Renowned jazz singer Michael Feinstein was a young man, playing piano and singing in clubs when he met Ira Gershwin and his life changed. “I was 20 years old when I met him,” Feinstein remembers. “He did have a tremendous influence on my life. I think anybody at the age of 20 is, whether they know it or not, an open book. Meeting Ira was not only life changing, but inspiring. He was an 80-year-old man, teaching me how to interpret classic American songs. By observing him, I learned many life lessons, soaking up his world by being able to go through all his memorabilia, lyric sheets and recordings. It was a very rich period of my life that lasted six years. I was also playing in piano bars and started playing private parties. I was gaining a lot of musical education at the same time, but certainly his influence was the greatest.”
Ira Gershwin, along with his brother George (who wrote the music), are pivotal protagonists in the creation of a body of work that is a vital part of the Great American Songbook, a collection of songs considered by many to be America’s classical music. Like the Gershwins, most of the songwriters of the era were Jews. “The profession of songwriter was something Jews could become a part of, where there was no antisemitism,” says Feinstein. “Songwriting at that time was in a way colorblind, because if you had talent, that’s all that mattered. There was a big contribution of Irish songwriters as well, like George M. Cohan. Different cultures contributed in a way that represents the best part of America.”
Feinstein has made a career out of performing and recording those songs, both as a singer and a pianist, for the better part of 40 years. The longevity of the music was surprising for Gershwin himself. “Ira was quite astounded that songs he wrote in the 1920s and 1930s endured and were still being recorded by people,” says Feinstein. “He said he never had any idea that songs he and George wrote for a 1920 Broadway musical would have any life outside the show for which they were written. It all was an extraordinary gift that these songs came to support him in his old age, gaining new fans and influencing the greater musical world.”
With more than 20 records, Feinstein’s career includes five Grammy nominations and countless live performances around the world, but it is also tied to the Palm Desert region. “My first experience in Palm Desert was before I started performing in the area publically,” he says. “I was playing parties for Walter and Lee Annenberg during the Reagan years. I played every year for New Year’s Day, after the big New Year’s Eve bash, when they had a smaller group of people there (nicknamed the ‘kitchen cabinet’). That was a heady experience for me because I was in an intimate setting with the President and other celebrities, creating life-changing connections. It also taught me that one can have very different philosophies and political views and still enjoy the company of people who think differently. I have a great sentimentality about those experiences, which expanded into career success with the support of many people who were at those gatherings. It felt like a certain kind of family in that there has always been a keen appreciation for art and music in the desert, with so many people who are connected to the arts living in the desert. Therefore, it has always been something I look forward to tremendously. I’ve always tried to do different kinds of programs every time I come, some more successfully than others, but it’s a place where I can experiment a little bit.”
This year, Feinstein has a special treat for his desert fans. “I’m doing my Judy Garland program,” he reveals. “We’re fast approaching her centennial. I’m very close to her family, with Liza Minelli being my closest friend, and her siblings also. I wanted to pay tribute to Garland by celebrating the enduring art of what she did. She was considered by many to be the greatest entertainer of the 20th century. I wanted to celebrate that with a big band and a multi-media experience, thanks to memorabilia and unseen home movies supplied to me by her family. It’s a very resonant celebration of someone whose work I consider to be seminal in this field.”
And there is something else on Feinstein’s plate: He’s about to release a new studio album – a country music record! “It’s coming out on March 11. It’s called Gershwin Country,” explains Feinstein. “It was recorded in Nashville with an incredible band. It’s an album of duets, with classic songs reimagined, reinvented in the country music mode, with Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Lyle Lovett, Rosanne Cash, etc. It’s something that I hope will bring fresh audiences to the Gershwin catalog. I hope they’ll listen to the recording and like what they’ll hear, knowing nothing of the provenance.
The accompaniment is Nashville, with steel guitars – a beautiful sound. I sing the way I sing. The reason I wanted to sing with Country performers is because to me, that is the last bastion of a strong ability to interpret lyrics, or tell a story, in a way that’s very different from contemporary pop. These are some of the great contemporary voices. I found it very easy and gratifying to collaborate with the various iconic performers. The track with Allison Krauss is online, Someone to Watch Over Me. If you listen to it, you’ll understand.”
