Sedaka has fun tapping his roots

Neil Sedaka’s performance Saturday night at the Wilshire Theatre was a compelling reminder of the powerful impact that Jewish songwriters and culture had upon the popular songs of the 20th century. Arriving on the scene in the late 1950s, Sedaka was among the important cadre of young Jewish composers and lyricists following in the footsteps of Berlin, Gershwin, Arlen, Hammerstein and others.

Sedaka paid tribute to those roots in an opening segment featuring songs from his “Brighton Beach” CD, singing such Yiddish language classics as “Bei Mir Bist Du Shein” and “My Yiddishe Mamme.”

And when he moved into his own songs, the resonance with those roots -- despite Sedaka’s obvious fascination with rock ‘n’ roll -- was a constant, subtle presence.

Always an engaging performer, he was in rare form, clearly enjoying himself as he launched through one memorable item after another, from the naive pleasures of “Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen” and “Oh, Carol!” to the well-crafted “Love Will Keep Us Together” and a new song, “You.”

The performance, which included an opening set by clarinetist Leo Chalyapov’s klezmer band, also was enlivened by a pair of video projections showcasing a youthful Sedaka singing “Calendar Girl” and a duet with daughter Dara on the 1980 hit “Should’ve Never Let You Go.” His omnivorous desire to challenge his skills was evident in the inclusion of numbers based upon melodies by Chopin and Puccini.

Perhaps best of all, Sedaka at 65 still possesses a voice as sweet and pliable as it was more than four decades ago. His capacity to deliver both the musical and the emotional content of a song is one of the continuing pleasures of classic pop music.