By Marilyn Lester***Exhilarating: that’s the sound of a first-class full jazz band combined with an extra-stellar performance by the always dependable Michael Feinstein. In this latest edition of the long-running series, Standard Time, I Won’t Dance, saw the stars aligned for much more than the usual fabulosity. Zankel Hall was thus alive with a special 
energy—the outstanding Carnegie Hall Big Band led by Tedd Firth, and Feinstein in usual fine form with his easy way of hosting, with plenty of wit and fascinating bits of backstory, plus a vocal tone that seemed a notch richer and more relaxed on this outing.
The show’s title, I Won’t Dance was something of an insider irony, for the entire set was precisely about dance, with a great portion of swing and toe-tapping rhythms abounding, inciting the desire to do just that: dance. The title of the show referenced the tune written by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Otto Harbach and Dorothy Fields, which had a few incarnations (hence the three lyricists) until it was made a hit by the master of dance, Fred Astaire. In the 1930s, Astaire partnered with Ginger Rogers for nine dance-based films, and in these, many dance tunes were written by Irving Berlin. As he came onstage, Feinstein launched into a jazzy Berlin medley of “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.” Another Berlin followed, “The Best Things Happen
While You’re Dancing,” with the singer proving he has moves even as he declared he doesn’t dance.
Although Feinstein took the piano for some portion of the evening, that chair was filled mostly by music director, Tedd Firth, a virtuosic jazz piano master and arranger par excellence. And why a big band? Because in the first half of the 20th century, the appearance of any big band was all about dancing. It’s only been in the post-WWII era that big bands have played to seated audiences in concert halls. The show opener, a Benny Goodman band staple, “King Porter Stomp” (Jelly Roll Morton), came on as a wall of sound, with drummer Mark McLean playing a whole lot of drums a la Gene Krupa and the great trumpeter Alphonso Horne channeling Bunny Berigan. This 17-piece band was comprised of all first-call musicians, among them bassist David Finck and guitarist Pete Smith completing the rhythm section, and in the ranks, reedists Sam Dillon and Andy Farber and trumpeter Summer Camargo,
At the piano, solo, Feinstein offered a Berlin tribute 
with “All Alone,” “Remember” and “Always,” three numbers of great emotional depth, with evocative interpretation that cut achingly to the heart of each song. More Berlin on dance came with “Change Partners” and “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” On the other end of the emotional spectrum was the whimsical “Pick Yourself Up” (Jerome kern, Dorothy Fields) and the wizardly execution of Cole Porter’s play-on-words novelty tune, “Can Can,” with its clever lyric, such as “If a crowded sardine in a tin can, can, Baby, you can can-can too.” In the realm of the contemporary, was Billy Goldenberg’s “I Love to Dance Every Single Dance” and a beautifully delivered 1960 top-forty charting hit, “Save the Last Dance for Me” (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman) sung as a slow-tempo story song.
At their best, reviews can still only give a taste of any given show, and this one is no exception. In the 90 minutes of I Won’t Dance, the high moments kept coming, without a false step or a missed note. I Won’t Dance was one of those very special evenings in New York, one to be savored and remembered for a long time to come. Dancing out of Zankel Hall was almost a requirement.
Photos by Chris Lee
