POP MUSIC REVIEW : Feinstein Gives a Lesson in American Song

Michael Feinstein is a sly one.

He comes out on stage looking for all the world like a reincarnation of a classic movie juvenile lead. Slicked-back Dick Powell hair, flashing Russ Columbo eyes, a smile that would charm the Sphinx--you half expect him to throw on a raccoon coat and start singing the Notre Dame fight song.

But Feinstein’s got bigger plans. His Saturday-night concert at the Greek Theatre was a lesson in disguise, a painless seminar in the rich and colorful history of American song--delivered with the whimsical friendliness of the kid next door.

In the year or so since his last major appearance in the Southland, the thirty-something singer-pianist has become a first-rate entertainer. Always a fine vocalist, always an expert at finding and interpreting great music, he can now command a large stage and a full orchestra with almost offhanded ease.

Feinstein’s program was an eclectic mix of the many activities flowing through his career. There were plenty of love songs, of course--from “If I Had You” to “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.”

Careful to avoid allowing the proceedings to get sticky, he tossed in Ray Jessel’s hilarious ode to a California city, “We’re Stepping Out Tonight in Oxnard (The City Named After an Ox Nard),” and “The Teddy Bear Picnic” and “The Mole People” from Feinstein’s about-to-be-released children’s recording.

There was a little-known Ellington number from a 1945 musical and some newer pieces from Johnny Mandel, the Bergmans and Marshal Barer and David Ross, plus early Tin Pan Alley classics.

And, finally, and predictably, there was Gershwin.

“For me,” said Feinstein in summation, “it always comes back to Gershwin.” In this case, it came back in particularly poignant fashion, with a dedication to Ira Gershwin’s wife Lenore, who died last month.

“Someone to Watch Over Me” was the song written for her by Ira and brother George, and Feinstein sang it with the special blend of lyrical storytelling and musical subtlety, which is his unique stock in trade.

Feinstein could easily have carried the performance on his own, but--in one of the classiest gestures of a classy night--he included on the bill one of Los Angeles’ most under-appreciated acts, the Page Cavanaugh Trio. And, declining to simply have the group open the show, he gave it a showcase position and sang a few numbers backed by Cavanaugh’s piano, Al Viola’s guitar and Phil Mallory’s bass. Cavanaugh (who has just made a recording with Feinstein) responded with a briskly swinging set of light jazz standards highlighted by his gentle, whisper-styled vocals on “All of Me” and “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.”