REVIEW: Intimate Sinatra starring Matt Ford, The Concorde, Eastleigh

THERE are many hidden gems in the Sinatra song book that never get air play.

Radio disc jockeys tend to pick old favourites like My Way and New York, New York for their Frank Sinatra playlists.

But the United Kingdom’s top big band singer Matt Ford has dug deep into The Guvnor’s musical treasure chest to serve up a mouth watering feast for Sinatra aficionados.

In a career spanning 60 years Sinatra recorded about 2,500 songs.

As he kicked off a night of pure Sinatra nostalgia Matt said: “You probably hear only 40 but there are so many belters that are hardly ever heard.”

Two years ago Matt was at the forefront of UK’s celebrations to mark what would have been the 100 th birthday of the world’s most celebrated crooner.

Now he has taken his Sinatra show on the road, breathing new life into these timeless but sometimes forgotten tunes from the master of the big band genre.

This magical medley has been given the full orchestral treatment with a hand picked ensemble of multi-talented musicians.

The unique project to showcase rarely heard Sinatra recordings was masterminded by drummer Matt Skelton who between numbers gave a fascinating and witty insight into each studio album.

Trombone player Callum Au, who had meticulously transcribed those early Sinatra recordings, put together the superb arrangements.

The Tippett String Quartet and the Matt Skelton Quintet provided the perfect musical backcloth to the honey coated vocal tones of Matt Ford.

He hit the ground running with the show stopping From This Moment On, penned in 1950 by Cole Porter and covered by many A listers including Sinatra.

Then it was time to dust off the cover of a lesser known track, It Could Happen To You from Ol’ Blue Eyes’ 1957 Closer To You Album.

Accompanied by the Hollywood String Quartet, the album was recorded over a period of eight months and five different sessions, and was arranged by the legendary Nelson Riddle.

Matt handed over the musical reigns to the orchestra as they masterfully delivered Dancing In The Dark.

It recaptured the spirit of that iconic moment when Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse waltzed through Central Park in a romantic dance routine from the 1953 musical movie The Band Wagon.

After breezing through a Sinatra catalogue which included Gigi and In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Matt rounded off the first set with a very upbeat Old Devil Moon.

It set the scene for a sizzling second half of Sinatra goodies featuring P.S. I Love You, Too Marvellous For Words, September In The Rain and Change Partners, including a masterclass on the ivories by Will Bartlett who has rapidly become one of the UK’s most in-demand jazz pianists.

Sinatra fans were sent home with The Guvnor’s anthem, One For My Baby, ringing in their ears.

Duncan Eaton