OREM — Classics, Broadway and American standards are pianist and composer Michael Feinstein's forte.
His warm personality and his easy style quickly won over the audience Monday at the SCERA Shell Amphitheater as he crooned Frank Sinatra's "At Long Last Love," "As Time Goes By" from the classic film "Casablanca" and a medley of George and Ira Gershwin tunes. He was Ira Gershwin's assistant for six years.
The audience was very satisfied and gave him a standing ovation.
Other songwriters he honored included Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Sammy Caan, Nancy Ford and Gretchen Crier.
The classic songs he performed either by himself at the piano or with his six-piece band ran the gamut from Sinatra to the Andrews Sisters and from easy love songs to toe-tapping boogie-woogie.
A Grammy-nominated entertainer, he has focused his entire adult work on American composers and works. He introduced most songs with a bit of history and included such lilting melodies as "Someone to Watch Over Me," "You're My Everything" and "Long Ago and Far Away."
His efforts are included in "The Great American Songbook," a PBS special he hosted and produced that traces the history of popular music in the United States. PBS will use his talents again for "Soundies," a film on vintage Hollywood.
Storyteller Wendy Gourley told stories to warm up his audience. Gourley will be featured in the upcoming Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com