Jerry Costanzo at Iridium

Jerry Costanzo brought a very heartfelt set of songs as a tribute to Frank Sinatra. This is not a slavish imitation of an American icon but, as Jerry said on-stage, he strives to be an "interpreter of the American songbook," and he was quite adept doing that, placing himself in a class by himself, distanced from your typical lounge act.

The tall, good-looking singer certainly had plenty of charm, and the audience obviously had a good time, judging by their applause and call-outs to the stage

With a seven-piece band, the crooner is a cabaret mainstay by now, having performed many times at Iridium, the Triad and Feinstein's among other popular NYC venues.

Opening with Sinatra's "Don't Be Worried About Me," the show opened a bit unevenly as Costanzo, while smooth, hit a few flat notes. However, he quickly hit his stride and finished with a boffo set of songs that included Dean Martin's "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" from Oceans 11, and "Come Fly with Me," a wonderful "Can I Steal a Little Love?," and beautiful renditions of "Sway" and "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die."

The set also included Sinatra faves such as "Fly Me to the Moon," Cole Porter's "I Got You Under My Skin" and  the classic "The Lady Is a Tramp." Jerry wrapped the night up with "Some Day, Some Way" and his encore, "We'll Be Together Again." The evening was refreshingly short on medleys and songs were delivered with clarity and gusto.

Mr Costanzo wished his promoter/ publicist, Richard Skipper, a big thanks for his great job (deservedly so). He congratulated Richard's significant other, Daniel (who was also present) a very happy birthday. Throughout, Jerry expressed support for the LGBT members of his audience.

I was seated at a table on an upper tier of the room with my friend, Kathy Towson. The seating was my choice as I could discreetly take notes without being in easy view of the performer. It was there that I met the soloist after his show and took the above picture on my cell.

Before the night's performance, Jerry's lovely and gracious wife stopped to talk. It's not that she'd previously met me but she saw my press kit from Richard and thoughtfully stopped to meet and greet.

Jerry Costanzo has released his third album, available on cd and for download. It's entitled Invitation and I invite you to give it a listen. Bravo, Jerry!

ps: I don't know what was wrong with Iridium's wait staff last night but it took forever to get myself a
a single glass of pinot grigio and my friend a juice for the night. What's so hard about an order where all you do is open bottles and pour? I had to remind the waiter several times about our simple order. Now, I've been to this club on many prior occasions and never had a problem. Also, my friend asked for a menu, ordered, and never received her food. Apparently realizing their egregiously abysmal service (we oredered at at least 15 minutes before showtime but received that order early half-way through) to our table, they gave us our two drinks on the house. I mention this only because service is so important to the nightlife experience. Putting customers in a bad mood is not conducive to an enjoyable evening out and a disservice to the performers.