Todd Gordon at Birmingham Town Hall

Todd Gordon previews his third appearance at Cadogan Hall on Friday 25 July, where he is performing with the Back to Basie Orchestra. He writes:

I was just 11 years old when I first listened to a Frank Sinatra album – my mother’s well-worn copy of the seminal Songs for Swingin’ Lovers. It took me over 30 years before to turn a passion for this kind of music into a professional singing career. But, after being booked to open for Dionne Warwick during her UK tour in 2003, that’s what I did.

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Since then, I’ve performed over 400 gigs at some very prestigious venues and festivals, several of which were Sinatra-themed. This needs some clarification: although Sinatra was my biggest musical influence, I avoid trying to copy him. He was utterly unique. But I like to be true to that style of delivery and, in particular, attention to the lyric and the message it conveys to the listener.

The theme on 25th July is “The Very Best of Frank Sinatra & Count Basie” We’ll be celebrating the three albums which they recorded together in the early- to mid-1960s.

Alongside the big hitters like I’ve Got You Under My Skin, My Kind of Town, You Make Me Feel So Young, the programme will feature relative rarities, including several seldom-heard Neal Hefti arrangements for songs such as Looking at the World Thru Rose Colored Glasses, I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, I Only Have Eyes for You and The Tender Trap.

Todd Gordon & The Back to Basie Orchestra
The Very Best of Frank Sinatra & Count Basie
Cadogan Hall
Friday, 25 July at 7.30pm

BOOKINGS

TODD GORDON’S WEBSITE