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Return to Elegance - Sinatra Through The Years
It was the 1940’s and the big band sound was king. Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw and Cab Calloway, to name a few, entranced audiences with a swinging style compelling any listener to move and glide in a jazz craze. Yet, one man brought all these young lovers to a halt on the ballroom floor. Before him, the vocals were a brief interlude during an otherwise frenetic pace of swing music. But beginning with Harry James, then through his meteoric rise with Tommy Dorsey, Francis Albert Sinatra transformed the singing of popular songs to an art form and forever changed the way people listened to music. Emerging from the big band era and becoming the unrivaled vocal interpreter of the great American songbook, Sinatra’s catalogue of music solidly endures nearly a century since his birth through his legendary recordings and live performances.
A Return to Elegance presents the life of Sinatra’s music in a three act play from the big band era through the Vegas Rat Pack and into the later Concert years. More than a usual tribute, A Return to Elegance brings Sinatra to life in first person in the form of Mark Romeo and the Frank Vardaros Jazz Orchestra. Internationally renowned trumpeter Vardaros simulates the brilliance of James and rivals his contemporaries – Doc Severinsen, Maynard Ferguson & Arturo Sandoval – while providing the modern reincarnation of the great jazz orchestras. Vocally compared to Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Harry Connick Jr., Romeo’s style takes the best from the 20th century vocalists and brings a modern interpretation while always remaining true to the original music.
Audiences will rekindle their love for a time passed and feel transformed through stage design and costume changes as well as narration to re-create each era. Most importantly, the music is preserved and restored by Vardaros using the original full orchestra musical arrangements of Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones, Billy May and Don Costa while Romeo’s vocals are remarkable simulations of Ol’ Blue Eyes. You will re-live the excitement of a Sinatra concert during such classics as The Lady is a Tramp, Fly Me to the Moon, and Luck Be a Lady. This elaborate musical biography is the entertainment event of the year for long time fans of the Chairman of the Board and all lovers of jazz orchestra music.
