Michael Feinstein? Had never heard of him but I accepted an invitation to hear him sing at the Cadogan Hall.
Feinstein (Fine-stine or Fine-steen?) was a revelation. He “is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of and an anthropologist and archivist for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook (Wikipedia). Wiki are a little uneasy about his entry warning it is written like an advertisement. Well he has plenty to advertise. His act is essentially high-class cabaret. He sings and croons with a small backing band (piano, double bass and percussion) sometimes usurping the pianist. His patter between numbers reveals his encyclopaedic knowledge of American music and some classy name dropping: “I speak to Liza (Minnelli) every day”.
I was probably the only person in the audience not to have heard of him. The audience, pretty evenly divided between straight women and gay men, were devotees and didn’t hide their enthusiasm. It was a great experience to hear such a class act – I enjoyed every moment. Afterwards I had a Dry Martini, six Carlingford Lough oysters and kedgeree. “A classic choice” the head waiter said patronisingly.
Where were you dining post-performance? One hears there is a shortage of good hospitality staff, and clearly your waiter needs some further training……
Colbert on Sloane Square. To digress there wasn’t a table to be had in clubland at lunchtime yesterday after memorial services at St Margaret’s and the Guards Chapel. We went to the Ladies annexe at Boodles.
Re the shortage of staff, an anecdote. I was lured to Fischers of Marylebone the other day by my stomach and the thought of their much prized Weiner Schnitzel Holstein. I was on my own. I walked in, unbooked, at about 3.30pm. The place was half empty. I asked for a table for one. The Maitre d’ told me that I could not be accommodated as they didn’t have enough staff. I theatrically cast my gaze at the ranks of empty tables and unfilled seats. He saw this and said that he understood but, with no staff, what could he do. I added that I already knew what I wanted to eat and drink and that I was on my own. I required only someone to cook the food and someone to bring it to the table – I didn’t need gangs of staff waiting on me. This was to no avail. I left unserved and unsated. Is mine an increasingly universal experience?
I was so delighted to share this very special evening with you and introduce you to the joys of an evening with Michael. The Martinis, wine and food were much appreciated too!! I’ll find someone else for you to discover soon!!
I’m really glad you have discovered Michael and enjoyed him. Only the remains of my cold kept me away on Monday. I have seen him twice before and once had a delightful conversation with this lovely man in glorious Basingstoke.
I believe -steen is the preferable in MF’s case; with Leonard Bernstein was a -stein man and insisted on it. A talented man but too oleaginous
for some of us.
in the tradition of this blog i can do no better than quote Mplsray on a learned forum:
“The Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein presents a fictional version of this. The character played by Gene Wilder, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, insists that his name be pronounced ending in /stin/, in an effort to distance himself from his mad-scientist grandfather, Victor Frankenstein, whose name has the traditional German pronunciation, ending in /staɪn/.
Playing with the principle that the correct pronunciation is how the person says his or her name, Brooks has the character named Igor, a name traditionally pronounced /’igɔr/, insist that the correct pronunciation of his name is /’aɪgɔr/.”