Lounging Around – May 2015

Bill A. Jones – An All Around Entertainer

Review by Brett R. Henry

Bill A. Jones

Rumor has long been held that the era of the multi-talented “all around entertainer” (actor-singer-hoofer-comedian, and sometimes musician) went away with the passing of the likes of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., and even Bobby Van.  It’s also been said that rumors should only be accepted as fact with a grain of salt.

Actor, singer, voice-over artist, (yes, an all-around entertainer) Bill A. Jones brought his “Frank, Bobby and Me” show to a sold-out audience at The E Spot Lounge on May 23rd.  Well-known for his acting stint on television’s Glee, and normally fronting a full big band orchestra, he performed this evening before a very appreciative and celebrity-studded audience backed by the three-piece “A Players” (composer and pianist Paul McDonald, bass player Curt Smith, and drummer Steve Permberton).

Due to a neighborhood issue which has recently arisen, The E Spot Lounge has been forced to limit its guest performing artists to a maximum of three acoustic musical instruments, and has cancelled many of its bookings.  Supporters of the venue have launched a grassroots “Save The E Spot” campaign, which MITM has also joined.  A special summer series of performances is now in the works.  Unencumbered by the current restriction, Bill A. Jones and his posse took possession of and owned the showroom from the sound of their opening note; clearly affirming the old adage that “it’s not the size that matters, its how you use it”.  And use it, they did.

Opening his show with the Rodgers and Hart composition of “Where or When” (followed immediately by Bobby Darin’s “As Long As I’m Singing”), Jones led the audience on a professionally well-tuned, entertaining, yet easy-going musical journey through many of the songs made popular by Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, interspersed with humor and anecdotes about how this music became a major influence in his life and career.  As a 14-year-old boy growing up in Nashville, he first heard Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” on the radio, and for him that was an epiphany which forever changed his life.  With a rich singing voice which could melt ice cream, Jones easily transitioned from a slow ballad interpretation of the aforementioned “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” to rousing renditions of “Chicago”, “(Up A) Lazy River”, and Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley’s “What Kind of Fool am I”, shifting gears again to sing Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and Michael Bublé’s “Quando, Quando, Quando”.

Bill A. Jones & Sally StruthersOne of the highlights of the evening was when Jones was joined on stage by Sally Struthers (of “All in the Family” fame) to sing a duet from the stage show “Bells are Ringing”.  Other celebrities also in the audience included Latin jazz musician Louie Cruz Beltran, English pop singer and songwriter Chesney Hawkes, and renowned actress and shadow vocalist Annette Warren Smith.  The highly entertaining show closed with Bobby Darin’s signature “Mack the Knife”, followed by an encore performance of “The Curtain Falls”.  The Duchess of Something or Another and I exited Vitello’s in agreement that this had truly been a very entertaining show and an evening well-spent.

 

Bill was recently in our studio. Click here to listen to the interview.

 

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