with the classy arrangements played by Bill Miller's 30-piece orchestra, showered the auditorium with snapping electricity.
And he delivered this smashing performance despite the fact that Ol' Blue Eyes had been hospitalized for surgery within the past year.
Although last night's repertoire consisted of familiar songs, they could not be described as the obligatory concert set one had been accustomed to hear Sinatra refer to in many past appearances.
He didn't take it easy on himself, either. He confidently accepted the
challenge posed by the elongated Rodgers & Hammerstein classic,
"Soliloquy,"
from "Carousel" and earned an ovation that thundered throughout the
auditorium. He freely interpolated lyrics and, in the process, gave them a new
vitality. His hand gestures constituted garnishes that have been a significant
part of his stage vocabulary for five decades.
Following a five-minute overture of snippets from his hits by the orchestra, Sinatra, appearing more slender than he has been in years, sauntered unannounced onto the stage.
Opening with a smartly loping rendition of "Where Or When," he followed with Cole Porter's "At Long Last Love" and "Witchcraft." While it was Sinatra's spotlight, the singer made frequent acknowledgements of the late Nelson Riddle's orchestrations ("a genius, a giant," The Voice recalled), some of which reached back some 33 years. Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein 3d also shared in Sinatra's kudos.
Pairing "The Gal Who Got Away" with "It Never Entered My Mind," the singer projected a wavering voice at certain points in the latter song but as he began to punch out the final chorus of "The Gal Who Got Away," the audience responded with a roaring ovation of anticipation.
He dedicated "For Once in My Life," charted by the late Don Costa of Boston, "to you know who." At the conclusion of the song, Sinatra singled out his wife, Barbara, in the front row. "That's for my girl sitting there," he added by way of a personal coda. While the ballads were potentially more risky than the up-tempo pieces, he gave a creditable reading of "My Heart Stood Still."
He bypassed his usual monologue for a brief reminiscence of the early Sinatra years when, as a skinny crooner, he rode the bus to Boston with the bands of Tommy Dorsey and Harry James in the early '40s. A timely insertion was "Spring Is Here," containing a protracted string introduction. ("It'll be Ash Wednesday by the time they get to the chorus," cracked Sinatra.)
He dusted off Riddle's finger-popping score to "What Now, My Love"
and,
assisted by dramatic lighting effects at the song's conclusion, acquitted
himself comfortably on Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very
Well."
Al Klink, a Glenn Miller alumnus, blew a gorgeous tenor saxophone solo on the hard-driving Quincy Jones arrangement of "Pennies From Heaven." Sinatra recreated the role of the bar habitue who croons his woes in his cups on ''Angel Eyes" and brought down the house with his scorching narration on ''Mack The Knife." Encoring with "Summer Wind," Sinatra bypassed "New York, New York" to trigger a prolonged standing ovation for "My Way," which marked the finale to his triumphant 70-minute segment.
Jan Murray's 30-minute comedy routine was also on target and merited more space here. However, it was a night when Ol' Blue Eyes sparkled.