By Andrew Poretz***The New York Pops, under the direction of conductor Steven Reineke, took on the music of Cole Porter with Let’s Misbehave: The Songs of Cole Porter, curated by pianist-singer, composer and arranger, Tony DeSare. The prolific Porter wrote the music and lyrics for over 
800 songs (including 300 just while at Yale University!) and the scores for some 25 shows, including Anything Goes, DuBarry Was a Lady, Can-Can, Silk Stockings and Kiss Me, Kate.
For this concert, DeSare’s trio: David Rourke (guitar), Dylan Shamat (bass) and Michael Klopp (drums) served as a core rhythm section to the 78-piece orchestra. Vocalist-trumpeter Bria Skonberg, along with tap dancer-vocalist John Manzari, were additional featured performers. The lively Reineke normally selects the material for each concert, but for this one, he allowed DeSare to select most of the songs and write many of the orchestrations/arrangements. The program opened with a well-constructed overture that began with the opening strains of “Anything Goes,” included parts of “Let’s Misbehave” and “Begin the Beguine,” and served as an excellent apéritif for the evening.
DeSare took to the Carnegie stage dressed in a dark blue tuxedo and bow tie to sing “Night and Day.” His arrangement included the verse and multiple rhythm choices, with some allusions to a Nelson Riddle chart of this tune for Frank Sinatra, as well as borrowing some of Sinatra’s vocal phrasing. 
Skonberg—a dazzling jazz star of both the trumpet and vocals—wearing a floor-length, sparkling purple gown, performed “From This Moment On.” With a slightly breathy approach and a warm, resonant bottom with impeccable phrasing, her style evoked a combination of Julie London and Peggy Lee. A tie-less Manzari sang “I Love Paris” before tap dancing.
At the piano, DeSare boldly stated, “Without Cole Porter, there would not have been The Beatles.” To show Porter’s influence on his own songwriting, he performed his original, “Paris Always Will Have You,” a very effective song, if not quite at Porter’s level. DeSare, who also wrote the chart and orchestration for this number, wrote it with a “fantasy” 1950s Sinatra-Riddle album cover in his mind. (DeSare starred in the Pop’s 2022 That Nelson Riddle Sound; Riddle’s influence was present throughout this concert.)
DeSare and guitarist Rourke performed a spare chart of “I Concentrate On You,” with Skonberg’s muted trumpet adding color. The number was 
dedicated to Edward Decker, DeSare’s recently deceased seven-string guitarist. DeSare’s long, legato crooning revealed Sinatra-level breath control. A surprising highlight was “True Love,” written for the film High Society (performed by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly). DeSare and Skonberg’s superb duet was an emotional, tear-inducing triumph. A show-stopping arrangement of “It’s Alright with Me” ended part one, with all three featured performers. Manzari broke into a brilliant tap at the break and Skonberg engaged him in a trumpet-tap call-and-response. The three traded licks to demonstrate Manzari’s ability to “dance in the moment,” ending the number in three-part harmony.
After intermission, the orchestra mastered an exacting re-creation of the Sinatra-Riddle chart of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” with DeSare singing Sinatra’s part. Notably, a Pops trombonist duplicated Milt Bernhard’s legendary solo, note-for-note, more like a transcription than an adaptation. 
Skonberg’s excellent original, “Have a Little Heart,” arranged by Tedd Firth, might have made a fine Peggy Lee single in another era. Her spectacular vocal ending on “My Heart Belongs to Daddy”—a long, rising glissando into a soprano high note—was not unlike Artie Shaw’s ending glissando on his breakthrough single, “Begin the Beguine,” and a Shaw-inspired “Beguine” instrumental followed, with Manzari performing a tour de force and dazzling extended tap sequence, garnering an enthusiastic standing ovation.
A superbly-constructed medley meant to evoke Porter’s home “salons” was especially notable for DeSare and Skonberg’s duet on “Well, Did You Evah!”, most associated with the film High Society (but which was originally in the Broadway musical DuBarry Was a Lady). It wasn’t exactly the famous duet by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, but it was a fine stab at it. After a finale of “Anything Goes,” a surprise, unbilled encore, “Let’s Misbehave,” was the perfect digestif to end this feast of Cole Porter.
Photos by Richard Termine
