Past Concert Highlights

Jack Jones

"A ROMANTIC EVENING WITH JACK JONES AND THE EDISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA"

State Theatre, New Brunswick New Jersey
Friday, October 21, 2005

Jones has received Grammy's for "Best Pop Male Vocal Performance" with his singles "Lollipops and Roses" and "Wives and Lovers" but is perhaps best known for his recording of the "Love Boat" theme song. Frank Sinatra called Jack "one of the major singers of our time" and Mel Torme called him "the greatest pure singer in the world."
www.jackjones.org

Some of Jack Jones, greatest hits from his albums include, "Fly Me to the Moon", "My Kind of Town", "The Impossible Dream", "Call Me Irresponsible", " I Will Wait For You", " Shadow of Your Smile"

Biography

Born in Hollywood, California, on the night his singer/movie star father, Allan Jones, recorded his hit, "Donkey Serenade". Jack would make his famous parents (his mother was the elegant 30's actress Irene Hervery) especially proud of their award-winning son for the diversity and breadth of his talent. One of his most memorable experiences while attending University High School in west Los Angeles, was when one of his friends, Nancy Sinatra, invited her father to sing in the school auditorium. It left an indelible mark that helped shape Jones' career choice.

Jones developed a deep appreciation for well constructed songs that also have emotional appeal. His respect for songs that tell stories with meaning and beauty led him to record works by the greatest balladeers of all time: Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

Jack Jones' talent and commitment to his art earned him two Grammy's for "Best Pop Male Vocal Performance" with his singles "Lollipops and Roses" by Anthony Velona and Bacharach/David's "Wives and Lovers". His latest release, Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett, was nominated for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance". He was also nominated for "The Impossible Dream" and his recording of "Wives and Lovers" was nominated for "Record of the Year". His hit records include "The Race Is On", "Lady", "Call Me Irresponsible", and "What I Did For Love". On April 13, 1989, he was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, close to where his father's star is located.

He is also renowned as a leading interpreter of musical theatre- with acclaimed performances in "Guys and Dolls" and "South Pacific", "She Loves Me", and Pajama Game". Over the years he has guest-starred on countless episodic and/or comedy television series. Most recently he starred as Don Quixote in Man Of La Mancha in the national tour. Most recently, Jack has completed a guest-starring role in the British comedy film: Cruise Of The Gods.

Admirers of Jones' talent include artists who influenced him as a young singer: Sinatra who said, "Jack is one of the major singers of our time, "Mel Torme who called him "the greatest 'pure' singer in the world" and legendary composers Sammy Cahn and Michel Legrand.

With over 50 recorded albums (17 of them chanting Billboard's Top 20) and consistently sold-out world tours, Jack Jones continues to charm audiences with his wit, sensitivity and vocal power. In addition to a successful recording career, Jones' impressive credits include film and television roles; and internationally syndicated TV variety show; guest performances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. He has also performed and later recorded popular theme songs for film and TV ("Lover with a Proper Stranger, "The Love Boat").

On his latest release, Jack Jones Paints A Tribute To Tony Bennett, Jones pays homage to a friend and an American icon. He counts Bennett among those vocalist who most influenced his style (a small but elite group that includes Mel Torme, Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Eckstein, and Frank Sinatra). Of his tribute album, which features some of Bennett's signature songs, jones says, this album is my way or saying thanks to a dear friend, " In selecting songs for this album, he chose three of his personal Bennett favorites, "Skylark", "Shadow Of Your Smile" and "You Must Believe In Spring".

Today, Jack is busy doing concerts in performing arts centers, casinos, symphony concerts, as well as engagements in Las Vegas. Jack's daughter, Nicole (14), is on the honor role in Palm Desert Middle School and just received the Rising Star Award, voted on by her teachers. She performs with her dad during school breaks and has appeared in countless stage productions in the Palm Springs area.

• "Jack is the greatest 'pure' singer of our time" - Mel Torme
• "My singer" - Michel Legrand
• "Jack Jones is one of the major singers of our time" - Frank Sinatra
• "A first class vocalist with a repertoire to match. I have enjoyed his recordings for more than 40 years" - Richard Carpenter

Also Featuring on October 21st...

WENDY FANG CHEN

Pianist performing "The Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin.

Born in Brooklyn of Taiwanese descent, pianist and composer Wendy Fang Chen has performed in many countries with such orchestras as The London Philharmonic, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Central Philharmonic of China and The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra. She has appeared in many prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Tchaikowsky Grand Concert Hall, Kennedy Center and Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Chen has a compact disc with the London Philharmonic, with conductor, Thomas Sanderling. The disc features performances of the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos as well as her own piano concerto, Pas de Deux, which she has already performed in Lincoln Center, Japan and Taiwan. Pas de Deux has been choreographed and had its dance premiere at Alice Tully Hall in 1991.

Ms. Chen was a faculty member of The Juilliard School from 1995 to 2002. She earned her B.M. and M.M. both in Piano and Composition from Juilliard, receiving the Peter Mennin Prize for "outstanding achievement and leadership in music." She was similarly honored by Juilliard at her Pre College commencement, when she was asked to be the guest speaker.

That same year, Ms. Chen won the Presidential Scholar Award, and performed her own works on the "Today" and "Phil Donahue" shows.

Ms. Chen has won many prizes for her piano performances and compositions including the William Kapell Piano Competition, Bartok-Kabalevsky National Piano Competition, ASCAP Foundation Grants to Young Composers, and two BMI Awards to Student Composers. She has written five children's operas, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and many others, from solo and chamber works to chorus and orchestra works.

Ms. Chen made her theatrical debut in 1994, as the pianist Clara Schumann, in the play, Virtuosa, performing piano works by Clara and Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, and Ludwig van Beethoven. She is profiled in the books, Music from the Road, by Tim Page and Redefining Beauty, by Victoria Jackson and Patty Calistro.