Jazz singer Todd Gordon has met some big names in his time.
As a young fan, he was invited onto the stage of the Usher Hall in Edinburgh by the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, who proceeded to serenade him.
Since he became a performer himself, he has met and worked with some of the very best, from Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney to Count Basie, Dionne Warwick and George Shearing.
Last year, however, he met one of the true greats Tony Bennett and his latest show is a tribute to the man and his music.
Todd said, “I went to his concert in Glasgow on Independence Day last year with Carol Kidd (the world-renowned Scottish jazz singer).
“I heard a lovely story from her. About 25 years ago, she was performing at Ronnie Scott’s and Tony Bennett was so impressed he came back again to hear her the following night.
“He had his sketch pad with him he’s actually a highly-regarded artist and gave her a portrait he made of her.
“Sadly, she was mugged in London not long after and her bag, complete with the picture inside, was stolen.”
“Before the Glasgow show I had actually been in touch with Tony’s daughter she’s a fine singer and I really like her music.
“She opened the show and we were invited back afterwards to meet him.
“He was utterly charming. I have a lot of his records but when I saw him live, I really got him and his music.”‘American songbook roots’He added, “I’ve done shows in the past featuring some artists who are no longer with us but I was genuinely a bit wary of doing that with someone who is very much still on the go!
“But his daughter said he would take it as a big compliment, so here we are!”
Todd is bringing The Tony Bennett Songbook to Pitlochry Festival Theatre this Sunday, July 24, featuring the great performer’s greatest hits and the quality songs that have given his career such style and longevity.
Todd said, “I don’t try to imitate anyone when I sing songs associated with them but with Bennett, our voices are so different that I really feel I can put my own stamp on his repertoire.
“One of the things I really admire about him is that, when The Beatles and Beach Boys were dominating the charts, he never tried to go contemporary.
“He was true to his American songbook roots and that has always been his stamp.”
He added, “He’s still performing and gaining new audiences, too. It was a gig for MTV Unplugged in America that really re-introduced him to a new generation who I’m discovering in the audiences I’m playing to really love these songs.”
With a programme including everything from Maybe This Time from Cabaret, a segue of Charlie Chaplin’s Smile into Johnny Mercer’s The Shadow of Your Smile and a Latin version of Old Devil Moon, great tunes and beautiful melodies abound.
As for I Left My Heart in San Francisco, the signature Bennett tune, Todd said, “The two writers never really had much success with anything else and at one point, Tony Bennett’s pianist, Ralph Sharon, put this song in his sock drawer and only mentioned it to Tony when he found it after packing for a tour they were doing.
“They played it at gigs at the Fairmont in San Francisco where it went down well and although Bennett wanted to record it, his label wasn’t keen.
“It eventually went out as a B-side and it was being picked up by a university campus DJ that got it noticed. Like viral marketing today, it took off!”‘Good company’Todd’s own career grew from a childhood love of Frank Sinatra after his mother insisted that he put away his Beatles records so that she could listen to “her” music for a change.
It wasn’t until the 90s, inspired by a stint at the then new-fangled karaoke, followed by some serious jazz coaching from renowned singer Fionna Duncan, that the day job was abandoned and he took to performing full time. Since then he has built up a repertoire of around 1000 songs, performed all over the world with some of his heroes, branched out into concert promotion and generally made a name for himself as one of the classiest jazz acts in town.
With no TV “talent” shows to help him along, the Sinatra-loving teenager did it his way.
Sinatra, interestingly, thought that Tony Bennett was the best jazz singer of all and Todd reckons he wasn’t far wrong.
Apart from his Bennett-fest, Todd has been busy playing concerts and recording in Seoul in South Korea “a track of mine was used for a Korean drama series and the chance to go there was too good to miss!”
He is currently working on a big band album with the Royal Air Force Squadronaires and a series of collaborators including Carol Kidd, Eddi Reader and Horse McDonald, in aid of Help For Heroes.
He’s also relished the chance to work with legendary producer Ken Barnes who has made albums with icons like Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Peggy Lee and Jack Jones.
Todd said, “It’s great to hear all these great stories and tap into how these people ticked in the studio, quite intoxicating.
“I was with the BBC Big Band in Maida Vale Studios a year ago and standing there singing, I noticed a plaque on the wall commemorating the recording of Bing Crosby’s last tracks there.
“You get into some good company in the world of jazz!”
Todd Gordon and the David Patrick Trio present The Tony Bennett Songbook at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Sunday, July 24, at 8pm.
Other dates include August 21 at the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, and Perth Theatre on September 17.