1996 · Album
Celebrating Sinatra
Recorded 1996 · Blue Note · Ensemble: Fifteen-piece ensemble
Fifteen Voices Singing Sinatra's Song
Lovano assembles a full orchestra to reimagine Sinatra standards—a bold move that mostly pays off.
What makes Celebrating Sinatra (1996) work is the scale of it. Lovano doesn't just grab a trio or a small combo to play these songs. He brings in a fifteen-piece ensemble, which means arrangers had real room to think. That kind of orchestration forces you to ask: why play a Sinatra tune this way instead of the way Sinatra played it? The answer is that Lovano and his arrangers are using the full band to find angles in these songs that a smaller group couldn't touch. The arrangements breathe. There's space for the saxophone to cut through, space for other voices to answer back. This isn't a tribute album in the sense of "let's nail the original recordings." It's a working jazz band taking standards seriously and making them their own.
The album sits in an odd spot in Lovano's catalog. By 1996 he was already well-established—this wasn't a debut, and it wasn't trying to be. It's a solid mid-career choice to tackle material everyone knows and ask the band to find something fresh in it. The critics didn't crown it a masterpiece. Tom Hull gave it a 3.5 out of 4, which means he heard enough to recommend it but nothing jumped out as essential. That's honest territory. The album works best when you're in the mood for orchestral jazz that doesn't apologize for taking on famous melodies. It's competent, often rewarding, and never boring—which is not nothing.
Who's playing
Billy Drewesbass clarinet, tenor saxophone
George Mrazdouble bass
Michael Rabinowitzbassoon
Kenny Wernerpiano
Tom Christensencor anglais, oboe, tenor saxophone
Joe Lovanotenor saxophone
Ted Nashclarinet, tenor saxophone
Dick Oattsflute, tenor saxophone
Al Fosterdrums
Jon ClarkFrench horn
Mark Feldmanviolin
Erik Friedlandercello
Lois Martinviola
Emily Mitchellharp
Sara Parkinsviolin
