Michael Feinstein

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Michael Feinstein, one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song, has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show, Isn’t It Romantic. He enjoys an active performance calendar, including major concert halls, symphony orchestras, intimate jazz clubs and college campuses. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.
Michael is currently producing a CD for his friend Liza Minnelli based on the music of her godmother Kay Thompson, the famed author, singer and arranger. He will also host and serve as consultant on a new PBS film on vintage Hollywood “Soundies” and is producing a documentary feature on arts and society icon Kitty Carlisle Hart. He has written the score for a new stage musical Perspectives, opening soon in London’s West End.
His latest CD from Concord Records is Hopeless Romantics, a songbook of Harry Warren classics recorded with legendary jazz pianist George Shearing. In 2004, Michael completed a national tour with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb based on their CD, Only One Life – The Songs of Jimmy Webb. The disc was named one of “10 Best CDs of the Year” by USA Today.
In 2003, Michael received his fourth Grammy Award nomination for his Concord release, Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, his first recording with a symphony orchestra. The year before, Rhino/Elektra Music released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a 2-disc compilation spanning the years 1987 to 1996, featuring old favorites and previously unreleased tracks.
He hosted and produced The Great American Songbook, a PBS Special and DVD set from Warner Brothers Home Video that traces the history of popular music in our country. The program, which debuted at the Palm Springs Film Festival, was released last year. His own record label Feinery, a new Concord subsidiary, released The Livingston & Evans Songbook, featuring Feinstein and special guest Melissa Manchester. Feinery will also record favorite current artists and restore recordings & musical broadcasts from the golden age of popular song, many of which showcase some of the nation’s most admired and enduring entertainers.
His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein’s at the Regency, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz such as Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, Tony Danza, Ann Hampton Callaway and Dame Cleo Laine. He appears there for a sold-out holiday engagement every year. Last fall he completed a sold-out two week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End.
Michael started playing piano by ear when he was five. As a teenager, he played at weddings and parties in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he worked in local piano lounges for two years, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, he was introduced to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. He became his assistant for six years, granting him access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded.
Gershwin’s influence provided a solid base upon which Mr. Feinstein has not only evolved into a captivating performer, composer and arranger of his own original music, but has also become an unparalleled interpreter of music legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Harry Warren.
Through his live performances (from Hollywood Bowl to Carnegie Hall), recordings, film and television appearances, and his songwriting (in collaboration with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Lindy Robbins and Carole Bayer Sager), Feinstein has been an important musical force during the past 15 years. In addition, he scored the original music for the film Get Bruce. His television credits include performances on “Caroline in the City,” “Melrose Place,” “Coach,” and “Sybil.”
In 1998 Feinstein became a Concord Records artist where he has recorded Michael and George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin, Big City Rhythms (with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band), the double-CD Romance On Film, Romance On Broadway, among others. The Library of Congress recently elected Michael to the exclusive “National Sound Recording Advisory Board.” He and other industry leaders recently met in Washington D.C. for a forum on safeguarding America’s musical heritage.
For more information, please visit www.michaelfeinstein.com.