Michael Feinstein

Singer/pianist Michael Feinstein is a modern-day savior of the Great American Songbook — quite literally, in fact, as he was once the caretaker for the archives of George & Ira Gershwin. But Feinstein's own work has kept the great standards sounding completely contemporary. When his velvety voice caresses Rodgers & Hart's "Isn't It Romantic," he makes every heart within earshot melt like butter on an August afternoon. Well-studied at interpreting sophisticated songcraft, Feinstein navigates the deceptively complex Jerome Kern classic "A Fine Romance" like the expert he is. And just try to resist the urge to start swing dancing when he sashays his way through Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine."

Feinstein the piano man steps out in front of brassy big bands and swingin' strings in Next Steps.

Michael Feinstein started out simply, just a man and his piano in classic cabaret style. But his sheer musicality can't be contained in just one format — he's equally as comfortable leading a chorus of kids through the hilarious Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg tune "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady," made famous by Groucho Marx, or singing and swinging "One Day At a Time" in front of trumpet master Maynard Ferguson's brassy big band. But you've only scratched the surface of Feinstein's gift until you've heard him sliding up and down the slinky, swooping melody of Cy Coleman's "The Best Is Yet to Come," with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra matching his every move. In Deep Cuts, Feinstein turns a trip through Tin Pan Alley into a journey of discovery.

Not only has Michael Feinstein guaranteed that iconic names like Gershwin and Berlin remain part of our modern musical vocabulary, he's also masterfully stoked the flames of great American composers who aren't household names. His take on the wry, martini-dry humor of Tin Pan Alley tunesmith Hugh Martin's "Pass the Peace Pipe" stirs up some swingin' smoke signals. In the midst of honoring classic songwriting team Livingston & Evans, Feinstein gets feisty with an octogenarian Jay Livingston himself on the ultimate sophisticate's send-up, "Ya Got Class." And it should come as no surprise that Feinstein brings an air of elegance to the amorous advice of Broadway baron Burton Lane's "The Lady's In Love With You."

In the '80s, when drum machines and spandex were everywhere you turned, a mild-mannered Midwestern boy popped up to prove that "they don't write 'em like that anymore" was more than just a clichéd catchphrase. In the hands of Michael Feinstein, the grace, elegance, and artistry of the Great American Songbook sailed back into the forefront of the public consciousness. Suddenly, savvy listeners started choosing Feinstein albums full of Rodgers & Hart ballads over the latest flash-in-the-pan pop fodder. With the encouragement of such songwriting legends as Ira Gershwin, and the collaboration of American vocal treasures like Rosemary Clooney, Feinstein made a place in our hearts decade after decade. And now we've gathered the man's finest from a quarter-century of golden moments, just for you.